Best Prune Sauce For Meat Or Game Recipes

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH PRUNE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat chicken thouroughly dry with paper towel and sprinkle sides with salt and pepper In a 10 to 12-inch skillet melt two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of oil over high heat.
• Add chicken skin-side down and reduce heat to moderate.
• Fry until sides are golden brown.
• (Don't worry if the inside is pink, we will be cooking the chicken more later) Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Add the celery, carrot, and onion to the fat remaining in pan, stirring occasionally, and cook until the vegetables are soft but NOT brown.
• Return the chicken to the pan and lay the parsley and bay leaf on top.
• Pour in 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
• Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Lower the heat and simmer for thirty minutes, basting it from time to time with the juices in the pan Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of water, the 1 1/2 cups of prunes, the lemon juice, and the sugar.
• Place on high heat.
• Bring prunes to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until prunes are tender.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken from the skillet and arrange attractively on an ovenproof platter.
• Scatter the cooked prunes over the top.
• Cover the platter loosely with foil and put it into the oven.
• Press hard on the vegetables with a spoonback releasing the juices.
• Discard vegetables.
• Set juices aside.
• Melt two tablespoons of butter in the skillet and add the flour.
• Cook on high heat until flour is golden brown.
• Pour in the 1/2 cup of reserved prune juice and the 1/2 cup of reserved pan juices (if there is less then 1/2 cup, make up for it by augmenting it with the chicken broth) Boil until sauce is smooth and thickened.
• Serve at once.

PORK CHOPS WITH PEARL ONIONS IN PRUNE SAUCE (FLAMBE')

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mini food processor puree prunes with enough apple juice to make a smooth paste.
• Heat a skillet over high heat, season chops with salt & pepper. Sear chops in the oil until well-browned on all sides. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in the same skillet from chops, sweat shallots in pan drippings until tender. Make sure your stove fan is off then carefully add Cognac as it will flame; if not, ignite with a match. Shake pan until flames die out. Continue cooking, scraping bottom of pan too incorporate any browned bits.
• Add veal stock, pearl onions, and prune puree and boil until reduced by half. Stir in butter, just until melted. Plate up pork chops over buttered egg noodles and pour sauce over top. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

PEPPERED VENISON WITH BALSAMIC PRUNE SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut meat into 4 serving-size pieces. Spread both sides of meat with the mustard; sprinkle with peppercorns.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook meat 3 to 4 minutes per side or until desired doneness. Remove from skillet; keep meat warm. Carefully add broth and vinegar to skillet, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Add sugar and prunes. Boil gently 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Whisk in butter to melt. Pour sauce over meat.