Chicken braised in Belgian beer

Cut the fatty bacon into chunky lardons, roughly slice the mushrooms and the shallots, and break the chicken into pieces or have the butcher do it.

Render the fatty bacon in a cast iron pot over heat to make the cooking fat.

Brown the chicken carcass and off-cuts in the fat as a flavouring, then lift them out.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, dust them with a little flour and brown them on every side to a light colour.

Discard the excess fat, then add the shallots with a little fresh butter and cook them over medium heat one to two minutes maximum.

Deglaze with cognac, genever traditionally, to lift the caramelized juices; the flambe is optional and not done.

Add half the bacon and part of the mushrooms and give them some colour over a few minutes.

Layer the pot: the carcasses and off-cuts at the bottom, the thighs and legs buried next, the chicken breast held back for the top because it cooks quickest.

Season with salt and pepper, scatter a tablespoon of flour and more over the top, and mix until the flour coats everything.

Pour in the beer, about 70 centilitres; it foams. Do not add more, or the sauce stays thin even with the flour.

Lay the chicken breast on top and add the aromatics: three or four cloves, a teaspoon of juniper berries and the brown sugar.

Put the lid on and cook in the oven at about 160C so the heat surrounds the pot and everything steams.

Take the chicken breast out after about 15 minutes.

Leave the rest to cook about 40 minutes, given as 'a good 35, 30 minute something less' and then 'for the rest, about 40 minutes'.

Scoop all the meat out and set it aside, then discard the carcasses, leaving the sauce.

Turn the heat to high, add a tablespoon of cream and reduce the sauce about five minutes to a semi-smooth consistency; keep the brownish colour, it is not a cream sauce and stays thin, more like a jus.

Put the chicken skin side up under a very hard grill on the top shelf, briefly, to colour the skin crisp.

Pan-fry the reserved bacon and mushrooms, and chop parsley, for the final garnish.

Dress the chicken, spoon the thin sauce over and add the garnish.