chickencacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore was originally known as Hunter’s Stew, because whatever game the hunters came home with, ended up in the pot. It was the same way at my grandmother’s house. The longevity of the chickens running around her back yard was always in jeopardy. We don’t have chickens running around in our yards, so we them. The tradition calls for using a whole chicken and cutting it into eight pieces. If you buy a whole chicken, I suggest buying a Broiler/Fryer instead of a Stewer. Stewers are old, tough and are generally only good for longer cooking times for broths or stews. When chicken is on sale, buy whatever is available. Breasts tend to dry out quicker than legs and thighs, so mix up the pieces.

Ingredients:

1 whole 3 to 5 pound chicken
(2 chicken thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 split breasts and 2 wings) Add more thighs.
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon freshly chopped Italian parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sweet basil
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 (28-ounce) cans whole Italian tomatoes (San Marzano brand recommended)
2-3 red bell peppers, cored and cut in strips
½ cup gaeta olives
½ cup semi-sweet red table wine
OPTIONAL: Basic Marinara Sauce.

Preparation:

Remove the skin from all of the pieces and season them with salt and pepper. Over medium-high heat, heat half of the olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold all of the pieces. Fry the chicken pieces on both sides until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan, set aside and drain the olive oil and the residual oil remaining from the small amount of chicken fat. Now add the remaining olive oil and onion and cook for about 2 minutes, or until they are soft. Add the garlic, parsley, basil, and rosemary and cook for only about 15 seconds or so. Drain off any excess oil and add the chicken back to the pan. Add the red table wine and cook over high heat until the wine is reduced by half. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the pan so that the seasonings can be released into the wine reduction. Add the red peppers, crush the whole peeled tomatoes with your hands and add to the pan. Bring up to a gentle simmer for 30+ minutes and turn the pieces at least once. If the liquid reduces down too far, add in some Marinara sauce. Tomatoes turn bitter if they are overcooked or cooked over high temperatures. Skim any left over fat from the surface.

I always remove the skin before I brown the chicken, because there is no bigger turn off than being served Chicken Cacciatore with slimy skin. It is also important to keep plenty of liquid in this dish so that that the pieces do not dry out. I have seen too many Cacciatore sauces with large amounts of fat floating around, which greatly deters from the taste of the intended red sauce.