Chicken Cacciatore
Chapter 4 — Chicken / Veal / Eggplant Parm + Mains
If you go to the hills of Tuscany, chicken cacciatore is a delicate, restrained affair—a splash of white wine, a sprig of rosemary, maybe a lean game bird. It's a beautiful thing, but it is entirely not what we are doing here. When our great-grandparents arrived in New York and Boston, they looked at the unprecedented abundance of American markets and decided restraint was overrated. They added massive handfuls of earthy mushrooms, sweet bell peppers, and gallons of thick, rich tomato sauce. This is the unapologetic, heavy-hitting hunter's stew perfected in the red-sauce joints of America. It is meant to drown a pound of rigatoni, feed a neighborhood, and simmer all Sunday morning. Pour a glass of Chianti, put a record on, and let the Dutch oven do the work.
Ingredients
- bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks4 lb
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil3 tbsp
- yellow onion1 large
- red bell pepper1 large
- green bell pepper1 large
- cremini mushrooms1 lb
- garlic cloves6 large
- oil-packed anchovy fillets3 med
- tomato paste3 tbsp
- dry red wine3/4 cup
- crushed tomatoes28 oz
- chicken stock1/2 cup
- fresh rosemary sprigs2 med
- dried oregano1 tsp
- crushed red pepper flakes1/2 tsp
- kalamata or green olives1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Sear the chicken skin-side down until deep golden brown and the fat is fully rendered.
Season the dried chicken generously with the kosher salt and black pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in two batches so you do not crowd the pan, lay the chicken skin-side down and leave it completely undisturbed for 6 to 8 minutes. Flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes. Remove the chicken to a sheet pan and set it aside, leaving all the glorious rendered fat in the pot.
- 02
Melt the anchovies into the hot chicken fat.
Lower the heat to medium. Toss the smashed garlic and the anchovy fillets into the pot, stirring constantly for about a minute. The anchovies will dissolve completely into the oil, providing a deeply savory, umami backbone native to the dish's Roman roots.
- 03
Sauté the vegetables until softened and the mushrooms have released their liquid.
Add the sliced onions, red and green bell peppers, and mushrooms to the pot along with a pinch of salt. Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits of chicken stuck to the bottom, until the vegetables begin to collapse.
- 04
Caramelize the tomato paste and deglaze the pot with the red wine.
Push the vegetables to the perimeter of the pot and drop the tomato paste directly into the center. Let the paste cook on the bare heat for 2 to 3 minutes until it deepens to a dark, rusty brick red. Stir it into the vegetables with the oregano and red pepper flakes, then pour in the wine. It will violently bubble and steam; let it reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
- 05
Build the braising liquid and return the chicken to the pot.
Pour in the crushed tomatoes and chicken stock, drop in the fresh rosemary sprigs, and stir everything to combine. Bring the sauce to a lively simmer. Nestle the browned chicken pieces back into the pot, skin-side up, along with any juices that pooled on the sheet pan. The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the chicken, leaving the crispy skin exposed.
- 06
Cover tightly and let it braise for 45 minutes.
Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the Dutch oven, and let the stew simmer gently. This long, moist heat breaks down the tough connective tissues in the dark meat, rendering it fall-off-the-bone tender.
- 07
Uncover the pot, add the olives, and reduce the sauce for another 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove the lid, scatter in the olives, and keep simmering uncovered. This stage is critical: it concentrates the flavor and reduces the liquid into the thick, clinging tomato gravy that defines the red-sauce joint aesthetic. Discard the bare rosemary stems, skim any excess fat from the surface, and serve straight from the bubbling Dutch oven.
Notes
Give the schedule honestly.
While this is not the mandatory four-hour commitment of a full Sunday gravy with pork bones and meatballs, it requires time. Expect about 30 minutes of active prep and searing, followed by an hour and fifteen minutes of unattended braising. Total time from fridge to table is roughly two hours. Do not rush the uncovered reduction phase; a watery sauce is unacceptable.
Serve with proper garlic bread.
Garlic bread is always wrapped in foil, never toasted open. Wrap the loaf tightly before putting it in the oven so the steam softens the bread, the butter melts directly into the crumb, and the garlic perfumes everything. Use it to sop up the dark, chicken-fat-enriched tomato gravy left in your bowl.
From Cook Red Sauce at Home.