Cozy and comforting Chicken Cacciatore or Hunter’s Stew! One pot, onions, wine and braised chicken is the perfect meal on a cold winters day.
Usually I’m all about the easy recipes, nothing to high maintenance or fussy. Not that this Chicken Cacciatore recipe is necessarily either of the two, but it does take some time management; for example, starting the day before on the marinade. Remembering to start it could pose a problem if you are like me an oh-so-forgetful sometimes… okay ALL of the time! But then again… you could start the marinade in the morning and give it 3-4 hours; I suppose that would work too!
I adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver. And all of his recipes are just simply delish!
To Make this Chicken Cacciatore Marinade You Will Need:
- bone in and skin on chicken
- fresh rosemary and bay leaf
- garlic
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- wine
All of my favorite food groups!
In the original recipe it calls for cutting up a whole chicken. Well luckily my grocery store carries “pick-of-the-chick” which is two drumsticks, two thighs and two breasts with the ribs and all, just no wings. And it takes all of the work out of having to break down a chicken myself… which is totally okay with me. If you can’t find “pic-of-the-chick” at your store you could do all thighs, or breasts.
But make sure whatever you use has the bone in and the skin on; all of that is Flavor!
Be generous and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
I then toss all of the chicken in a re-sealable gallon sized plastic bag. There is two reasons why I love to marinate in a plastic bag. Numero uno: Everything fits nice and snug and you can coat all the pieces well and mix it around. Numero dos: You can rinse it out and recycle it or toss it in the trash, whichever is your shtick. But the fact that there is zero dishes afterwards kinda rocks!
You are gonna need two sprigs of rosemary. Leave them whole, I know it is tempting to peel those leaves back off the branch, but trust me, do not.
Then you will need 8-9 fresh bay leaves. I did pick them off of the branch before going in the marinade, they’re so pretty before they are dried, aren’t they?
And I also wiped them down with a damp cloth… they were a tad dirty.
Smash a clove of garlic and remove the tough paper layer.
Toss all three into the bag along with the chicken.
Next grab a bottle of Chianti red wine.
Does it have to be Chianti? I dunno… that’s what I always use… because Jamie Oliver says to. And he is the professional, right?
So I was admiring the bottle of wine. It’s a very sharp bottle of wine (OH-EM-G! I’m officially my mother because I used the word sharp when referring to something clearly not sharp, oh lord). What I liked about this sharp bottle of wine is the cool pink and blue paper covering the foil wrapper that I should’ve removed.
I’m no inexperienced wine opener, however the cork just decided to break in half. So now I’m like… great.
Instead of crying I just MacGyver’d it with my $2.99 cork screw and got the cork out without any floaters in the bottle!
I bet there are some of you who are to young too remember MacGyver. Sad really. It was a tie between him and the HULK… they were my crushes, okay so them and Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB.
Pour in half of the bottle of wine. Now listen closely… if you aren’t a wine lover, try cutting the wine in half and use water or chicken stock. You will end up using the marinade in the sauce so keep in mind this dish will taste like wine.
MMMmmm wine. It was all I could do to not pour myself a glass at 1:00 in the afternoon, it smelled dee-licious!
Wait until you see what a good soaking in wine does to a chicken!!
I double bagged this and stuck into a large baking dish just to be on the safe side. Refrigerated it over night.
Chicken Cacciatore (part 1)
Ingredients
- 4 to 4½ pounds chicken, breasts, thighs and drumsticks; bone-in and skin on
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 8 bay leaves
- 1/2 bottle of chianti red wine
Instructions
- Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place them into a re-sealable plastic bag.
- Add the fresh bay leaves, rosemary sprigs, crushed garlic and cover with the wine.
- Seal and refrigerate for at least 2-4 hours or overnight.
Notes
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So far this cacciatore is sounding amazing!! Wine, herbs, garlic, really whats not to love? And I have to 2nd your Donnie from NKOTB, he was HOT! 🙂
Gorgeous post! Yes, I have a tendency to want to strip those rosemary sprigs so glad you stopped us. Bummer about the cork. Hate when that happens. Beautiful looking chicken. That Cacciatore just sounds awesome.
You make this look so easy. I just might have to give this a try! I am your newest follower!
xo
I'm so excited to see the next steps in this Chicken Cacciatore! The marinade looks so good, I can just imagine all the wonderful smells of garlic, rosemary, bay leaf and wine in your kitchen when you were preparing this!
Ok first of all your photography is AMAZING!!!! Can't wait for the rest of the recipe! looks like it is going to be yummy!
I remember having a NKOTB nightgown! Haha! Even your chicken marinating looks beautiful! I can only imagine how wonderful that marinade must have smelt. I love using wine to cook with. Looking forward to the next steps!
mmmm, cannot wait for the rest of this recipe! chianti is my absolute favorite wine… i don't think i would have been able to resist drinking the remainder of the bottle!
I just came across your blog and I have to admit, I am so excited. I have my own website that deals with nutrition and exercise and I will definitely be adding this one to my website list of recommended links. I think too many people have gotten away from eating simply and in turn they are exposing their bodies to so many chemicals. Thanks again for all your work and for providing a great
Just came across your recipe here. Looked so much better than anything else I have seen out there…. so, I have the chicken in the fridge right now, getting happy with the wine.
Looking forward to step 2 later today.
Thanks!