365 More Ways to Cook Chicken (365 ways) (24 page)

Prep: 30 minutes Cook: 58 minutes Serves: 6

• ½ pound Italian sausage, cut into 6 pieces
  

• ¾ cup dry red wine or water
  

• 1 chicken (about 3 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
  

• ½ teaspoon salt
  

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  

• 3 large garlic cloves, crushed through a press
  

• 2 small yellow crookneck squash (about ½ pound total), cut into ½-inch slices
  

• small eggplant (about ¾ pound), cut into ¾-inch cubes
  

• green bell pepper, sliced
  

• ¾ pound plum tomatoes, cut into wedges
  

• 2 teaspoons drained small capers
  

• ¼cup chopped fresh basil
  

1.
In a large Dutch oven, bring sausage and wine just to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover pan, and simmer 5 minutes. Uncover and cook over medium heat, turning sausage frequently, until wine is evaporated and sausage is browned, about 5 minutes longer. Remove sausage from pan.

2.
Season chicken with half of salt and pepper. Add olive oil to pan and cook chicken over medium-high heat, turning once or twice, until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate as it browns.

3.
Add onion and garlic to pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Return chicken and sausage to pan. Add squash and eggplant. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in capers and basil and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Season with remaining salt and pepper and serve.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 25 minutes Serves: 6

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1½-inch chunks
  

• ¼ teaspoon salt
  

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  

• ¼ cup olive oil
  

• 2 medium leeks (white and tender green), thinly sliced
  

• 1 small fennel bulb, chopped
  

• 1 small green bell pepper,
  

• garlic cloves, crushed through a press
  

• teaspoon grated orange zest
  

• teaspoon dried thyme
  

• (14½-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
  

• cup dry white wine
  

• cup bottled clam juice
  

• dozen small mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  

1.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once or twice, until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

2.
Add leeks, fennel, bell pepper, and garlic to pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, until leeks are tender, about 5 minutes. Add orange zest, thyme, stewed tomatoes, wine, clam juice, and chicken. Simmer, partially covered, 10 minutes.

3.
Add mussels and cook, covered, until mussels open, about 5 minutes.

Prep: 20 minutes Marinate: 8 to 12 hours Cook: 58 minutes Serves: 4 to 6

This is adapted from a recipe developed in the Perdue test kitchens—a wonderful variation on a classic German pot roast. Drumsticks, arguably the most flavorful of all chicken cuts, are the top choice here.

• ½ cup white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
  

• 3 medium onions, sliced
  

• ½ teaspoon salt
  

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  

• 2½ pounds chicken drumsticks, skin removed
  

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  

• 2 cups beef broth
  

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  

• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
  

• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  

• 1 (2-inch) strip lemon peel
  

• 6 gingersnaps, crumbled (about ½ cup)
  

1.
In a shallow dish, combine vinegar, onions, salt, pepper, and ½ cup water. Add chicken and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry. Reserve marinade. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, turning to brown all over, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken from pan.

3.
Add reserved marinade to pan along with broth, tomato paste, lemon juice, Worcestershire, brown sugar, lemon peel, and gingersnaps. Bring to a simmer and return chicken to pan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender, about 50 minutes.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 29 minutes Serves: 4

A good roux made by cooking flour in oil until nut-brown is the secret of a good gumbo. Since the clam juice is salty, you probably won’t need any added salt.

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  

• 3 tablespoons flour
  

• 1 cup chopped scallions
  

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  

• 1 celery rib with leaves, chopped
  

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press
  

• ½ pound fresh okra, trimmed and sliced, or 1 (10-ounce) package frozen sliced okra
  

• 2 cups chicken broth
  

• 1 cup bottled clam juice
  

• 1 (16-ounce) can tomatoes in juice
  

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  

• ½ teaspoon cayenne
  

• ¾ pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
  

• ¾ pound peeled and deveined shrimp
  

• ¼ to ½ teaspoon Tabasco, or to taste
  

• 2 cups cooked white rice
  

1.
Heat oil in a heavy 3- or 4-quart saucepan. Add flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until rich brown and nutty in fragrance, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

2.
Immediately and carefully—oil may splatter—stir in scallions, green pepper, celery, garlic, and okra. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, clam juice, tomatoes with their juice, thyme, cayenne, and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer, stirring and breaking up tomatoes. Add chicken and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.
Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes. Season with Tabasco to taste.

4.
To serve, mound rice in shallow bowls. Ladle gumbo over and around rice.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 54 to 56 minutes Serves: 4 to 6

• ¼ cup flour
  

• ½ teaspoon salt
  

• ½
  teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  

• 1½ teaspoons dried thyme
  

• 3 pounds chicken thighs
  

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  

• 1 (14½-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
  

• ½ cup chicken broth
  

• 1 cup frozen baby lima beans
  

• 1 cup frozen sliced okra
  

• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
  

• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  

• 1 teaspoon Tabasco or otherhot sauce
  

1.
Combine flour, salt, pepper, and half of thyme in a plastic bag. Add chicken a few pieces at a time and shake to coat lightly with flour. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken in 2 batches and cook, turning once or twice, until browned, about 8 minutes per batch. Remove from pan.

2.
Add onion, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to pan and add tomatoes and broth. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

3.
Add lima beans and okra. Simmer, partially covered, 10 minutes. Add corn and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire and Tabasco and serve.

Prep: 15 minutes Stand: 20 minutes Cook: 39 to 41 minutes Serves: 4

Leeks, morels, green peas, and asparagus are all culinary signs of spring. If you can’t get morels, use any flavorful wild mushroom, such as shiitakes or porcini.

• 1 ounce dried morels or 4 ounces fresh morels
  

• 4 chicken breast halves, skin removed
  

• ¼ teaspoon salt
  

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  

• 2 tablespoons butter
  

• 2 medium leeks (white and pale green), thinly sliced
  

• ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
  

• ¾ cup dry white wine
  

• ⅔ cup chicken broth
  

• ¾ cup heavy cream
  

• ½ cup small frozen peas
  

• ¼ pound slender asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1½-inch pieces
  

• ¼ cup chopped chervil or flat-leaf parsley
  

1.
Soak dried morels in boiling water to cover for 20 minutes; drain. Rinse and dry fresh morels. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once or twice, until pale golden, about 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan.