Chicken Cacciatore has the exactly the kind of homey vibe that people are talking about when they say “made with love.” It’s down-to-earth food, perfected. The flavors taste like they’ve simmered all day under nonstop attention, but actually this dish comes together quicker than you’d think, and most of the work requires minimal focus. Super-high bang for your buck.
Requires patience, but not a ton of expertise.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1/2 oz.) dried (porcini) mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 whole chicken, separated into pieces
Salt and pepper
All-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into ¼-inch, crosswise slices
1 small carrot, minced
3 ribs celery, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz.) plum tomatoes, broken down by hand
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1½ cups (6 oz.) sliced white or shitake mushrooms
2 bell peppers, one red and one yellow, seeded and cut into ½-inch strips, optional
Bread, pasta, or rice for serving, optional
Directions
- Place the dried mushrooms into a bowl. Pour the wine into a small saucepan over a medium flame (setting 4 of 9), and heat just until it barely begins to simmer, 1½ minutes. Off heat, pour the wine over the mushrooms. Stir. Set aside and proceed with next steps.
- Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper. Dredge the pieces in flour, coating them lightly and tapping off excess. In a casserole pot over a medium flame, heat the vegetable oil with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until a piece of chicken dipped in the oil gives off a very lively sizzle. Add as many pieces of chicken to the pan as will fit without touching. Do not crowd chicken; if skillet is not wide enough to fit all of the chicken, brown it in batches. Remove the chicken from the skillet as it browns (4 minutes per side, adjusting heat as necessary as you go), adding some of the remaining pieces of chicken to take their place. Remove all chicken from the skillet. (Use culinary torch to lightly char the skin, especially any parts that may not have browned.)
- Lay one of the onion slices flat on the cutting board. Imagine that it is a clock. Make a slice from the 6 PM mark right into the center point of the clock, where the hands would be attached. Repeat for all onion slices. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic to the fat remaining in the casserole and cook, stirring, 5 minutes.
- Strain the wine from the mushrooms. Pour the wine into the casserole pan, raise the heat to bring it to a boil, and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, and pepper flakes, season lightly with salt and pepper; stir and bring to a boil. Tuck the chicken into the sauce, adjust the heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook, stirring a few times, making sure it’s simmering rather than boiling, and that the chicken is for the most part submerged (adding water if needed), 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over a medium flame. Brown the mushrooms, 3 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other. Do not crowd them; brown them in batches instead, adding oil between batches as needed. Season with salt. Add to the chicken.
- (Add peppers to the hot pan that you just used for the mushrooms. Turn the heat up a notch, toss until the peppers are wilted but still quite crunchy, 7-8 minutes. Season with salt. Add to the chicken.)
- Thinly slice the dried mushrooms and add them to the chicken.
- Cook the chicken mixture, covered, until the chicken is done (165°F for the white, 175°F for the dark), vegetables are tender, and the sauce is thick, 10 to 15 minutes. If the chicken is done before the veg, remove it and continue cooking. (Serve with bread, pasta, or rice.)
Notes
- Chickens may be cut into any number of pieces, but eight is common: two breast halves, two thighs, two legs, and two wings. Depending on the size of the chicken, this may serve any number of people. In the good old days, one breast half was a single serving. Nowadays, it might easily serve two. So, you’ll have to use your imagination a bit to think about how much chicken your eaters are going to want. You’ll also need to consider whether or not you’re including sides.
- If your breast halves are going to be too large for one person, you could debone them (before or after cooking) and slice them them up (after cooking). In that case, be careful about the cooking time, because a boneless breast will cook much quicker than what I’ve described.
- Mince the carrots, celery, and garlic together in a food processor. Super easy and worth it.
- The peppers will not merely make the sauce more substantial, they will also make it sweeter. You may prefer a less-chunky, less-sweet sauce.
- Frying the chicken should make it a deep, golden color – not a dark brown.
The Backstory
I recently had Chicken Cacciatore for the first time. Yeah, I know. I can’t believe it, either. I go to plenty of Italian restaurants, but not the sort that serve cacciatore, I guess. Anyway, it was fabulous. I determined right then and there that I was going to make it.
I had it at the Erie Café. They served me half a bone-in chicken on a platter, swimming in a luscious, loaded sauce. The chicken had been broiled before braising, and the mushrooms had been browned before being added to the stew. They served it with half a loaf of bread and a glass of wine. Outdoors on an elegant, raised, tree-lined terrace overlooking the north branch of the Chicago River. Nice.
Social Learning
This reheats well. You might want to consider stripping the meat from the bone, tossing the meat in with the sauce, and storing the leftovers that way.
On the one hand, this seems like too much work for a weeknight, but on the other hand, it seems like too little work to be necessarily considered a weekender. Working from home? Now we’re talking!
Chicken Cacciatore
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. Thanks, Prosper Circle. References: Lidia, NYT, The Spruce Eats.
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Wow — this does sound fabulous, Jeff! Me being me, I might just make it with 6-8 chicken thighs (which, like the breasts, have grown unnaturally in size). Sounds like perfect November fare… I’d much rather have this than turkey for Thanksgiving!
Oh, this’d be fantastic with thighs! I have a feeling that you would be the right person to fancy this up enough for a Thanksgiving Day feast.
Tender, flavourful and so tasty…this looks right up my alley!
angiesrecipes recently posted…Vitello Tonnato
Thanks, Angie!
Chicken cacciatore is a great dish. My mother made it pretty often for my family when I was growing up (this was a long time ago). I don’t know what her recipe was, but it differed from yours to some extent. Hers was good and I’m certain that yours is good too!
I’m not at all surprised that hers might’ve been different. I get the impression that this is one of those meatloaf-like dishes, in that everyone’s mom made it differently, and everyone loves their mom’s.
Ottimo il pollo così cucinato, molto appetitoso!!!!
speedy70 recently posted…MEDAGLIONI di SALSICCIA e SPINACI
Thank you so much!
This does indeed sound like the perfect recipe for working from home! This is the kind of comfort food I need on these chilly fall days – and I bet your kitchen smelled amazing while this was simmering away. I’ll be over for leftovers tonight!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Thanks, David! I do love the way that fall kind of ushers in the notion of comfort foods like this! And of course, you’re welcome to come over for leftovers any time!
Hearty, and warming. I love it. I have never soaked dried mushrooms in anything but broth or water. What you did is brilliant!!!
mimi rippee recently posted…Baked Ratatouille
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I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name Chicken Cacciatore, but of course I’m quite familiar with the flavour combination. So delicious and hearty; I particularly love the addition of porcini mushrooms.
Thanks, Ben! I’m nearly in the same boat as you. I’d heard of it, but I’d never seen it, and had no idea what it was.
Looks delicious!
Thank you!
Chicken Cacciatore is such a great dish! And one I haven’t seen on a restaurant menu for a while. I make this every couple of years or so — such a nice dish. Next time I’ll use your recipe — it’s a good one. Thanks!
John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…Asian-Style Shrimp and Grits
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This looks wonderful Jeff !!
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We always buy our meat and chicken/turkey from our butchers. Generally butchers in here cut chicken into 8 or 9 good pieces for us. I didn’t know that information before. Yes you are correct 8 pieces are fine. As i said before chicken base dishes and fish base dishes are my favourite. Recipe looks good with the rich ingredients.
Thank you!
Jeff, I haven’t had chicken cacciatore in years, but now you’ve got me in the mood to have a big plate, perhaps served on soft polenta.
I love the dried porcini addition as I’m sure that adds an earthly layer of flavor. We’re still getting fresh Karljohanssvamp (Swedish porcini) at the market so I give this a try with some of those. Thanks for the inspiration…
I wish we could enjoy a plateful together, Ron!
I’m in the mood for old-school simmered “love”! It must be the weather. GREG
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Ooh now this looks divine! I like your idea of ripping the meat off the bone and storing it that way. The meat would soak up more of the juices in the fridge and I bet it’s one of those dishes that are better the next day.
Theresa recently posted…Vegetarian Lasagna
Yes, exactly!
This is a delicious classic Jeff! Great recipe!
Thanks so much!