Chicken Canzanese

This is another winner from Epicurious.com. It’s delicious beyond words and as easy a dinner as it gets – though you need close to 2 hours to get it ready. The recipe is pretty similar to a couple of others in my repertoire, but this one took less work. It apparently originates in the Abruzzo region of Italy, though clearly there are variations of the same dish in other regions.

I adapted the recipe from the original substituting bacon for the prosciutto. Use less bacon, turkey bacon or ham to make it healthier. I also made a mistake and added additional whole garlic cloves rather than the cloves it asked for. I’m glad I did, as I don’t think cloves would have added much to the dish, while garlic certainly did.

Making it a day in advance pays, the leftovers were to die for.

Ingredients

1/4 cup Kosher or coarse salt
4 to 5 lbs chicken pieces
1 large garlic clove, sliced lengthwise
9 whole garlic cloves, peeled
3 sage leaves, whole
3 bay leaves
3 sprigs rosemary, whole
1 dried red pepper, seeded
18 peppercorns, crushed
6 oz meaty bacon, chopped
3/4 cup white wine
water

Instructions

Dissolve kosher salt in 1 cup of warm water in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and cover with cold water. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for one hour.

Remove chicken pieces from the brine and pat try. Place a wide saute pan or similar on the stove over medium heat. Put the chicken pieces, all in one layer. Top with the garlic, sage, rosemary springs, red pepper and peppercorns. Sprinkle bacon uniformly on the chicken. Add white wine.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to very low and simmer until the chicken is done, about 35 minutes for white meat and 45 minutes for dark. Add water to the pot if the liquid starts drying out.

Remove chicken pieces and bacon onto a bowl and cover to keep warm. Using a slotted spoon, remove and discard the sage and bay leaves, the rosemary sprigs and the garlic. Bring sauce to a quick boil and reduce to a syrupy consistency. Serve.

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Chicken Canzanese