On The Hunt For Chicken

It’s official: I think I’ve done more cooking at home during this quarantine than all my adult life combined. Not that it’s a hardship or anything, I’m actually enjoying this particular part of the lockdown lifestyle. As you may have guessed, when I’m not at work I’m kind of a lazy home cook. That translates into a lot of one-pot or pan meals. But less dishes also tends to mean heartier, more flavourful food, so it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

The dish I made last night and want to tell you about today is a perfect example of such. It’s the poster child for simple, at-home approachable cooking. It uses my favorite part of the chicken: the thigh. You won’t find a better representative of the chicken-in-a-bazket style of lazy home cooking than this guy. Somewhere between a soup and a stew, it’s Hunter’s Chicken.

You’ve heard of this dish before. Maybe you know it as Chicken Chasseur, from the French school of cookery. Or perhaps you’d recognize it as Chicken Cacciatore, from Italy. Both translate to Hunter’s Chicken, and both preparations are rather similar. The French style often includes mushrooms and tarragon, white wine and brandy, and tends to flour the meat before searing. While the Italian style often includes bell peppers, a heavier dose of garlic and red wine rather than white. What ties both of these preparations together are a common usage of lots of onion, tomato, rosemary and bay leaf.

My way is kind of a bridge between these two cultures. While I don’t flour the meat, I will often add a bit of flour to the onions if a lot of extra fat has rendered from the thighs. I use both mushrooms AND bell peppers. I like to amp up the garlic and add some heat with chili flakes. I also recommend using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. They’re a bit more work in this preparation, but the benefits are undeniable.

This is a great dish for a rainy afternoon or evening. It’s soul food, it’ll stick with you. If you find it needs a bit more heft, you can always cook some pasta to ladle it over like a sauce, or cook some potatoes in it for more body. But I like it just the way it is. It’s an old warhorse of a dish, barely seen on menus anywhere these days, so I’m pleased to share my recipe with you in the hopes of keeping this old dish kicking.

Hunter’s Chicken

Ingredients:

• 6-8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, patted dry on paper towels
• Canola oil, as needed
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 TBSP all-purpose flour (if needed)
• 3-4 yellow onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 TBSP chili flakes
• 2 bay leaves, fresh if possible
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, washed and roughly chopped
• 1/2lb. (227g) button or cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 3-4 red, orange or yellow (or a mix) bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed, roughly chopped
• 3-4 sprigs thyme, leaves only
• 1-2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only, roughly chopped
• 250mL dry white wine
• 1 TBSP tomato paste
• Chicken stock, as needed
• 1 796mL can peeled Roma tomatoes and their liquid
• 5-6 sprigs tarragon, leaves only roughly chopped (optional garnish)
• Good quality extra-virgin olive oil, as needed (optional garnish)

Method:

1. Season the chicken thighs all over liberally with kosher salt and black pepper. Heat a film of canola oil over high heat in a heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Sear the chicken, in batches if necessary, to avoid crowding and steaming, until nicely browned, about 4 minutes per side. Keep an eye on the heat, lowering it if the chicken starts to burn. Remove the thighs from the pot when browned and set aside on a plate.
2. Add the onions to the pot, season with a heavy pinch of kosher salt and turn the heat down to medium-low. If the thighs have rendered a lot of fat or if you just like the gluten, add the flour, stirring it into the onions until a sort of roux has formed. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the onions cook slowly for about 7-8 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, chili flakes, bay leaves, carrot and celery, stirring to combine and let cook until the vegetables have begun to soften, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms, bell peppers, rosemary and thyme, stirring to combine. Let cook for 4-5 minutes.
5. Deglaze the pot with the wine and tomato paste, being sure to once again scrape up all the browned goodness from the bottom, especially if you used the flour. Allow the wine to come to a simmer.
6. Add enough chicken stock to just cover the vegetables, and allow to come to a simmer.
7. Return the chicken thighs to the pot, add the tomatoes and their liquid, stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot, and cook at a gentle simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes or so, ensuring the bottom hasn’t begun to scorch.
8. After an hour, remove the chicken thighs from the pot into a wide bowl or onto a plate. The skin and bones should separate easily from the meat. The bones will have imparted great flavour and the chicken skins will have given up gelatin, adding to the richness of the stew. But as they are now spent, discard the skins and bones and return the meat to the pot, cooking gently for another 30 minutes uncovered, stirring every 5-10 minutes. If the sauce doesn’t seem thick enough, raise the heat slightly to reduce the sauce, but don’t walk away from it like I did and have to save it at the last second – again.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning with more kosher salt and black pepper, if needed. Ladle into bowls and top with chopped tarragon and a drizzle of olive oil, if using.

This is yet another one of those recipes that’s good right out of the pot, but even better after a day or two in the fridge. It’s a classic for a reason, so give it a try and see that there’s still some life in the old hunter yet.