Chicken Braised in Wine Sauce

Cooking with wine is such an easy way to elevate a dish. When red wine is added, it will give an earthy note. Beef stew is a classic example. And when white is wine is added, it lightens the dish. And I love shrimp scampi. This post is about chicken braised in wine sauce. A chicken cutlet simmered in a sauce of wine, sautéed onions and garlic. It’s delicious and easy.

Cooking with wine is nothing new, we’ve been doing it since we’ve been producing wine. It serves two purposes, tenderizes the meat and imparts flavor to the dish. There’s some chemistry here. Firstly, the acid in the wine breaks down the proteins in the meat, tenderizing it. Secondly, wine bonds with both oil, and water soluble flavors, therefore holding them in the dish. So in that regard, it’s not just a flavor enhancer, but, it also prevents some flavors from dissolving. That does bring up the point of what type of wine to use, there are so many. Well, I’m a big wine drinker, I’m a firm believer in a glass of red wine with dinner, and I always have a bottle of white on hand. So, I just use the wine I would normally drink. I already like the flavor, so I add it to the dish.

Now, what about the alcohol? That is an interesting question, some say the alcohol dissipates pretty quickly. Well, that isn’t exactly the case. There is some science, however, and there’s a lot of factors involved. How big is the pot, how hot is it cooking at, are some. But, for this particular recipe, braising a chicken cutlet in a frying pan. After about 30 minutes, approximately half the alcohol will have dissipated, then about 10% more for each half hour. It will take a few hours to completely dissipate. In conclusion, about half the alcohol will be gone by the time this dish is served. It’s your decision how to use this information. Now on to the prep.

The base for this particular recipe is finely diced onion and garlic. Finely diced is the key here. As the wine, chicken, onion and garlic cook, a creamy sauce will develop. Sauté the onions and garlic in a pan with olive oil, over medium heat till soft. The idea is to soften not caramelize, adjust the heat and keep covered when not stirring. Now add the wine, salt and pepper, raise the heat to bring the wine to a boil, and put the chicken cutlet in the pan. Cover, lower the heat back to medium and let cook about 5-7 mins. Now flip the chicken and cook another 5-7 mins. remove the lid, raise the heat a little to reduce the wine, and the sauce will develop, as the wine evaporates. Once the sauce is at the desired thickness, dinner is ready.

While the chicken braised in wine sauce was cooking, also cook your pasta. Drain the pasta and dress with olive oil and coarse ground pepper. Serve the chicken on top and garnish with some fresh grated parmesan. Enjoy the meal, and thank you for reading.