Red Wine Braised Chicken Quarters

Lately chicken is a major player on my menu, mostly for nutritional reasons. However, there are about 20+ different cuts of beef, but, there’s only a fraction of that with chicken. What does this mean? Well, chicken dishes need a little more creativity to prevent boredom. Well, this one isn’t boring, it’s really good, read on for my red wine braised chicken quarters.

Let’s start with the star of the dish, no, it’s not the chicken, it’s the wine. We have been cooking with wine forever, it’s a flavor enhancer and a meat tenderizer, and, brings it’s own flavor punch to the dish. And, for an explanation, we have to go to science. Some flavors are water soluble and some are oil soluble. The alcohol in wine attaches to both, retaining them in the dish. The alcohol in the wine also breaks down the proteins in the meat, which tenderizes it.

But, that brings up the question, what about the alcohol, where does it go? Well, that’s a little more complicated. It depends on what you start with, how you’re cooking, and, how long you’re cooking. Alcohol boils, and therefore, evaporates at a lower temp than water, 175 degrees versus 212 degrees. For this recipe, about 1/2 hr. simmer, approximately 35% of the original alcohol will remain. Now you know.

There’s also the question of which wine to use. Starting with the color, my rule of thumb is, dark meat gets a dark wine and light meat gets a light wine. Chicken breast gets a white wine, like my chicken scampi. Dark meat, like these chicken quarters get a red wine. As to what type of wine, well, I cook with what I drink, I always have a bottle of merlot on hand, so, for this recipe, that’s what I’ll use. I don’t believe in having special bottles for cooking and drinking, just use what you have in the kitchen.

Now on to the protein, the chicken. There appear to be two groups of people when it comes to this: light or dark meat. And, it’s an interesting one, because, apart from the color of the meat, there is a difference. Light meat is slightly higher in protein, lower in fat and cholesterol. Whereas, dark meat has more vitamin C, iron and zinc. The best approach is to include the entire chicken in a balanced healthy diet. My personal preference is the darker meat, I find it flavorful, and, generally braises better than light meat that can turn dry. Plus, as the post title indicates, I’m using dart meat for this one. A couple of quarters, skin removed because most chicken fat is in the skin.

The dish has more than just chicken and wine. It starts with onions and garlic, it’s the flavor base, a mirepoix. That will be sautéed with the chicken. To that, I will add, peppers, sliced mushrooms, and, a can of diced tomatoes. I use a canned tomatoes because the texture works with this dish, they’re peeled and already cooked, which makes them soft. And, the spices, I’ll stick to classic for this. I consider it to be essentially an Italian dish. Oregano, parsley, basil, garlic powder, coarse ground pepper and, a little salt. To save a little room in the closet, You can just buy a jar of Italian seasoning. You can also add some heat if you like with pepper flakes.

Now on to the how. Normally I would say to preheat a pan, add olive oil, when hot add onions and garlic…… Well, this will go a little different. One of the things I want to do is get a little sear on the chicken before I add the tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms. This much heat over that amount of time will turn the onions and garlic to burnt, black bits in the bottom of the pan. This time I will add the chicken first, then the onions and garlic.

Preheat the pan, over medium high heat, add the oil, when hot add the chicken. Give it a couple of minutes, flip over, then add the onions and garlic, let everything get a little color. The sear on the chicken adds flavor to the dish, it’s called the Maillard reaction. Now, deglaze with the wine. And allow the wine to come to a boil, and add the rest of the ingredients

Sliced mushrooms, diced pepper and the can of diced tomatoes. Because I’ve added a liquid, I drain the tomatoes, otherwise we end up with a soup. Add the spices and mix everything around. Allow to come to a boil, lower to simmer, cover and walk away for 30 mins.

That’s it, red wine braised chicken quarters, come back after 30 mins, and, you have a delicious dinner, ready to serve with the side of your choice. Enjoy dinner and thank you for reading