Fra’s Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter's Wife's Chicken - ish)
Dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, lactose free, nut free, peanut free, soy free, keto, low carb.
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: about 60 min
Total time: about 1 h and 10 min
Servings: 3 people
Several years ago, an Italian friend cooked for me hunter's wife's chicken (aka chicken cacciatora). That was another delicious Italian dish that I hadn’t had in a while. At that point, I wasn’t eating Italian food in the US that much. I was not I using social networks to browse recipes and my general rule with Italian restaurants in Chicago has always been not to order outside what I could cook myself. In fact, the flavors are good but generally different than the traditional ones I grew up with (emphasis on ‘generally’, because of course there are exceptions). Basically, going out to eat Italian food meant going to Spaccanapoli for pizza (which I highly recommend), to then go get gelato at Paciugo, which sadly closed in Chicago 😔.
I started making hunter's wife's chicken at home, trying a variety of recipes and often improvising. This was the first dish I prepared for Andy ❤️. I made it for friends and coworkers, and I regularly make it for the family (my stepson loves it). My friends started calling it “Fra’s chicken” and I decided to stick to it:)
If you’d like to give it additional flavor, you can use this recipe for meat spices. If instead you find yourself visiting the small town of Casina (in the Reggio Emilia region), you should go to the store Bonini and get their meat spices. Those are my all time favorite.
This dish has a rich flavor and I often pair it with something simple like potatoes, brown rice, or sautéed riced cauliflower. For more ideas click on Recipes in English in the navigation bar and select Breads and Sides in the filter by course.
Ingredients
Skinless chicken thighs (with or without bone), 6 (500 g, about 1 lb)
Olive oil, 25 g (2 tbsp)
White onion, ½ (140 g, 5 oz)
Celery stalk, 3 (125 g, 4.4 oz)
Carrot, 1 big (120 g, 4.3 oz)
Tomato, 2 medium (320 g, 11 oz)
Dry white or red wine, 250 g (1 cup)
These meat spices or rosemary, 1 or 2 sprigs
Tools you might be missing:
Large non-stick frying pan. The one I use is 12 inches in diameter.
Instructions
1. If you’re using the meat spices, place the chicken thighs on a sheet of aluminum foil and sprinkle them on both sides.
2. Wash, clean, and chop the onion, tomatoes, celery and carrot. Feel free to combine celery and carrots, since they’ll be added to the frying pan at the same time.
3. Heat up the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and sear on both sides, 3 minutes per side.
4. Lower the heat to medium/low, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Move chicken and onions around a few times, to help the onions cook uniformly.
5. Add the carrots and celery, and cook for another 5 minutes. Move chicken and veggies around a few times, mixing the flavors together.
6. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes.
7. Decrease the heat to low, add the tomatoes and the rosemary (if you’re not using other meat spices), cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
8. Flip the chicken, cover and cook for another 20 minutes. The chicken is cooked when it breaks apart easily with a fork.
9. At this point the chicken will be ready. If you’d like less juice in the pan, cook uncovered for another 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until the juice has reduced to your liking.
10. Adjust the salt, serve and enjoy.
Cooked in red wine
Cooked in white wine
Cooked in white wine
Cooked in white wine
Cooked in red wine
Cooked in red wine
Storing and Reheating
This dish will last in the fridge for 2-3 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze it and defrost it overnight in the fridge.
You can heat it up in the microwave or in a pan on the stove over low heat.
Notes
If you’d like to give it additional flavor, you can use this recipe for meat spices. If instead you find yourself visiting the small town of Casina (in the Reggio Emilia region), you should go to the store Bonini and get their meat spices. Those are my all time favorite.
This dish has a rich flavor and I often pair it with something simple like potatoes, brown rice, or sautéed riced cauliflower. For more ideas click on Recipes in English in the navigation bar and select Breads and Sides in the filter by course.
Nutritional Information
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database via myFitnessPal. Here we assume skinless thighs and cabernet-type red wine. This information is meant as a guideline only and should not be construed as a guarantee.
Serving size: 1 | Calories: 501 | Total fat: 22.8 | Total carbohydrates: 15.6 g | Total fiber: 3.9 g | Total sugars: 7.3 g | Protein: 42.2 g | Net Carbohydrates: 11.7 g