My dad found this recipe in a magazine years ago. The original recipe calls for rabbit meat, but we use chicken thighs. The recipe makes 6 servings, as written. We recently made this for our whole family while they were in town for Christmas and it made 12 servings by doubling the recipe.Notes about the recipe: • I left out the anchovy, bay leaves and thyme• I use 2 lb of boneless chicken thighs for the regular recipe; when we doubled it for our family I used 4-4.5 lb.• We serve it over rice, instead of pappardelle noodles called for in the original recipe, although I'm sure that would be good too.• I cook the chicken the same way the recipe says to cook the rabbit. When it's all cooked after the 2 hours, I shred all of the chicken, instead of leaving some of the pieces large.
Prep Time: 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Total Time: 2 hourshours15 minutesminutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course, Recipe, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: BarrettFamilyRecipes
Servings: 6servings
Calories: 608kcal
Ingredients
2poundsboneless chicken thighs
1/4cupolive oil
1anchovy (optional)
1mediumoniondiced
1carrotdiced
1stalkcelery diced
1pinchred-pepper flakes
1tablespoonminced garlic
1cupdry red wine
1cupSan Marzano tomatoesseeded, chopped
1cuplow-sodium chicken broth
2tablespoonsunsalted buttercut into pieces
3cupswhite ricecooked
Instructions
Pat the chicken pieces dry and season with salt and pepper.
In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil and brown the pieces, working in batches if needed to avoid crowding. Transfer to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the anchovy (if you choose) and mash it until it dissolves into the oil. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the red pepper flakes, garlic, and tomato paste, stirring for another minute.
De-glaze the pan with the wine, tum the heat to high and boil to burn off the alcohol, about 4 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Return the chicken pieces to the pot, spacing them evenly so they are partly covered by the liquid. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is falling off the bone, about 2 hours, Turn the pieces at least once.
Turn off the heat and discard the thyme and bay leaves. Remove the chicken from the sauce and let cool; then pull the meat from the bones. Shred some pieces and leave others large - or shred it all depending on your preference.
Return the meat to the pan and simmer the sauce until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter, piece by piece. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rice per instructions on the packaging. Before draining, save a cup of the water. Toss the rice with the sauce over low heat, adding the rice water as necessary if the sauce is too thick. Divide among bowls and top with the grated cheese.