Chicken Escabeche

1. Chicken Meat:

     Weight is skinless and boneless. Thigh Meat is highly preferred for flavor and texture. The pattern recipe called for 8 Thighs, bone-in skin-on. This would weigh 4 pounds here in California. I have modified this to just the meat for two reasons: the skin on the thighs we get here has no adhesion to the meat, and bone in, while fine for table service, is not so good for buffet service. Those 4 pounds yielded a little over 2-1/2 pounds of meat. There is some loss of flavor from this, but I use the bones, skins and fat to make a strong broth, used in place of Water called for in the pattern recipe. This restores those flavors.

2. Wine, White:

     Sauvignon Blanc is recommended, or some other non-sweet white wine.

3. Bay Leaves:

     The pattern recipe called for 2 Bay Leaves and an unspecified number of leaves of Bitter Orange (Seville Orange). Good luck finding those in North America. I used 3 Bay Leaves, fresh ones because I have those.

4. Paprika

     If you can, use real Hungarian Sweet Paprika, not the sawdust flavored stuff they sell in the supermarkets. Hungarian has much better flavor and a more intense red color.

5. Chilis, Fresh:

     This is up to your best judgement. The pattern recipe called for no Chili, but some recipes in Spanish call for 1 teaspoon Merkén, a smoked chili flake unique to Chile. I have it but you probably don't. The standard would be 1/2 to 1 Serrano. For details see Chilis of South America.

6. Frying:

     The pattern recipe calls for 1-1/2 T Oil, and frying in a sauté pan (3-1/2 qt)in 3 batches. I Strongly Recommend deep frying in an iron Khadi or Wok in 1-1/2 cups of a high temperature Oil (Olive Pomace, Avocado, Peanut). It will take much less effort, the browning will be far more even, there will be far less splattering onto the stove and floor (especially with a Khadi), there isn't so much worrying about burning the fond addhereing to the pan, and it can be done even a few days ahead and refrigerated. Caution: do not over-brown.

7. Broth:

     Some recipes allow just water, but Broth will provide a better result. I make a strong broth from the skins, bones, and fat I remove from the thighs. I strain the Broth, then defat it with my gravy separator. If you don't have Chicken or Vegetable broth on hand, fake it up with some Chicken Powder.

8. Potatoes:

     Potatoes can be served as a side dish, or mixed into the stew, which works well (you'll need a little more liquid). They must be cooked separtely, not in the stew. The acid in the Escabech will harden their surfaces. White Rose or similar work well in recipes of this sort. Avoid Klondike Gold type potatoes - they turn to mush if cooked a little more than the minimum - especially if the stew is re-heated. For details see our Potatoes page.

9. Marinate:

     If you need it Today, just marinate at room temperature for 3 hours or more, tumbling now and then. The acid and alcohol will suppress bacteria growth, and even if some did grow, they'd be destroyed by the cooking.
10. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste

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