Chicken Marbella – A Truly Sweet Repast

New York has been my home now for 18 years, but it feels even more like home now that my old buds from Philly have moved here too. Add in a sister and her daughter visiting for the weekend and dinner becomes a truly sweet repast. Make it it all the more sweet by serving chicken that’s been cooked with brown sugar and white wine after being marinated for hours in vinegar and oil with bay leaves, capers, prunes and green olives. Serve with plain orzo and sides of roasted carrots (recipe coming tomorrow) and Mr TBTAM’s amazing sauteed kale with garlic (I’m gonna’ get him to do a video lesson on this next time he makes it).

Chicken Marbella

This is a modern American classic from the original Silver Palate Cookbook, modified for a crowd and published at Epicurious, made made with legs and thighs instead of cut up whole chicken. This recipe serves up to 12, which was way too much for our small group, but we wanted lots of leftovers for the upcoming pre-holiday week. 

Don’t let the overnight marinade dissuade you from making this marvelous dish. Ours marinated for 6 hours and it tasted great. Other have said 2-3 hours is even enough.  

I’d like to try this again using fresh oregano instead of dried (I have a large pot of it on the terrace). Just have to figure out the quantities to use. The chicken did not get as brown as I’d like (though no one cared but me), not sure why. Thinking about browning it next time before baking. Anyone with tips on this let me know. 

10 lbs chicken legs and thighs
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
1/4 cup dried oregano
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley or fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped (we forgot to add it!)

In a large bowl, combine the chicken pieces, garlic, oregano, salt, olive oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley. Serve with the remaining juices.

_______________________________

More on Chicken Marbella

• Sticky Gooey Chewy makes hers in tribute to creator the late Sheila Lukins and gets beautiful browning!
• Once Upon a Chef browned her chicken and defatted the gravy after cooking.  Got a nice caramelization.
• Kitchen Illiterate also gets hers gorgeously browned. And shows you how to use the leftovers.
• Chowhound board discussion on the recipe – lots of tips, suggestions for sides and variations.
• Bake Bree has some great prep pics.
• Cooks Illustrated updates the recipe and browns the chicken before cookng as I suggested
• Sheila Lukins, the recipe’s creator, makes a smaller version with sides for under $40
• Ramp up the quantities to serve up to 12
• Slow cooker version for busy cooks.
• Fresh from the kitchen makes a lower fat version using boneless breasts