Does anyone have a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore made with chicken breasts? Or are there any rules when sub-ing chicken breasts for thighs?

nka2
  • Posted by: nka2
  • July 27, 2011
  • 3135 views
  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

pierino July 27, 2011
Personally, I don't brine on small parts like thighs and breasts. And they don't do that in Italy anyway. I prefer thighs and legs for cacciatore style cooking because there is more flavor (aka blood) in the dark meat. But the cooking time should be close to the same. Be sure to brown the meat parts first,but for a dish like this brining is non-essential, and not even desired.
 
SKK July 27, 2011
@nka2, I use enought water to conver the chicken. Be sure the kosher salt dissolves before you put the chicken in.
 
nka2 July 27, 2011
Thanks! When you are brining how much water do you use?
 
SKK July 27, 2011
When I substitute chicken breasts for thighs I do 2 things:
1. Get breasts with skin on and bone-in if possible and go organic. Flavor much better.
2. Brine the chicken for at least two hours with kosher salt in water, about 1/4 cup salt and water covering chicken. When done brining I rinse the chicken off thoroughly and dry before cooking. This really keeps chicken tender.

Regarding recipes, there are two I ran across I am going to try. This one may be of interest to you because it includes 2 thighs and 2 breasts http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-cacciatore-recipe/index.html

And food52 recipe just added http://www.food52.com/recipes/13541_summer_grilled_chicken_cacciatore

But thighs are so good! ChefJune had a recipe that totally turned me around about how wonderful thighs are.
 
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