Pollo Ubriaco – Italian Red Wine Chicken

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Italian chicken thighs slowly braised in red wine with carrots, onions and garlic.

The name literally means “drunken chicken”, and it's easy to see why! Chicken thighs are marinated in red wine with onions, carrots and garlic, then slowly cooked in the same wine until tender and full of flavour.

A simple, rustic Italian main course that makes the most of a good red wine. Chianti or Sangiovese are excellent choices, but you can use whichever red wine you prefer.

Pollo Ubriaco (Drunken Chicken)

Yield: 2 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 4 hours to overnight
Cooking time: About 45–60 minutes (estimate)
Total time: About 5 hours, including the minimum marinating time

Ingredients

  • 6 chicken thighs, skin removed

  • 1 bottle of Chianti, Sangiovese or another red wine of your choice

  • 2 carrots

  • 1 large white onion

  • 1 garlic clove

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Olive oil

Method

  1. Place the skinless chicken thighs in a bowl with the garlic, sliced onion, chopped carrots, pepper and a generous drizzle of olive oil.

  2. Pour over the red wine until the chicken is covered. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

  3. Drain the chicken, reserving the wine and vegetables.

  4. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken on both sides.

  5. Add the reserved wine and vegetables to the pan.

  6. Cook over a medium-low heat until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the sauce has reduced. If you like, mash some of the carrots with a fork to make the sauce thicker.

  7. Adjust the salt shortly before the end of cooking and serve hot.

Notes

You can add fresh herbs such as rosemary or sage to both the marinade and the cooking sauce.

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