Marcella Hazan

Ali di Pollo in Fricassea

Fricasseed Chicken Wings

Preparation info

  • For

    4 to 6

    Persons

    Appears in

    Marcella's Italian Kitchen

    Marcella's Italian Kitchen

    By Marcella Hazan

    Published 1986

    • About

    There may not be too much meat on a chicken wing, but no part of the bird is more tender or tasty. The wings are subjected here to the basic Italian fricassee treatment: They are floured, browned, then cooked with other ingredients in liquid, and when done, they are stirred with a dash of lemon juice. The liquid in this case is a mixture of broth and milk; the other ingredients are pearl onions and mushrooms, which help the humble wings cut a genteel figure.

    Ingredients

    • ½ pound pearl or other tiny onions
    • ½ pound fresh mushrooms
    • 12 chicken wings
    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 cup flour, spread on a plate
    • Salt
    • Black pepper in a grinder
    • 2 tablespoons meat broth
    • 1 cup milk
    • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

    Method

    1. Peel the onions, drop in a pot of boiling salted water, cook for 5 minutes, then drain.
    2. Clean the mushrooms rapidly under cold running water, pat dry with kitchen towels, and cut into very thin slices.
    3. Trim away the tips from the chicken wings and cut the wings in two at the joint.
    4. Choose a lidded sauté pan that can subsequently accommodate all the wings without crowding. Put in the butter and oil and turn on the heat to high, keeping the pan uncovered.
    5. When the fat is hot, dredge the wings in flour on both sides and slip them into the pan. Cook on one side and then the other until they become colored a rich gold all over.
    6. Add the onions, mushrooms, salt, and liberal grindings of pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, always at high heat, turning all the ingredients over frequently.
    7. Add the broth and milk, turn down the heat to medium, cover the pan, and cook until the liquid in the pan has become reduced to a small amount of dense juice and the wings feel very tender when pricked with a fork. Turn the wings over occasionally while cooking. If, when the chicken is done, there is still too much liquid in the pan, uncover, turn up the heat, and boil it away, while stirring constantly.
    8. As soon as the chicken is done, stir in the lemon juice off the heat, and serve at once.