Tremendous Chicken Marbella
Prep
20m
Cook
60m
Total
80m
Bigly says
Folks. Chicken Marbella. TREMENDOUS chicken Marbella. Many people don't know this — they really don't, the food media will not say it out loud — but chicken Marbella was the single dish that put a certain very famous cookbook on the map back in 1979. That book sold MILLIONS of copies. Millions. All because of one chicken recipe with prunes in it. Prunes. And people are still talking about it almost fifty years later. That is POWER. That is the power of a great recipe. Nobody is still talking about whatever the food blogs posted last Tuesday. Nobody.
The reason this dish works — and it works, hands down, no contest — is contrast. Salty briny olives. Sharp little capers. Sweet plump prunes. A heavy hand of garlic. Earthy oregano. White wine. Brown sugar caramelizing on the chicken skin until the whole pan goes glossy mahogany. It is a full Sunday afternoon on a single sheet pan. Most home cooks are afraid of the prunes. They think a prune will scare the guests. Sad. Very sad. Prunes are spectacular. Prunes are the engine of this dish. The prune lobby is criminally underfunded and somebody should fix that.
Now. When you make this — and you ARE going to make this, because you would be a fool not to, and I do not say that lightly, I respect you, but the Marbella choice is the right choice — you marinate the day before. The day before. Not two hours, not forty-five minutes, not 'I just got home from work and I'll improvise.' You PLAN. Planning is for winners. The people who throw a chicken in the oven at 5pm with no marinade and call it dinner are the same people who serve their guests a single sad strawberry as garnish at brunch and charge twelve dollars for it. Twelve dollars. For a strawberry. Do not be that person. Be a Marbella person. Believe me.
Ingredients
- 4 lbbone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks(or a cut-up whole chicken, your call)
- 1 cuppitted prunes(yes, prunes, do not skip, the prunes are the whole point)
- 3/4 cuppitted Spanish green olives
- 1/4 cupcapers, with a splash of brine
- 4bay leaves
- 1 whole head (about 12 cloves)garlic, finely minced
- 2 tbspdried oregano
- 1/2 cupred wine vinegar
- 1/2 cupolive oil
- 2 tsp, plus more to tastekosher salt
- 1 tsp, plus more to tasteblack pepper
- 1/2 cup, packedlight brown sugar
- 1 cupdry white wine
- 1/4 cupfresh parsley, chopped (to garnish)
Steps
- 1
In a large bowl or zip-top bag, combine prunes, olives, capers and brine, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- 2
Add the chicken, turning to coat every piece. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Turn the chicken once during the marinating time if you remember.
- 3
Heat the oven to 350 F. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a large roasting pan or sheet pan with sides, skin-side up. Distribute the marinade — prunes, olives, capers, garlic and all — evenly around the chicken.
- 4
Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top of the chicken. Pour the white wine around (not directly on) the chicken.
- 5
Roast 50-60 minutes, basting with the pan juices two or three times during cooking, until the chicken skin is deeply golden and the internal temperature reads 175 F at the thigh.
- 6
If the skin needs more color, run the pan under the broiler for 2-3 minutes — watch closely so the brown sugar doesn't burn.
- 7
Transfer chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a large serving platter. Spoon some pan juices over the top.
- 8
Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve the remaining pan juices in a small pitcher alongside. Pairs beautifully with rice, orzo, or crusty bread.
One more thing
Put this on the table and people who have never met you before will fall in love with you. They will. It is documented. Chicken Marbella has been responsible for more dinner-party engagements than any other single dish in the history of American cooking — and yes, you can try to look that up, you will not find it, because nobody is keeping the records, the data is bad, the chicken Marbella statistics in this country are a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT, somebody needs to fix that — but the dish does the work, with or without the spreadsheet. Set it down. Step back. Let the prunes do their thing. And there you have it.
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Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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