Southwestern Chicken Cacciatore
I'm pretty proud of this dish because not only did I make it up on my own, I did it on the fly using what I had with what I thought would work and the whole family loved it.
I'm pretty proud of this dish because not only did I make it up on my own, I did it on the fly using what I had with what I thought would work and the whole family loved it.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 5 ea chicken thighs bone in, skin on
- 1 -2 tablespoon oil
- 1 ea serrano chili seeded and finely diced
- 3 ea mini sweet bell pepper seeded, diced (substitute 1 sweet bell pepper)
- 1 ea vidalia onion diced
- 1 ea jalapeno seeded and diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled (kept whole)
- 2 ounces tequila
- 14 1/2 ounces can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 ea beef steak tomato cut into wedges
- cilantro or parsley for garnish
- Carbohydrate 14.2435633512054 g
- Cholesterol 59.85 mg
- Fat 18.4653121281317 g
- Fiber 3.22007020358343 g
- Protein 14.735342766035 g
- Saturated Fat 3.92194631391488 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (318g)
- Sodium 346.392590401137 mg
- Sugar 11.023493147622 g
- Trans Fat 1.25995813836919 g
- Calories 307 calories
Step-by-step
- Put an oven proof skillet in the oven and allow to preheat to 350f.
- Make a rub with the chili powder, pepper, cumin and salt. Season both sides of the chicken thighs.
- Place the heated skillet on the stove top burner over medium-high heat and add oil. Add thighs skin side down and sear for 5 minutes. Flip and sear the other side for 5 minutes.
- Remove chicken to a plate. Reserve one tablespoon of oil in the pan and pour the rest into a glass measuring cup. Add chicken broth to measure 1/2 cup and keep for later in the recipe.
- Add the onions, peppers, and garlic to the pan and saute until the onions begin to soften, about 4-5 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the Tequila. Most of it will evaporate off in just 1 minute. Return the chicken to the pan. Pour the broth/drippings mixture and the diced tomatoes over the chicken. Top with the tomato wedges.
- Put back into the 350f oven until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 180f (relax....they're bone in thighs, they can take the heat without getting dry). This took about 30 minutes in the oven. Top with cilantro or for those of you cilantro-phobes, parsley.
Crisped skin crackles under a heavy blanket of charred chilies, sweet peppers, and stewed tomatoes, creating a contrast between shattering crunch and velvety braised meat. Achieving this textural duality requires careful temperature management at the stove and inside the oven cavity. The foundation rests entirely on searing bone-in thigh cuts properly before introducing any moisture.
The Mechanics of Texture
Bone-in poultry thighs tolerate higher internal cooking endpoints than lean white breast meat without drying out, making them ideal for extended braising. Aim for an internal target of 180 degrees Fahrenheit so the collagen fully melts into gelatin, yielding a tender mouthfeel. Placing a cast iron skillet directly into a 350-degree oven ensures the pan accumulates enough thermal mass to sear the skin effectively on contact. When applying the spice rub containing chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and salt, press the dry mixture firmly into the surface moisture of the meat to guarantee adherence during the high-heat sear. Leaving the garlic cloves completely whole prevents them from burning during the initial 4-to-5-minute vegetable sauté, yielding soft, sweet pockets rather than bitter, scorched fragments.
Building Viscosity and Depth
Deglazing the hot skillet with tequila dissolves the fond stuck to the bottom of the pan, incorporating those browned proteins directly into the sauce matrix. Allow the alcohol to boil off rapidly for about one minute until the sharp ethanol aroma softens into a savory base. Combining the remaining pan drippings with chicken broth creates a measured liquid volume that prevents the vegetables from becoming watery as they release their natural juices during the oven phase. Fresh tomato wedges added right before baking retain a slight structural integrity, offering distinct pockets of acidity against the concentrated sweetness of the diced canned tomatoes.
