North eastern Italy | All Things Sicilian and more

Chicken with Sauerkraut is a simple dish with flavours from the Carso region of northeastern Italy, near Trieste. The Carso is a mountainous area between Slovenia and the Adriatic Sea, south of Monfalcone.

Cultural History

The recipe’s simple ingredients reflect the flavours of Hungary, Germany, Russia and Eastern European countries. These are also the flavours of Trieste: chicken, sauerkraut, onion, lardo and white wine. This is not surprising as Trieste was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

I first came across a version of this recipe in Fred Plotkin’s book, La Terra Fortunata, (published in 2001). I

I have previously made this dish using chicken with bones as the recipe suggests. However, I have used boneless chicken and some fatty bacon this time. Having lived in Trieste, I am well-acquainted with sauerkraut and cooking with smoked pork and pork fat. I always have jars of sauerkraut at home, particularly in winter for making dishes such as iota.

Lardo

Lardo is an Italian salume that is eaten and widely used in Italian cuisine especially in northern Italy; it is made from the thick layer of fat from the back of a pig and cured with a mixture of salt, herbs, and spices; the most esteemed Italian lardo is aged in the warm, fresh caves in the area of Carrara (famous for its marble) and no additives or preservatives are used.

Lardo Affumicato is Speck. This also is used widely in cooking of Trieste and Italian regions that used to be part of the Austrian- Hungarian Empire.

The rendered fat from the lardo or bacon is the fat used in this recipe. (Pork fat, or rendered pork fat is also called lardo in Italian and is lard in English).

THE RECIPE: Chicken with Sauerkraut

INGREDIENTS

This recipe does not require specific quantities as it relies on estimations and personal preference. I used approximately 1 kg of chicken, 5 rashers of fatty bacon and 500 g of drained and squeezed sauerkraut.

Feel free to adjust the quantities to suit your taste.

Fry the bacon/lardo in a heavy bottomed saucepan

PROCESS

Gently fry the bacon or lardo in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and when there is sufficient melted fat in the pan sear the chicken pieces till golden.

Fry the chicken in batches so as not to crowd the chicken pieces in the pan while searing.

Do not to crowd the chicken pieces in the pan while searing.

Once you have seared the meat, add a sliced small onion and cook it gently till softened and golden.

Add some peppercorns , bay leaves and the sauerkraut and cook it gently for about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken, some white wine (about 1/2 cup) and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and cook gently for about 20 minutes. If necessary add more wine or water to keep it moist while it is cooking,