Chicken & Sausage in Tomato Sauce
Submitted by hermosaf
Italian Sunday gravy with browned chicken legs and thighs, hot Italian sausage, hand-crushed tomatoes, red wine, and garlic. Serve over pasta with freshly grated Parmesan.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsIf your Italian grandmother didn’t make this, somebody else’s did. This is old-school Sunday gravy: the kind that simmers on the stove for an hour while the whole family drifts into the kitchen following their noses.
Four pounds of hot Italian sausage and bone-in chicken get seared hard in olive oil, building a deeply browned base. Hand-crushed canned tomatoes and tomato paste go into the pot with garlic, basil, and a half cup of dry red wine that deglazes all those caramelized drippings from the skillet.
The sausage simmers first, then the chicken joins in. By the time everything’s done, you’ve got a thick, meaty, wine-kissed tomato sauce that clings to pasta like it was born there.
Kitchen Tips
- Prick the sausages before searing. This lets the fat render out during cooking so you get crispy casings instead of greasy, bloated links.
- Crush the tomatoes by hand. It gives the sauce a rustic, chunky texture that a blender or food processor can’t replicate. Get your hands in there.
- Deglaze the skillet separately with the wine, then add it to the pot. Those browned bits stuck to the pan are liquid gold, and the wine pulls every bit of flavor off the surface.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat Oil in a large heavy skillet.
Add the garlic and sauté until light golden.
Remove the garlic and reserve. Prick the sausages in several places and then sear them in the hot oil.
Remove and set aside, covered.
Brown chicken well on all sides in the same skillet.
Remove and set aside, covered.
Pour 1 tablespoon of the drippings into a large Dutch oven or casserole.
Discard remaining drippings or save them for another use.
Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them, with their juice, to the drippings.
Add the tomato paste, salt, freshly ground pepper, basil and reserved garlic.
Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Add the sausage and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Add the chicken, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes more.
Meanwhile, deglaze the skillet with the wine.
Stir wine into the sauce and simmer for a final 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with pasta and freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.
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