This Tangy-Sweet Marinated Chicken Is a New Favorite Weeknight Dinner

The first time I read about the technique “escabeche” was in the “Encyclopedia of Fish Cookery” by A.J. McClane & Arie deZanger. I was obsessed with this book, and I learned so many classic techniques of fish cookery that I still use today.

Escbeche is a technique commonly used in Mediterranean and Latin countries to preserve seafood, chicken, pork, and rabbit. The meat is cooked (poached or fried), then marinated in an acidic mixture of vinegar or citrus along with oil and spices—often paprika or saffron—then chilled and served cold.

Sardines escabeche was the first time that I tried this technique, and I’ve never looked back. I’ve used it on everything from vegetables to fruit, for delicate geoduck clam, rare squab, and Wagyu beef.

I’ve streamlined and adjusted factors (the type of acid, how long to marinate) depending on the meat or vegetable, the thickness of the cuts, or how delicate the ingredient is.

This chicken escabeche starts with a marinade of onion, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, and sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar) simmered on the stove. Then you brown your chicken pieces before pouring the marinade over them and baking until the chicken is cooked through. It comes together quickly and with very little fuss. And it’s served hot, so it’s kind of inverted from the original technique.

The real beauty of this recipe is that it’s delicious cold from the refrigerator the next day, just as the original technique was intended. This version is also very versatile. You can make enchiladas or turn it into an amazing chicken salad with celery, mayo, and capers. It can be shredded on top of an heirloom tomato salad if you want to keep it lighter, or slather your favorite spread on it and make a toast. Chicken escabeche toast sounds pretty amazing to me.

Make this tonight:

Chicken Escabèche