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05/12/2001 Archived Entry: "Chicken Savoy"

I wasn’t on the radio with my own program for more than a few weeks – that was nearly 10 years ago -- when someone called to ask how to make Chicken Savoy. Who knew this was the state dish of New Jersey? So to speak.

Created by a chef named Stretch at the Belmont Tavern in Newark, it is now made all over the state and probably in many different ways. At the time I was first asked about it, I went to New Jersey and saw it being made I don’t remember where or by whom. Listeners sent in their recipes. They were all somewhat different.

To make a long story short, Chicken Savoy keeps coming up on Food Talk, even very recently, and I had full intentions of doing a thorough research job on it. Stretch’s son has a restaurant in Livingston called Stretch’s (what else?), and I was going to go there and see him making it and talk to him about the history of the dish. I had some other grand research ideas for an essay on Chicken Savoy, too. I have been so busy with other things, however, that I have done nothing. Meanwhile, Ben McCullough, my webmaster, tells me that he has been getting many requests for the recipe. So, without further ado, research, or kitchen testing, here are the two recipes I currently have in my files. The first was sent in by a listener many years ago. The second is the one that I learned from whomever I learned it from back when.

Chicken Savoy I
Serves 6

This is all done in a skillet and actually sounds like the better of the two recipes for a home cook, but is not the restaurant version.

3 to-4 pounds chicken parts, skin left on
1/2 cup olive oil
4 to 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 1/2 to 2 cups red wine
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (or 11/2 teaspoons dried)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Locatelli cheese

In a large frying pan, sauté the chicken pieces in the olive oil until browned will on both sides, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another few minutes.

Drain all the fat from the pan, then add the red wine vinegar, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken is nearly done, about 25 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish, pour the wine mixture over them and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is crisp and dark brown.



Chicken Savoy II
Serves 3 or 4

This is a restaurant version of the recipe and, if you use typical supermarket mass-produced chicken, you absolutely must keep the chicken pieces well-separated in the pan. If the pan is crowded, the chicken will not brown because so much liquid will accumulate. In a restaurant kitchen, the oven goes to 700 degrees or more, which means the juices evaporate before they have a chance to accumulate.

1 2 1/2- to 3-pound chicken, cut into 6 pieces (two drumsticks, two thighs, two breasts with wings)
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 to 8 teaspoons grated Locatelli or other Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (preferably 7% acidity)

In a 10 1/2-inch cast iron skillet or other heavy, oven-proof pan, arrange the chicken pieces skin side down and so that they do not touch each other.

Sprinkle the chicken with garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and grated cheese, in that order.

Place chicken in a preheated 500-degree oven for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour on all the vinegar at once. It should sizzle.

Return the chicken to the oven for another minute or so.

Arrange chicken on a platter and pour on the sauce created by the vinegar.

Serve immediately.