Frango na Púcara (Portuguese Chicken in Port Wine Clay Pot)

My mother only brought out her clay púcara for two kinds of days: baptisms, and the Sunday my father’s family made the trip down from Trás-os-Montes. You could smell it from the front gate, that dark, winey smell of chicken slowly giving up all its stubbornness to port wine and smoke.

Frango na púcara is one of those dishes that gets called a ‘national classic’ so often the phrase almost stops meaning anything, but this one earns it. Chicken pieces are browned, then slow-braised with ham, choçiro, garlic, tawny port, white wine, and a splash of brandy until the sauce turns glossy and deeply savory, with just enough sweetness from the port to keep it interesting. It’s traditionally finished with a scattering of crispy potato sticks, which sounds like a strange garnish until you taste the contrast of crunch against all that soft, saucy chicken.

I make this now in a plain Dutch oven, no púcara required, and it still gets the same reaction at my table: Lucas, my resident savory-food inspector, going back for thirds of sauce alone, no chicken required. If you love a good braised chicken night, this sits nicely alongside our Piri-Piri Chicken (Frango Assado) (recipe on the site) and our Bitoque à Portuguesa (recipe on the site) in the regular rotation.

Frango na Púcara Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes · Total: 1 hour 35 minutes · Servings: 4 to 6 · Calories: ~480 per serving

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs), cut into 8 pieces, or 4 lbs bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 4 oz smoked ham or Portuguese presunto, diced (prosciutto works too)
• 4 oz linguiça or chouriço, sliced into rounds
• 2 medium yellow onions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup tawny port wine
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 oz mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup crispy potato sticks (shoestring potato sticks), for garnish
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in batches, about 4 minutes per side, then set aside.
3. In the same pot, add the ham and chouriço and cook 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
4. Return the chicken to the pot. Add the brandy and let it simmer 1 to 2 minutes to cook off the sharp alcohol edge.
5. Stir in the port, white wine, tomato paste, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 40 to 45 minutes, turning the chicken once, until fork-tender.
6. Add the mushrooms during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
7. Uncover and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more to reduce the sauce slightly. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.
8. Transfer to a serving dish, scatter with crispy potato sticks and parsley, and serve hot over white rice.

Recipe Notes

• Traditionally cooked in a púcara, a lidded clay pot, but any heavy Dutch oven does the job.
• Tawny port gives this dish its character; a good ruby port or sweet Marsala works in a pinch.
• Find potato sticks (sold as shoestring potatoes for salads) in the chip aisle or near the salad toppings at most grocery stores.
• The sauce deepens overnight, so leftovers are, if anything, even better the next day.