Frango na púcara is a classic from the Alcobaça and Batalha area, cooked in a small clay pot (púcara) with port wine, brandy, tomato and smoked ham until the chicken gives up all its stubbornness to the sauce. It is a dish for celebrations and family Sundays.
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.
A plain Dutch oven works perfectly well if you have no púcara, and the sauce is good enough to eat on its own with bread. If you love a good braised chicken night, it sits nicely alongside our Piri-Piri Chicken (Frango Assado) (recipe on the site) and our Bitoque à Portuguesa (recipe on the site).
Frango na Púcara Recipe
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
- Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper.
- 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.
- 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.
- Return the chicken to the pot. Add the brandy and let it simmer 1 to 2 minutes to cook off the sharp alcohol edge.
- 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.
- Add the mushrooms during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
- Uncover and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more to reduce the sauce slightly. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.
- Transfer to a serving dish, scatter with crispy potato sticks and parsley, and serve hot over white rice.
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