Let me begin with a disclaimer. This recipe comes from the New York Times and is so popular that someone has awarded it the Pullet-zer prize. I have adapted the recipe slightly (maybe a little more than slightly—quite a bit in fact) and added lots of tips to ensure your success, but you can find the original recipe by Googling Vinegar Chicken with Olives.
I found this when I was searching for sheet pan dinners, because they always have so many advantages. Simply throw veggies, fish, meat or poultry on a sheet pan, turn on the oven and roast away, If you line the sheet pan with foil, you don’t even have any clean up.
But this chicken is not your ordinary sheet pan dinner. First, it has a sauce, which means an extra step after the meat is finished roasting. But oh that extra step is so worth it. Also, it doesn’t work if you line the pan with foil. It is the drippings that collect at the bottom of the pan that become the basis for the sauce, which allows you to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the juices. That just won’t happen on foil.
ABOUT THE CHICKEN
You can use any parts of the chicken you like. I usually use thighs and breasts—always on the bone with the skin. It’s the skin and bones that keep the chicken moist as it cooks. I prefer air chilled chicken parts from Whole Foods—totally worth the extra expense.
It the breasts are large, cut them in half and they will cook in the same amount of time as the thighs. Before serving, it is easy to remove the bones from the breasts and slice them, if you want to be fancy.
ABOUT THE SHEET PAN
The chicken is baked on a rimmed baking sheet in a little white wine vinegar. The size of the pan is very important. If it is too small, the chicken will fit too snugly together and will steam instead of brown. If the pan is too large, the drippings will evaporate and possibly burn— oops, there goes the sauce.
ABOUT THE OLIVES
Brined green olives are fine in a martini, but I have no desire to add them to my chicken dinner. Castelveltrano Sicilian olives are in a class of their own. They are firm, mild, buttery, tender and crisp, almost fruit-like. Never salty or leathery. They have different taste and texture from any other green olive. They can be found in many olive bars, like Whole Foods and also on Amazon. The original NYT recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups. I found that to be too many, so I’ve reduced the olives and added capers instead.
ABOUT THE VINEGAR
The recipe calls for white wine vinegar. I tried red but didn’t like it nearly as well. Be sure to choose a good white wine vinegar that is aged in oak. You need lots of flavor.
ABOUT THE SAUCE
While the chicken bakes, make the sauce. Chop the olives and parsley (I prefer a mini food processor) while the chicken bakes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board, deglaze the pan by stirring in the sauce and serve it over the chicken.
NOT-YOUR-ORDINARY-SHEET PAN VINEGAR CHICKEN WITH OLIVES & CAPERS
This dish is particularly good with thighs, drumsticks and breasts. If breasts are large cut them in half.
3 to 3 ½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Ground turmeric
Ground paprika
½ cup white wine vinegar
Sauce
15 Castelvetrano olives, pitted
¾ cup Italian parsley
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Arrange oven rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
2. Choose a rimmed baking sheet that the chicken can fit in comfortably. (If the pan is too large, the juices will evaporate and burn.) Season chicken with salt and pepper. Toss with the olive oil, turmeric and paprika. Arrange skin side up making sure the skin is well seasoned. Pour vinegar over and around chicken.
3. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, checking after 20 minutes to make sure drippings aren’t burning. If pan is dry, add a little more vinegar or water. Chicken is done when it registers 160 degrees.
4. Meanwhile, make sauce. In a small food processor or with a knife, very finely chop olives and parsley. Remove to a small bowl. Stir in capers, vinegar and water.
5. When chicken is cooked through, remove to a cutting board. Place baking sheet on stove top and scrape up all the brown bits from the pan. Pour in olive mixture. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, scrape everything together to make a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
6. If using breasts, cut off bones and slice meat. Divide chicken among plates and spoon sauce over,
Makes 4 servings
