Sauce Piquante Recipe
Sauce Piquante is Cajun chicken thighs simmered in a spicy tomato gravy with a light roux and the Trinity. Perfect over rice with hot sauce. You can swap in pork, shrimp, or game with simple timing changes.
Servings: 8
Calories: 515kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2-2.5 pounds chicken thighs bone-in for best, or boneless (chopped if desired)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil or lard or butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 medium bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 4-5 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec (optional - or use extra chicken stock)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) or Rotel (tomatoes + green chiles) for extra “piquante” heat
- 1-2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper optional for extra spicy
- 3 cups chicken stock or more as needed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce optional for heat, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional, if needed to balance acidity
- Chopped parsley to finish
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large pot or Dutch oven to medium-high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook a couple minutes per side until browned. Set aside until ready to use.
- In the same pot, add the peanut oil and reduce heat to medium heat. Add flour and stir. Cook for about 10 minutes, constantly stirring, until the roux turns the color of light peanut butter. You can go lighter or darker (chocolate brown) if you’d like. NOTE: if it smells burnt, discard and restart.
- Add bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic. Stir and cook about 5 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and stir. Cook 1-2 minutes to bloom and develop the tomato flavor. It will darken a bit.
- Add the red wine and simmer 2-3 minutes, scraping any browned bits from the bottom.
- Add canned tomatoes, Cajun seasoning, cayenne, chicken stock, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Return the cooked chicken to the pot and add bay leaves and dried thyme. Stir in hot sauce to taste.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, until the chicken is tender (you might need longer for bone-in). Taste and adjust for salt and hot sauce. If too acidic, stir in 1 teaspoon sugar.
- Remove the cover and simmer another 15-20 minutes to thicken. Add more chicken stock if it is too thick.
- Serve into bowls over rice and top with chopped parsley and extra hot sauce.
Notes
- Wine option: Use a dry red wine. Simmer it for a few minutes after adding so the alcohol cooks off.
- Consistency: This should be a thick gravy, not soup. Uncover to reduce; add stock to loosen.
- Some store bought Cajun blends can be salty, so taste before adding extra salt.
- Roux Notes. Lighter roux offer more thickening power, while darker roux offer more flavor but with less thickening power.
Nutrition
Calories: 515kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 345mg | Potassium: 583mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1265IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg