How Italians Cook CHICKEN (and why they don't eat it more often)

Compared to the American diet I'm used to, Italians don't seem to eat a lot of chicken. In fact, many Italians (Eva included) will quip that chicken "is for sick people." This always gave me the impression that Italians just don't really like poultry.

Turns out, my interpretation of these observations were completely wrong, perhaps even backwards. Today, Eva is going to share some interesting ways Italians DO cook chicken, and explain why it's not quite a daily staple in Italian cuisine.

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[PastaGrammar]

REUPLOAD! The first video was accidentally deleted, hence the reupload 😅 We were still reading all of your lovely comments when we lost it, so please drop one below!

[michaelduncan]

Harper, when you combine the salt with the egg whites, the protein structure of the whipped egg whites holds the salt in suspension. This allows the salt, which is a mineral (rock) to act as an insulator, thus allowing the food to cook slowly, and stay tender and juicy. Hope this helps.

[butchdugan]

I’m Sous Chef at a famous country club in Fla. We do prime rib and fish with the salt method. Just goes to show, Eva is a real professional! I didn’t comment then but I watched this video this morning. Pasta Grammar is what makes my Sundays.! It’s usually the first thing I watch. Even before church. Love you guys.

[TxVoodoo_]

My Italian grandmother rarely made chicken as an entrée. She made her chicken soup, but when we were sick, she'd make a special poached or boiled chicken and serve it with rice. Very simple, easy to digest, and made with tons of love.

[pavlidesgeorge]

BELLA YOU ARE ONE OF BEST COOKS IN WORLD THANK YOU

[aaenlathechanter]

Italy should declare Eva and her mother national treasures. Love Eva's cooking.

[zaldarion]

15:35 damn it, as a kid (36 years ago) we had holidays in italy every year. I had exactly this dish and I loved it. for years I've tried to figure out what exactly I've been eating without any luck. Thank you so much for finally finding an answer!! 😭😍

[eliseleonard]

Our Hungarian grandmom made wonderful chicken paprikash, which just had browned chicken pieces, lots of sliced onion, tons of paprika, and water for braising. Some people add red bell pepper, garlic, tomato paste etc but it really doesn’t need it if the paprika is good. It’s eaten with handmade noodles called spaetzle and most people put sour cream on top at the end and stir it in- either in the pot or on the plate.

[sharendonnelly]

Eva, "I feel French today." LMAO... absolutely GREAT! La Guillotine! Why I love your channel! Okay, my all-time favorite chicken dish is: Chicken Polenta, and probably my own creation as I have not seen it anywhere else and just made it one day when I was feeling creative in the kitchen. I make the polenta with the stock from the chicken legs and thighs I slow cook earlier. Then, I remove the chicken from the bones into small pieces. In a separate pan, I sauté in olive oil minced carrot, onion and celery, add basil, garlic and marjoram, then canned tomatoes with the chicken. This is simmered to make a sauce/ragu for about an hour. Pour this over the polenta, and enjoy. It is one of my favorite comfort foods!

[gregoryschmidt]

Why doesn't the salt suck all the moisture out of the chicken? Osmotic pressure equilibrium. Salt will pull water out to a point, but then salt starts to get into the chicken, carrying water back with it. (same mechanism at work in brining). Eventually, equilibrium is reached. No more salt entering the chicken, no more water leaving the chicken.

[bettinenci]

I am from Toscana and for us chicken is really a main dish. Every restaurant here used to make roast chicken and rabbit with potatoes and you can find roasted chicken in every market or supermarket made with "girarrosto" tipically served with roast potatoes. Chicken is always present in our "grigliata mista". Another tipycal dish of my region is "pollo e coniglio fritto" which is gorgeous! In summer we also use to make "insalata di pollo" with maionnayse and boiled chicken. During war they used to make a sauce with chicken and tomato for tagliatelle. We use a lot also of chicken breast. So it's not true that Italians do eat chicken when they are I'll!! 🙂😉

[electronotch]

One word: Minestrina!
Pastina in brodo was always the staple in the farms near Parma where my family is from. My grandfather would add his home-made red wine to his bowl. Still love it to this day with tons of Parmigiano and pieces of bread. Gnam!

[Blackswan]

My wife and I lived in Rome back in 1979-1983 and ate a lot of rotisserie chicken from small stores, it was often served with roasted potatoes. This was not just in Rome but pretty much in many parts of Italy .

[toscadonna]

Salt on the outside of meat makes it form a “pellicle” which is a protective layer that keeps the juice from being sucked out by the salt. That’s why this and brining works.

[rustyfan]

When I first started watching your channel years ago I almost thought Eva was an actor pretending to have an Italian accent but as time went on and I learned more about your channel I knew you were the real deal

[cajflod]

Well its true that we don't have very much chicken dishes, but the most important meal of the week, the Sunday lunch with family (mostly in the old days) was based on chicken, the classic "pollo arrosto con patate"

[donna]

Growing up in an Italian-American household we never put stewed chicken pieces in the soup, only tiny pasta with broth. My mother would then shred the chicken and serve a second course by making a spicy tomato based sauce which we would eat with Italian bread followed by a refreshing salad. So good.

[easyray]

My mother-in-law, from northwest Sicily, made this for me years ago when I was recovering from surgery. I will always remember this dish with love.

[filipporubino]

The reason why there's not much chicken in Italian restaurants menus is really simple: because nowadays it's a cheap kind of meat, "poor people's meat". And also because chicken dishes are usually so simple (but still great) that we'd rather have them at home instead of paying extra. When we fancy a good roast chicken we go to the local "Girarrosto", a specialised place for that, but there are also restaurants which serve a whole roast "galletto" (little rooster) per person. Strictly to eat with your bare hands!!

[yatithebeast]

When I went to Rome earlier this year I had pollo ai peperoni for the first time and I became obsessed with it. Now it's probably my favorite chicken dish to make. Also when I was in college I would frequently make pastina in brodo di pollo, I didn't know it was a legit Italian dish, let alone that it had a name until today. It was just my very cheap, poor college student go to meal (delicious though).