Smoked Chicken and Corn Straccetti
Straccetti are one of the perfectly imperfect official shapes out there. Translating to "twisted rags" the shape is often randomly hand cut from a sheet of fresh pasta dough, but over the years the shape has become available in a dry form for convenience. Popular in Puglia, straccetti are often paired with a very simple thin sliced beef, olive oil, and salt in which the juices and rendered fat from the beef create a deep flavored sauce.
Taking the Puglia tradition of using a simple meat and it’s fat and juices to infuse flavor into straccetti, I wanted to create something original with that approach in mind. Using in season ingredients is important to this dish, but the key is making sure you inject a copious amount of smoke into the chicken, which adds an incredible amount of dimension to each bite. Try this recipe out and become a pasta pit master. Do those even exist?
The Recipe
Servings: 4
Prep time: 20 mins.
Cook time: 75 mins. for smoked chicken - 20 mins. to finish
Difficulty: Medium
Special Equipment:
N/A
Notes:
N/A
Ingredients & Mise en Place
• 17.6 oz. straccetti
• 1.5 lbs. chicken thighs - skins removed & bone in
• 1 bunch scallions - cut into ¼ inch slices
• 2 cups fire roasted corn - 3 ears of corn or buy frozen
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• Parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper
Preparation
Smoked Chicken
01.
Soak a quart of apple and hickory chips in a container overnight. The next day heat a smoker or grill to 265°F. Liberally salt chicken thighs and place on the grill or smoker away from the heat source. Place smoking chips onto your coals and begin the smoking process.
02.
Continuously check on your chicken, coals, and smoke - add more charcoal if the temperature begins to dip and add more chips if smoking ceases. The chicken will be one once it has shrunk and is exposing the bones - about 45-75 mins. Remove from the grill and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cool, pull and shred the chicken into small bite-sized portions and set aside.
Corn
01.
Using a grill at high heat, place lightly oiled and salted corn directly over the heat source, and turn frequently. Once you have burnt/charred a good portion of the kernels, remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, carefully cut the kernels away from the cob. Reserve for later.
Pasta
01.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
02.
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add two tablespoons of oil. Once heated, add onion and allow to sweat until soft - about 5 minutes. Next, add the straccetti to the boiling water and cook 7-9 minutes for al dente pasta.
03.
Add the tomato, corn, and chicken to the pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and reduce to medium-low heat. Stir frequently. Once al dente, strain the pasta (reserving ¼ cup pasta water) and mix to the sauce with ¼ cup cheese, scallions, and pasta water. Mix thoroughly, and divide into four portions., cover in more cheese, fresh cracked pepper, and scallions.
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