Weird Chicken
We all have weird family recipes; mine’s upfront about it.
When I told Andrew I was making weird chicken for dinner, his expression was a priceless blend of confusion and forced enthusiasm. “What makes it weird?” he asked with trepidation. My response didn’t help. “Because it shouldn’t work together, but it’s actually delicious!”
It’s a simple dish with only five ingredients: chicken breast, sauerkraut, Thousand Island or Russian salad dressing, Swiss cheese, and egg noodles. It’s got the flavor profile of a Reuben sandwich in a one-dish casserole. For a while, I thought it was a recipe from the 1950s or 60s, when American ‘convenience cuisine’ peaked, as food manufacturers put recipes for their preprocessed ingredients on cans and boxes. But when I began my research, the actual source stunned me.
“I made it up one night…another parent at [your middle school] asked if I ever cooked with sauerkraut because of your father’s Hungarian heritage. I had thawed chicken out for dinner, so I thought maybe a chicken Reuben type of dish,” said Anna Maria Alberghini, my Mum and a dinner innovator. I come by my chaotic cooking style honestly!
I know weird chicken isn’t for everyone, but if you’re curious, give it a try! I promise it’s not as weird as it claims.
Thousand Island vs Russian Dressing
While they taste similar, Thousand Island dressing is made with ketchup, mayonnaise, and sweet pickle relish. Russian dressing has the same ketchup-and-mayo base, but with horseradish and chili. Use whichever one you prefer!
Weird Chicken
Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
14.5 oz sauerkraut
16 oz Thousand Island or Russian salad dressing
.5 lb sliced Swiss cheese
8 oz wide egg noodles
Method
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place one rack in the center and the other at the top, right beneath the broiler.
Using a mallet, pound the chicken breast to even thickness. I like using Alton Brown’s method of placing the chicken between two layers of plastic to flatten it.
Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish and place the chicken in a single layer at the bottom.
Layer the sauerkraut on top of the chicken, followed by the dressing. Top the dish with Swiss cheese slices and cover with aluminum foil.
Place the dish on the center rack and bake for 30 minutes.
Boil the egg noodles for 8 minutes until fully cooked. Drain the noodles and toss with butter to keep them from sticking together.
Once the chicken has reached 160˚F, remove the foil and move the dish to the top rack. Turn the broiler on high and bake for another 10 minutes.
Use a wide spatula to serve the chicken over egg noodles with all the cheesy, krauty goodness on top.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it began as a experiment that turn into a favorite week night dinner.