Best for: A history-buff dinner with a little theater — chicken, a rich tomato sauce, and a fried egg on top.
The legend says this dish was born on a battlefield. On June 14, 1800, Napoleon beat the Austrians at Marengo, Italy, and his chef Dunand — with the supply wagons lagging miles behind — foraged a farmyard dinner out of a chicken, tomatoes, garlic, crayfish, and eggs. Napoleon loved it so much, the story goes, that he ordered it after every battle and refused to let the recipe change by so much as a mushroom, for fear of bad luck. The record says Dunand didn’t become Napoleon’s chef until 1801, and the first printed Marengo recipe has no tomatoes at all — but a tale this good earns its keep, and so does the dish.
Our grilled take sears the chicken over the fire first, then finishes it right in the sauce, crowned the way the legend insists: a fried egg on top and shrimp standing in for the crayfish.
Grill: Direct medium-high heat, then a gentle finish. Equipment: Grill, large cast-iron skillet, instant-read thermometer. Course: Main dish.
Ingredients
Total: 55 minutes
The chicken
- 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs and legs work best)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
The Marengo sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
To finish, as the legend demands
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
Season and grill the chicken. Pat the chicken dry, rub it with the salt, pepper, and olive oil, and grill over direct medium-high heat, turning now and then, until the skin is deeply browned and crisp, 15 to 18 minutes. It finishes in the sauce, so don’t chase the final temperature yet.
Build the sauce in the skillet. Set the cast-iron skillet on the grill (or the stovetop), heat the olive oil, and cook the mushrooms until they give up their liquid and brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes, wine, and salt.
Finish the chicken in the sauce. Nestle the grilled chicken into the sauce, skin side up, cover the skillet or close the grill lid, and simmer gently until the chicken reaches 165°F, 12 to 15 minutes.
Sear the shrimp. In the last 4 minutes, lay the shrimp around the chicken in the sauce and cook just until pink and curled, about 2 minutes per side.
Fry the eggs. While the chicken rests in the sauce, fry the eggs in butter until the whites are set and the edges crisp, keeping the yolks runny.
Crown and serve. Spoon the chicken and sauce onto warm plates, lay a fried egg over each portion, scatter parsley, and serve with lemon wedges and good bread for the sauce.
Grilling tip: Grill the chicken a shade shy of done before it meets the sauce — the simmer finishes it juicy instead of drying it out, and the grilled skin gives the tomato sauce a whisper of smoke.
