Chicken Braised in Vinegar (BRW)

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped pancetta or bacon
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
• 1 chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken parts, trimmed of excess fat
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup good-quality red wine or balsamic vinegar
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
  

Mise en place. Except for, notably, the chicken.


Browning the pancetta, herbs, and garlic in olive oil. An awful lot of olive oil.


Adding the rendered fat from the pancetta and browning the chicken, I was left with a crazy amount of oil left in the pan. After I reduced the sauce, it looked like all fat and I was right.
But one couldn't exactly pour out excess grease with all the aromatics.


The chicken was well cooked, but the sauce was quite useless. I accompanied it with some salted (to draw out moisture) and charred summer squash (at its peak in my repertoire, it's basically all I had for dinner).
If I was looking for a vinegar-y, Italian chicken dish, I'd probably just go back to the first dish I ever blogged about: Sweet and Sour Chicken, also from Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World. Though it was really really heavy.