Utica Chicken Riggies: Heavy Cream or Not? Who's the Inventor?

Utica's Chicken Riggies dish is now famous beyond the Mohawk Valley.

I've seen the Utica Riggies dish on menus in New York, Boston, and Myrtle Beach, to name a few, and it's now a regular dish on Italian menus in Syracuse.

The original recipe created back in the late 70s didn't use heavy cream. Instead, the creaminess of the spicy marinara sauce is obtained with a combination of chicken stock, white wine, butter and Pecorino-Romano cheese.

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"If it has heavy cream in it, it's not Chicken Riggies," said the late Joe Morelle who is credited with inventing the Utica Greens Morelle dish. Other chefs like the late Michael Geno, Jeff Daniels and Mike Schulz concurred.

There are also many different variations of the Utica dish, in fact one at Pastabilities in Syracuse which is spicy and named Wicked Chicken Riggies, was named one of the best pastas in America.

Teddy's in Rome was named "Best Chicken Riggies" year after year at the Riggie Fest in Utica and they have their own version of the dish, which features a heavy cream pink sauce, different from the original Chicken Riggies recipe.

Other versions of Chicken Riggies include Joe Morelle's Steak Riggies which features pieces of filet in a spicy brown sauce and Shrimp Riggies which is still available on the menu at Babe's in North Utica.

Looking for the original recipe? Wondering about who is really responsible for the invention of Chicken Riggies. Keep reading....

The Verdict is in, Here's the Real History of Utica Chicken Riggies

It's now Utica's most famous dish, Utica Chicken Riggies. We talked with many restauranteurs who were around at the time when this iconic dish was created. We now have the answer to this question: who created the first "Utica Riggies" recipe.

Looking for the First Utica Chicken Riggies Recipe?

Click here for the original Utica Chicken Riggies recipe

Click here to watch the Chicken Riggies dish being made at one of Utica’s legendary restaurants, The Chesterfield.

If you would like to make Chicken Riggies the easy way, It's a Utica Thing, which ships Utica products all over America, has a canned version of Chicken Riggies sauce that can be purchased here.

Mike Schulz. Watch the Video Below.

UTICA GREENS MORELLE CREATOR HONORED ON NATIONAL TV

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