Pollo de Abuelita con Macarrones: Adapted for Wild Turkey & Jackrabbit

Pollo de Abuelita con Macarrones — Grandmother’s chicken with pasta — is a Panamanian comfort dish: chicken slow-braised in a rich tomato sauce and served over thick spaghetti. The version in our family came out of the Panama Canal Zone, pieced together from the memories of aunts and uncles who each remembered their grandmother’s kitchen a little differently.

It was built for gallina de patio — a free-range yard hen, tougher and far more flavorful than anything from a store. And that is exactly why it adapts so well to wild game. The long, slow, acidic braise a tough old hen needs is the same treatment that turns lean, hard-working wild meat tender. Below are two adaptations: one for wild turkey, one for jackrabbit.

First, Why This Works

Wild game is lean. Without the fat of farmed animals, it dries out fast and can carry a strong, mineral edge. The braise solves both problems — the long simmer breaks down tough fibers, and the tangy tomato sauce (the family used Sauce Arturo, a Canal Zone staple) brings acid to tenderize, a little sugar to balance, and enough body to keep the meat moist. Plain tomato sauce would fall flat here. The bold, vinegary sauce does the heavy lifting.

Wild Turkey Version

Wild turkey — especially the breast — is much leaner than the farmed bird. A brine is the key step; it pulls moisture into the meat before it ever hits the pot.

Brine (the night before)

• 4 cups cold water
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 bay leaf and 6 black peppercorns

Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water, add the bay leaf and peppercorns, and submerge half a wild turkey — roughly a breast half, a thigh, and a drumstick. Refrigerate 8–12 hours, then rinse and pat dry.

For the braise

• 1 tsp ground onion (onion powder) and 3 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 2–3 tbsp olive oil; salt and pepper
• ½ onion and 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce — or Sauce Arturo, if you can find it
• 1 small can tomato paste; 4–5 cups water
• 4 leaves culantro (or ¼ cup cilantro), ½ tsp oregano, 1 bay leaf, a pinch of sugar
• 1 packet Sazón con achiote
• 1 lb thick spaghetti

Method

1. Rub the brined turkey with olive oil, onion powder, one clove of crushed garlic, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Rest 30 minutes.
2. Brown the turkey well in a heavy pot — about 5–6 minutes per side. Set aside.
3. In the same pot, cook the onion, remaining garlic, and bell pepper for 5 minutes. Add one can of tomato sauce to deglaze.
4. Return the dark meat only — thigh and drumstick. Add the rest of the sauce, the paste, half the culantro, oregano, bay leaf, sugar, Sazón, and 4–5 cups water. Bring to a boil, then drop to a low simmer.
5. After 20 minutes, add the breast. It cooks faster, so staggering it keeps it from drying out. Simmer another 40–55 minutes, until everything is tender.
6. Stir in the rest of the culantro, remove the bay leaf, and adjust the salt. Serve over spaghetti cooked al dente.

Jackrabbit Version

Jackrabbit has an unfair reputation. Cooked fast, it is tough and dry. But braised — browned, then slow-simmered in tomato sauce until it falls off the bone — it is genuinely excellent. This recipe is essentially that technique. The braise does the work, so a brine here is optional.

Optional brine (the night before)

• 4 cups water, ¼ cup kosher salt, 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 bay leaf, 8 peppercorns

Submerge one jackrabbit, cut into 6–8 pieces, for 12–24 hours. Rinse and pat dry. Short on time? Skip it — the braise still delivers.

For the braise

• 1 tsp ground onion and 4 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp ground cumin and the juice of ½ lime
• 2–3 tbsp olive oil; salt and pepper
• ½ onion and 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce or Sauce Arturo; 1 small can tomato paste
• 5–6 cups water; 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 leaves culantro, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp cumin, 1 bay leaf, a pinch of sugar
• 1 packet Sazón con achiote
• 1 lb thick spaghetti

Method

1. Rub the rabbit with olive oil, onion powder, two cloves of crushed garlic, cumin, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Rest 30–45 minutes.
2. Brown the rabbit well in batches in a heavy pot. Set aside.
3. Cook the onion, remaining garlic, and bell pepper for 5 minutes. Add one can of sauce to deglaze.
4. Return all the rabbit. Add the rest of the sauce, the paste, vinegar, half the culantro, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, sugar, Sazón, and 5–6 cups water — enough to cover. Bring to a boil, then drop to a bare simmer.
5. Cover and braise 1½ to 2 hours. This is where the magic happens — the long, gentle heat and the acid break the meat down completely. Add water if it reduces too far.
6. Stir in the rest of the culantro, remove the bay leaf, adjust the salt, and finish with a squeeze of lime. Serve over spaghetti.

The Bottom Line

Wild turkey wants the brine and a staggered breast. Jackrabbit wants patience and a long braise. Both want the same bold, tangy sauce the original recipe was built around. Treat the game the way that grandmother treated a tough yard hen — low, slow, and unhurried — and it will reward you.