Last weekend we had some friends over for supper. I am totally in awe of this couple! They are brilliant business people, great parents, incredible food and wine connoisseurs – I would never dare call them “foodies” because it seems like too crass of a term for them – and they are extremely gracious. So gracious, in fact, that I dared serve them 3 recipes I had conjured up during a long and restless night. Friends like that are priceless!
I love food with lots of flavour. Bland or boring food is not worth serving, not worth the calories, nor the effort to prepare it. This is one of those dishes that jumps up pleasantly and says, “Surprise!” It has heat and sweet. And with a little advanced planning for marinating, it is one of the simplest dishes to make.
Using a pressure cooker allows this to be on the table in a ridiculously short period of time, but any other method of cooking works too — in the oven or in a fry pan — and by cutting large chicken breasts into smaller pieces allows the chicken to cook faster than your side dishes can be ready.
I served this with a pile of fluffy garlic mashed potatoes, a mixed veggie salad with bourbon vinaigrette, and glass of crisply chilled chardonnay. (The third experimental recipe I dared serve these friends was a bourbon apple crisp!)
Bourbon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup gluten free tamari or soy sauce
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 Tbsp molasses
- 5 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 6–8 large chicken breasts, cut into palm-sized pieces
Instructions
- Mix first 8 ingredients together. Marinate chicken in 1 cup of sauce in refrigerator for 6-12 hourse, turning occasionally. Set aside remaining marinade in a clean jar, and refrigerate so flavours marry.
- Cook chicken in desired fashion. My first choice is to cook chicken in an electric pressure cooker for 5 minutes on high. Allow pressure to release natrually. Other options include pan frying, oven baking, or grilling. As long as chicken reaches 165 degrees internal temperature, any method produces delicious chicken.
- While chicken is cooking, strain remaining marinade through a sieve. Pour into a small sauce pan. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp cornstarch over surface, and whisk in. Bring to a boil to thicken.
- Using a slotted spoon remove chicken from pressure cooker (oven or pan) and put into serving dish. Pour thickened sauce over the meat and serve with cooked rice.
Note: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Canadian Club Whiskey and Jim Beam are considered to be gluten free bourbons. I have never experienced a negative response to bourbon, but proceed with caution if you are extremely allergic to gluten.
Hey Carlotta–
Congratulations on this new venture! I spend way too much time looking at food blogs on the computer, (my food porn addiction), but I’m certainly looking forward to what you will be serving up here. It’s turkey all weekend at this house, but Bourbon Chicken may be on the menu next week. (Along with a pressure cooker??)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks Terri!
I’m not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but will serve turkey for a birthday party on Saturday – prepared in a pressure cooker. 🙂 I can’t seem to live without it.
Hope you’ve had a great Thanksgiving!