Jun 18, 2009, 12:11 PM
orange bourbon chicken w/ portabella mushrooms
Marinade:
3-4 chicken breasts
3-4 portabella mushrooms (optional)
3-5 good size oranges (squeezed, obviously)
1-2 shots of bourbon (I highly recommend Woodford Reserve)
~1/2 tsp of chopped garlic (optional, easy to over do)
~1/2 tsp of chopped ginger (optional, also easy to over do, so be careful)
pinch of salt
pinch of fresh ground pepper
Optional for later: have some brown sugar handy
fresh, chopped parsley
Before you squeeze the oranges, be sure to make some orange zest from them. After you squeeze the oranges, julienne the peel, and cut away as much of the pith as you can. Put these to the side.
Marinade the chicken breasts for about 30-45 minutes up to a few hours. Since oranges are acidic, if you marinade too long, it might start to "cook" the chicken (like a ceviche)...
After the marinade, heat your pan to medium+. If you're not worried about a little bit of butter, toss some in the pan. When it starts to get that "foam," lightly salt your chicken breasts and throw them in. At this point, up your heat a little and pour in about a 1/3 of the marinade. When you see that the chicken is cooked about halfway through (just look at the sides of the breasts--also, the marinade should be mostly cooked away by this point, that is fine. If not, cook it a little bit longer as long as the breasts aren't brown/burnt. If the marinade cooks off before the flip that is okay, also). Flip the breasts and add another 1/3 of marinade. Depending on how thick the portabella mushrooms are, you can toss them in now or wait a little longer (thicker portabellas might need to be tossed in earlier).
If you timed things correctly, the mushrooms should start to give off their juices right before the chicken is finished cooking (you will see steam and that the mushrooms are reducing in size). If not, no big deal yet. Once the chicken is cooked through, flip over again and add the rest of the marinade.
Once the portabellas are cooked through, you can remove the them and put them aside for now. Either chop them or serve them whole depending on how you are presenting the dish (i.e. standard dish or as a sandwich).
This next part is optional and hard to explain. When the marinade is reduced and almost cooked off (there should be just enough to coat the breasts), add a splash of bourbon, quickly followed by "just the right amount" of brown sugar to thicken the marinade into a glaze. Don't ask me what the correct amount is, I go on feel. If you are going to err, err on the light side, because too much brown sugar will make everything gummy and then it will overpower all the other flavors. Toss the chicken breasts to coat in the glaze, remove them to a side dish and rinse your pan with hot water immediately (just be careful of the steam). If you let that sugar harden, cleaning will be horrible.
Once the sugar is washed off, put the pan back to heat and after the water evaporates, pour a thin layer of oil (I prefer grape seed oil, but any vegetable-based oil will do) and bring to a high temp.
Prepare your presentation while the oil is getting to temp. Usually I add a spinach salad (with a lemon-based dressing) to the plate, followed by the chicken breast and portabella. Sprinkle some of the orange zest and parsley onto each plate.
Your oil should be up to temp, now take those julienned orange peels and carefully put them in the hot oil. This will not take long to cook and will burn fast, so have an appropriate utensil to get them out of the pan quickly. If you have a fryer or a wok and a spider, life will be a little easier. This is also a feel thing, if you let them get crisp in the oil, they will probably burn because they will cook a little after you pull them out of the oil. If you pull them too early, they will be soggy, limp, and you won't want to eat them. (In fact you might practice this a little before making this meal). Place them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. These fried orange peels (if done correctly) go great on the salad or can be served on the side or on top of the after-meal ice cream (which you should pour a little bourbon over for good measure).
Obviously, if you're making sandwiches, cut up some toppings and such. Also try this dish with and without the brown sugar.
If any of you other chefs see that I have missed/improperly represented something, let me know.
Marinade:
3-4 chicken breasts
3-4 portabella mushrooms (optional)
3-5 good size oranges (squeezed, obviously)
1-2 shots of bourbon (I highly recommend Woodford Reserve)
~1/2 tsp of chopped garlic (optional, easy to over do)
~1/2 tsp of chopped ginger (optional, also easy to over do, so be careful)
pinch of salt
pinch of fresh ground pepper
Optional for later: have some brown sugar handy
fresh, chopped parsley
Before you squeeze the oranges, be sure to make some orange zest from them. After you squeeze the oranges, julienne the peel, and cut away as much of the pith as you can. Put these to the side.
Marinade the chicken breasts for about 30-45 minutes up to a few hours. Since oranges are acidic, if you marinade too long, it might start to "cook" the chicken (like a ceviche)...
After the marinade, heat your pan to medium+. If you're not worried about a little bit of butter, toss some in the pan. When it starts to get that "foam," lightly salt your chicken breasts and throw them in. At this point, up your heat a little and pour in about a 1/3 of the marinade. When you see that the chicken is cooked about halfway through (just look at the sides of the breasts--also, the marinade should be mostly cooked away by this point, that is fine. If not, cook it a little bit longer as long as the breasts aren't brown/burnt. If the marinade cooks off before the flip that is okay, also). Flip the breasts and add another 1/3 of marinade. Depending on how thick the portabella mushrooms are, you can toss them in now or wait a little longer (thicker portabellas might need to be tossed in earlier).
If you timed things correctly, the mushrooms should start to give off their juices right before the chicken is finished cooking (you will see steam and that the mushrooms are reducing in size). If not, no big deal yet. Once the chicken is cooked through, flip over again and add the rest of the marinade.
Once the portabellas are cooked through, you can remove the them and put them aside for now. Either chop them or serve them whole depending on how you are presenting the dish (i.e. standard dish or as a sandwich).
This next part is optional and hard to explain. When the marinade is reduced and almost cooked off (there should be just enough to coat the breasts), add a splash of bourbon, quickly followed by "just the right amount" of brown sugar to thicken the marinade into a glaze. Don't ask me what the correct amount is, I go on feel. If you are going to err, err on the light side, because too much brown sugar will make everything gummy and then it will overpower all the other flavors. Toss the chicken breasts to coat in the glaze, remove them to a side dish and rinse your pan with hot water immediately (just be careful of the steam). If you let that sugar harden, cleaning will be horrible.
Once the sugar is washed off, put the pan back to heat and after the water evaporates, pour a thin layer of oil (I prefer grape seed oil, but any vegetable-based oil will do) and bring to a high temp.
Prepare your presentation while the oil is getting to temp. Usually I add a spinach salad (with a lemon-based dressing) to the plate, followed by the chicken breast and portabella. Sprinkle some of the orange zest and parsley onto each plate.
Your oil should be up to temp, now take those julienned orange peels and carefully put them in the hot oil. This will not take long to cook and will burn fast, so have an appropriate utensil to get them out of the pan quickly. If you have a fryer or a wok and a spider, life will be a little easier. This is also a feel thing, if you let them get crisp in the oil, they will probably burn because they will cook a little after you pull them out of the oil. If you pull them too early, they will be soggy, limp, and you won't want to eat them. (In fact you might practice this a little before making this meal). Place them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. These fried orange peels (if done correctly) go great on the salad or can be served on the side or on top of the after-meal ice cream (which you should pour a little bourbon over for good measure).
Obviously, if you're making sandwiches, cut up some toppings and such. Also try this dish with and without the brown sugar.
If any of you other chefs see that I have missed/improperly represented something, let me know.