Life here at Burp! has been pretty hectic lately. Peef started a new job last week (yay for Peef!) and we've been doing some serious juggling to make sure that our schedules convene at all the proper moments. What that means is, we've not been reading (or writing) quite as much online.
That said, I do have a great recipe to share with you today.
If you think bourbon chicken should be relegated to the fast food court at the mall, I'm going to challenge you to change your tune.
This bourbon chicken recipe has been a staple in our kitchen for years. It makes a great stir-fry... but we think it really shines when used in a sammich.
You want to start off with some good quality split chicken breasts. Take each breast and place it between two sheets of waxed paper... then pound it with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until it is fairly thin.
Then, you'll want to take some brown sugar (or Sucanat), some bourbon, dark soy sauce, a bit of Dijon mustard, and some Worcestershire sauce - and mix it all together until well combined.
Lay the chicken breasts (the marinade will nicely accommodate 4-6 breasts) in a shallow container, season with salt and pepper, and then top with some sliced green onions.
Pour the marinade over the top and place in the fridge for a few hours. The chicken tastes best if you can marinate it overnight, but 4-6 hours also does nicely.
When the chicken has absorbed the flavors of the marinade, grill each breast 4-5 minutes per side on a grill pan (or outdoor grill) on medium-high heat. Admire the gorgeous grill marks.
You can eat the chicken as-is -- OR you can do as we we do and get to work on the fixins for a delicious sammich. First, thinly slice a Bosc pear (or two). Lay the slices on a section of French bread and top with a bit of brie and a chicken breast.
Then, take your sammiches and place them on a preheated panini press and grill them until they're warm and crips (you can also accomplish the same effect by placing the sammiches on a preheated grill pan and grilling them under the weight of a cast iron pan).
Top each sammich with a bit of watercress and get ready to drool.
You really can't beat this combination. The fresh spicy flavor of the watercress pairs nicely with the sweetness of the pear. It cuts the richness of the brie, and really complements the salty-sweet flavor of the bourbon marinade.You can't beat this sammich paired up with a side of roasted asparagus for a great spring dinner.
Enjoy!
Bourbon Chicken Breasts
©BURP! Where Food Happens
oh that sandwich looks like gourmet-on-the-go!
ReplyDeleteohhh. if that already didn't have pears and a sweet marinade on it,i'd totally smear some cherry preserves on it (or another type of preserves.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds absolutely delicious! Perfect for the long awaited barbecue season! Marinading the chicken for that long must result in a wonderfully rich flavor! Yum!
ReplyDeleteThis is one good looking chicken sammich!! But it would go with sooo many other things I can think of! Lovely!
ReplyDeleteAnd just in time for the derby...very nice and I've got bourbon to use up!
ReplyDeleteLooks fantastic! I love the combination of pears and brie.
ReplyDeleteLove the grill marks on that chicken - it looks so flavorful! And then paired with brie and pears - yum!!
ReplyDeleteI am admiring the gorgeous grill marks! The flavors in the marinade sound divine. And most definitely sandwich-worthy :-)
ReplyDeleteThe marinade looks excellent! I love your combo of flavors in the sammi!! I'd love a bite of that yumminess!
ReplyDeleteHooray for sammiches! It's funny, I was just saying last night that for my own next post I want to do a sandwich, er, sammich. Brie and pears is one of my favorite combos (or Brie and apples -- it's all good). These look lovely and satisfying!
ReplyDeleteHope Peef is loving the new job!
ReplyDeleteI've been behind in my blog posting and my blog reading. I can understand when others have the same issue.
Great sandwiches. I love bourbon on chicken. When I was having an excess of bourbon, that was one of the first things I did with it.
yum! Love it! I think I'll use your marinade for some legs- you don't think it will give the kids a buzz do you? I love pears and brie! Outstanding post as usual- you were missed last week!
ReplyDeleteNow that's a sammich! I love whacking chicken with a tenderizer mallet. Such a primal feeling, that. And bourbon. It's almost too much to bear...
ReplyDeleteThis would be wonderful for a picnic!
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm not much of a make-amazing-sandwiches-at-home girl (not sure why?) but I am definitely putting this one in the front of the line for meal rotations!
ReplyDeleteYa'll must have some fancy malls up there! We have chick Fil A and sonic up at our mall!
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH that looks so good! Hubby was just saying he's been hungry for pears too! I have to make a panini, I haven't done that yet!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thanks for the recipe my kids will walk by and sample it as often as they can. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck on the new job!
~ingrid
I was about to say, oh, what a waste of bourbon! But I think you treated these simple ingredients with grace and respect. I especially like the idea of grilling, and then grilling the whole sammich too. Now sing: Sammachis a bootifa, sammachis a fine...
ReplyDeleteThe chicken is literally perfectly grilled. The marks are nice! You worked up a good sammie here.
ReplyDeletejust made the chicken tonight with legs on the grill- ohhhhhh. You shoulda been here. Finger lickin chicken. mmmm good. all I needed was a mint mojito or something. Thanks guys. really. thanks:)
ReplyDelete