Normally when you opt to cook with boneless skinless chicken breasts, you are training for a triathlon or body building contest (or the guy that played Tarzan in the 2016 remake) in which you are eating super lean meats and steamed broccoli to get that “six pack” for Abs. The other reason to eat the breast without the merits of bone or skin is speed and flexibility in flavor profile. Well I adapted one of Mark Bitman’s recipes (from How to Cook Everything) into one transformative quick meal that featured one of the most harmonious ingredient combinations I can ever recall.
But first, the cooking vessel. If you don’t have a 4-quart Le Creuset Brazer with lid, you must buy one (these also make great wedding gifts).
This is the 4-quart brazer with lid on:
You can fry, saute, braze with lid on or make a killer “Grilled or Broiled Chicken Cutlets with Honey and Cumin,” as I did. Bitman called for grilling or broiling the chicken but I thought #1, firing up the grill is not worth the effort for boneless/skinless breasts, #2 it seemed that the great liquids and flavors in the recipe could get lost by basting etc. and #3 I could better control the done-ness of the chicken by cooking it on the stovetop in a deep skillet. Nobody likes dried breast, especially me (a lifelong dark meat guy). While I never did put the lid on to make this dish (thus, it wasn’t truly brazed) the depth of the skillet was great for handling the meat and the sauce without making a mess of the stovetop.
Other than changing the cooking method, I used peanut oil instead of olive oil (peanut oil can handle higher heat to brown the chicken), sake instead of dry sherry, white wine or orange juice, and I also added some vegetable stock, plus I added a 1.5-inch thick cut of butter from a quarter-pound section at the end of the cooking which gave the sauce a silky texture. Butter makes everything better, anyway.
- Two halves of a boneless skinless breast
- 3 Tbls Peanut oil
- Half cup sake
- Quarter cup vegetable stock
- 3 Tbls honey
- 1.5 Tbls ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
- 3 Tbls butter
- Steps: Heat the skilled and just before putting the chicken in add the peanut oil.
- Brown chicken 3 minutes a side and then remove
- Add sake, scrap brown bits off bottom of pan (on medium high heat)
- Add minced garlic, honey and cumin – stir and cook for a minute or two
- Cut the breasts in half (making four pieces)
- Add veggie stock – cook on medium high heat two more minutes when some of the liquid starts to evaporate, add the chicken to the liquid and lower heat to simmer, cooking for 2 minutes.
- Add the butter, stir the chicken and sauce gently and constantly for about a minute then turn off heat.
- Let stand for 2-3 minutes, then turn the chicken pieces over and stir the sauce again.
- Let stand for 2 minutes and serve.
We had this dish with sticky white rice and steamed broccoli. Fantastic!