Citrus Chicken

A couple of weeks ago I was hunting for a new chicken recipe. Nothing in particular in mind....just something I hadn't done before. I came across Grilled Citrus Chicken over at Spryte's Place and the freshness of it...zest and juice from lemon, lime and orange....really got my attention. As I read her post, I noticed that Spryte had gotten the recipe from a fellow BakeSpace member...AND she included the link to the forum thread that lead to the sharing of the recipe. I clicked on the link to see if I would remember the conversation...but of course I didn't. It occurred over 2 yrs ago...but it was fun to reminisce.

The good ole days.

Well...I made a couple of changes in the recipe. Not because it "needed" it by any means...but we weren't grilled and I was in the mood for little bite sized chicken. And I was planning on making rice. The original recipe had Dijon mustard in it. Spryte replaced it with soy sauce. I used both. I'm not a fan of thyme...which was in the recipe. I replaced it with sage. I then made a sauce so go over the chicken and rice.

Let's just say....it was fabulous! A new favorite around here for sure! I wish I had made it 2 yrs ago when it was first shared with all us lucky BakeSpace peeps.

I have to warn ya here...I didn't jot down exact time frames on cooking this dish...you just have to kinda keep and eye on it and go with your gut.

Citrus Chicken
Printable Version

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs or a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used the prepackaged chicken thighs from Costco) cut into chunks
1 TB each lemon, lime and orange zest
1 TB each lemon, lime and orange juice
2 shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 TB soy sauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil plus extra for the pan
1 1/2 TB honey
2 TB fresh sage, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

In a sealable baggy, combine the citrus zests and juice along with the shallots, garlic, Dijon, soy sauce, veggie oil, honey, sage, salt and pepper. Squish around to combine. Add in the chicken. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate for a few hours. I wouldn't do it overnight though. Citrus is a fantastic tenderizer but if left too long, it starts to break down the meat. I've even heard that it will begin to "cook" fish. I don't do fish (due to allergies) so I haven't investigated how and why this happens. Or how technically true it is.....anyways....2 - 6 hours is fine.

Add enough oil in a hot skillet to cover the bottom. Pour everything, chicken and marinade, into the heated skillet.

Cook on medium low, stirring often, until liquid is pretty much cooked down. This is were you have to be careful. If the heat is too high or you cook it too long, you could scorch the marinade residue.

Remove the chicken and set aside

Add the vermouth to the hot skillet and deglaze the pan, stirring up all those crispified bits that might be stuck to the bottom...mmmm....lots of flavor in those babies. Add the chicken broth

Allow to simmer until reduced a bit. Not too much cuz you want enough sauce to pour over the chicken and soak into the rice...ya know? Because once the sauce is done, you add the chicken back into the pan and serve it over some nice fluffy rice