Chicken

If I have Indian food, this is usually my go-to. I LOVE chicken tikka masala. This is the first time I’ve made it, not counting the times I’ve used a jarred tikka masala sauce.

Admittedly, this isn’t the easiest dish to make. It takes time to make the marinade and then the time to actually let the meat marinate. Then, you need to make the sauce. IT IS WORTH IT!

I hope the next time you are craving some Indian food or just want to try something new, I hope you’ll make my version of Chicken Tikka Masala.

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Chicken Tikka Masala Over Basmati Rice

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Indian

By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 8

Chicken Tikka Masala Over Basmati Rice

Ingredients

• Marinade:
• 1 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• 4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 - tsp tumeric
• 4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 2 1/2 - 3 lbs Chicken Thighs, boneless and skinless
• Sauce:
• 4 Tbsp ghee
• 1 Vidalia onion, sliced
• 2 Serrano chilies (seeded and stemmed if you want it slightly more mild)
• Kosher salt, about a teaspoon
• 1 tsp ginger, freshly grated
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tsp Hungarian paparika
• One 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Chopped cilantro for garnish
• 1-2 cups cooked Basmati Rice (I won't judge if you use the packaged microwave rice)
• Naan for serving

Instructions

1

For the Marinade:

2

Whisk the yogurt, ginger, salt, red chili powder, garam masala, pepper, turmeric, and garlic in a large bowl.

3

Add the chicken and mix to fully coat all the chicken

4

Squeeze out the air and seal in a large freezer bag

5

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight is best.

6

For the Sauce:

7

Add the ghee to a large Dutch oven over medium heat

8

Add the onions, Serrano, salt

9

Cook until the onions begin to caramelize

10

Move the onions to one side, making room to add the fenugreek, garam masala, chili powder, and paparika

11

Stir the spices for about a minute, until fragrant

12

Add the tomatoes, break them up as needed and bring to a boil

13

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until reduced by half (you'll want to stir occassionally) - about 30 minutes

14

Turn off the heat

15

Let the sauce cool for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a blender. (don't fill the blender more than half way)

16

Remove the center cap of the blender, cover the lid with a clean dish towel, and pulse until smooth

17

Add 1/4 cup heavy cream and puree until creamy

18

Pour back into the pot and bring to a simmer

19

Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed

20

Pre-heat your broiler to high

21

Arrange the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet

22

Broil until the chicken starts to brown, about 5-7 min per side (it won't be fully cooked at this point)

23

Remove from the broiler and let cool

24

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces

25

Add the chicken to the simmering sauce and cook until until the chicken finishes cooking, about 10-12 minutes

26

Serve over rice and garnish with the cilantro

27

Serve the naan on the side and enjoy!

Notes

My instructions say to marinade the chicken, broil, cut in to pieces, and put in the sauce to simmer. An alternate method would be skip the marinade completely. Cut the chicken in bite sized pieces, season with salt, pepper and the seasonings used in the marinade, and sear the chicken in a pan. Set it aside and make the sauce. I use this method when I hadn't planned ahead and marinated the chicken overnight.

On the menu tonight – Fried Chicken! It’s not really fried, it’s oven “fried” chicken.

I wanted fried chicken, but I didn’t want stand over a pan of hot oil at the end of the day. To get close to the same flavor, I prepared the chicken like I would have if I was going to fry it, but I baked it instead.

It came out really good! Since I used bread crumbs for the coating and didn’t actually fry it, the coating was a little on the dry side. I kind of expected that to happen as the chicken didn’t get a dunk in hot oil. The rest of the familiar flavors were there. I added some Tabasco to my egg wash to give it a little kick. I also used a BBQ rub in the breadcrumb mixture and that has a little bit if cayenne pepper. The end result was fantastic! There’s a little heat, but I wouldn’t even call it a medium heat.

What I love most about this meal is how quickly it came together. I put some flour seasoned with a little salt and pepper in one pan, a few whisked eggs with some Tabasco in another pan, and Italian bread crumbs with some onion powder, garlic powder, and BBQ rub in another pan. I prepped the chicken just as I would have if I were going to fry it, coating it in the flour, dipping in the egg mixture, then coating with the bread crumbs and setting aside. Setting the chicken aside for a bit to let that coating dry a little is key – don’t skip that step. If you like a thick crust, repeat the process.

Because you set the chicken aside to dry for a bit, it’s a great make-ahead meal. You can get the chicken prepped and coated, waiting in the fridge. When you’re ready to cook, pull it out to let it come to room temperature before putting it in the oil or oven.

When it comes out of the oven, let it rest a few minutes before serving. I made a mix of tenders and thighs. You can serve all of it on it’s own with dipping sauces and sides, or you could make your own chicken biscuits and sandwiches.

I hope you’ll try my Oven “Fried Chicken”!

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Oven Fried Chicken

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 35 minutes – Total Time: 65 minutes

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
• 2-3 eggs, whisked
• 1 cup AP flour
• 2ish cups of Italian bread crumbs (error on the side of too much bread crumbs. I'd rather use the leftover in something else or throw it away than not have enough to coat the chicken)
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp BBQ rub (store bought or make your own)
• Tabasco sauce - a few dashes

Instructions

1

Dry off the chicken

2

Get a pan/plate with the flour and season it with the Kosher salt and ground pepper

3

Get a pan/bowl with the whisked eggs and add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce

4

Get a pan/plate with the Italian bread crumbs, BBQ rub, garlic powder, and onion powder

5

Dredge the chicken in the flour, shake off the excess

6

Dredge the chicken in the egg mixture, let the excess drip off

7

Dredge the chicken in the bread crumb mixture

8

Set the coated chicken on a wired rack or plate

9

Repeat the process for the rest of the chicken

10

If you like a thicker crust on your chicken, repeat the coating process after the chicken has had a few minutes to dry a little

11

Put the coated chicken in the fridge for at least 20 minutes

12

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

13

Put the chicken on a baking sheet and bake for about 35 minutes (Note that I used boneless chicken, if using bone-in chicken it will take longer)

14

When finished baking, let it rest for 5 minutes before serving

15

Notes

I prefer chicken thighs for fried chicken. Thigh meat is more flavorful and forgiving, it won't dry out as much as say a chicken breast. In this recipe, I used boneless and skinless because that's what was in my fridge. If you use bone-in and skinned chicken, you will want to add some time to the cook. I'd have added about 12-15 minutes to the cook time in the oven if I'd have used bone-in chicken thighs.

On the menu tonight – Parmesan and Herb Chicken Tenders!

While you could certainly have these tenders along with some BBQ sauce, they would be delicious. What am I saying? They WERE delicious! I had to have one even before I took the picture. BUT, you could also turn them into chicken Parmesan. Or, you could let them cool off and put them over a salad.

They turned out so flavorful and juicy. Because I didn’t fry them too long and then finished them in the oven, I controlled how dark the bread crumbs got AND they didn’t dry out.

I think it took longer to set up the flour, egg, and bread crumb stations than it did to actually cook the tenders!

The other great thing about this dish is they would freeze really well. I hope you will pick up some chicken tenders and make this dish. Write and tell me how you liked them and whether you had them as is or if you went in another direction.

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Parmesan and Herb Chicken Tenders

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 6

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Parmesan and Herb Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

• Peanut Oil for frying
• 1 1/2 lb chicken tenders
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2-3 large eggs beaten with 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp seasoned salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• Breading:
• 1 1/2 Italian bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp thyme, dried
• 1 Tbsp rosemary, dried
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 4 cloves garlic, minced OR 1 Tbsp garlic powder

Instructions

1

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

2

In one pie tin or plate, add the flour, the seasoned salt, and pepper, then mix to combine

3

In another pie tin or plate, add the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, thyme, garlic, and rosemary

4

On yet another plate, put the chicken on it and pat it dry

5

Season the chicken with seasoned salt and pepper

6

Have a sheet pan with a wire rack on it at the ready

7

Are you ready? Here we GO!

8

Coat each piece of chicken in the flour (I used tongs to try to keep my hands clean)

9

Then dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then roll in the bread crumb/cheese mixture

10

Let the chicken rest on the wire rack a few minutes after they are all done. You want the coating to get a little tacky on the chicken so it sticks better

11

As the chicken rests, put about a 1/2 inch of oil in a cast iron skillet and heat to 350 degrees

12

When the oil comes to temperature, add 2-3 pieces at a time. Place them CAREFULLY in the oil, letting the tender slide in the oil away from from in case it splatters

13

Cook each piece until it is golden brown and then remove to the wire rack

14

Continue in batches until all the chicken is cooked

15

Place the sheet pan of chicken into the oven for about 10 minutes to ensure it is cooked through

16

After the timer goes off, remove from the oven and serve

Notes

Bring the chicken to room temperature, approximately 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. Don't worry, it's OK. Once the chicken tenders are cooked, you have SO many choices. You could serve as is with some different dipping sauces (BBQ, Ranch, Honey mustard...). Another option is to make little chicken Parmesans, OR you could serve them cold over a salad. Those are just a few options I thought of off the top of my head.

On the menu tonight – Food Court Bourbon Chicken!

This is one of my guilty pleasures. I can’t tell you how many times I have ordered this from the food court in the building I used to work. Funny thing is, as much as I loved it, I never made it – until now. It has been too long since I have had this delicious Americanized Chinese food.

The thing I remember most about getting it at the food court is the person serving it always has that little scoop – it’s always the same type scoop no matter where I have been. When you order it, they move the bourbon chicken around in the pan a few times like they are trying to get you the biggest scoop they can. You’re thinking “Oh yeah! Load me up!” BUT, when it’s time to put it in the styrofoam container that darn scoop is mostly full if you’re lucky! They start putting a few pieces of the chicken on the rice and now you’re thinking “What happened to those heaping scoops I saw you moving around???!!!…” LOL I digress, good times.

It didn’t take long to find recipes on Pinterest for copy cat versions, so full disclosure when I say I did not craft this recipe. The final product was pretty good, definitely better than some food court chicken that I have had, but I’m going to work on this one. It tasted like something was missing.

When I make it next time, I will season the chicken first. Another change I will make is to marinade the chicken as well for at least an hour. If you have a version of bourbon chicken, I would like to hear how you make your version.

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Food Court Bourbon Chicken

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Food Court Bourbon Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black powder
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 3 Tbsp water
• 1 cup rice

Instructions

1

Prepare the rice per package instructions and set aside

2

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, about 1 inch

3

In a bowl, combine the ginger, pepper, soy sauce, bourbon, water, garlic, vinegar, and brown sugar, then set aside

4

In a large sauce pan, pre-heat over medium high heat

5

Add the chicken and cook until the chicken starts to brown - about 8 minutes. Do it batches if needed, don't crowd the pan

6

Add the bourbon mixture and stir well

7

Bring it to a boil and then lower the temperature to medium and then simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes.

8

Allow time for the alcohol to cook off

9

Add the cornstarch slurry and stir. The sauce will quickly start to thicken

10

Serve over rice

Notes

As mentioned above, I recommend seasoning the chicken first with salt and pepper first. I would also recommend marinading the chicken in the liquid mixture for at least an hour. Next time, I think I will add about a 1/2 tsp of sesame oil.

On the menu tonight – Citrus Glazed Roasted Chicken!

It’s getting colder outside, but I wanted to a summery bright dish to give one more shout out to summer. I also wanted to do something different than a lemon chicken, though there is lemon in this recipe.

As the title says, the chicken is glazed. I don’t usually take the time to make a separate glaze but this time I tried it and I’m glad I did. That glaze adds another great level of flavor. For the citrus, I used freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice along with the zest.

I let the chicken marinade over night which resulted in really juicy and flavorful chicken.

One thing that didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked is the chicken skin. I would have liked the skin to be crispier. Even though I took the time to remove the excess liquid, the skin still didn’t crisp up. Next time, I will put the chicken under the broiler the last 5-10 minutes. Or, I may just grill the chicken next time instead of baking it. In any event, the chicken was still delicious.

I hope you will make your version and let me know it turns out.

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Citrus Marinated and Glazed Roasted Chicken

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 1 hour – Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Citrus Marinated and Glazed Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

• 3-4 lbs chicken thighs (skin-on and bone-in)
• 2 oranges, zested and juiced
• 1/2-1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 3 Tbsp basalmic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp celery seed
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp freshly chopped mint
• 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly chiffonade basil
• 3/4-1 cup Mojo marinade
• Glaze:
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp shallot, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 cup orange marmelade
• 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1/4 cup reserved marinade, strained

Instructions

1

Combine all the ingredients in a zip lock type bag

2

Massage and mix the chicken with the marinade before letting rest in the refrigerator at least 4 hrs

3

Let chicken come to room temperature prior to cooking, about 30-60 minutes

4

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

5

Put the chicken in a 13x9 baking dish, skin side down. Reserve some of the marinade for basting

6

Bake the chicken for 45 minutes, then baste with the glaze, turn each piece over and glaze that side

7

Bake an addition 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes

8

Make the glaze after you put the chicken in the oven:

9

Heat a small sauce pan over medium-high heat with olive oil

10

Add the shallots and ginger, saute for 3-4 minutes

11

Add the remaining ingredients, reduce heat to a simmer

12

Cook for 15 minutes or longer, it should have thickened

13

Before you baste for the first time, there will likely be a lot of liquid in the bottom of the baking dish. To get a nice glaze, you will want to get that liquid out of there so the glaze can really thicken.

On the menu tonight – Pollo al Horno… Roasted Chicken!

I came across this dish while I was in El Salvador. On my last day there, the house keeper made this for me and it was one of the best chicken dishes I’ve had. I asked her how she made it, which was a challenge because she didn’t speak English and my Spanish is marginal at best. Luckily for me, she wrote out the recipe – but it was all in Spanish. I brought what she wrote to work with me and asked my colleagues to help translate. It must have been pretty comical watching about 5 IT guys reading over what she wrote and trying to figure out what this or that word in English was.

My version was fantastic! It was juicy and flavorful. The potatoes get some of that chicken flavor from the juices as it bakes. While I think we came pretty close, my version still isn’t as good as what Anna made.

If you want to try a different take on a roasted chicken, I hope you will try my interpretation of an El Salvadorian Pollo al Horno.

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Pollo al Horno / Roasted Chicken

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 15min – Cooking Time: 3 hrs – Total Time: 3hrs 15min

Pollo al Horno / Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
• 2 Tbsp Complete Seasoning (Badia brand)
• 1 Tbsp Granulated garlic
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp mustard (I used honey mustard)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp hot sauce
• Kosher salt to taste
• 1 Tbsp chicken powder (tried substituting Chicken flavored Better Than Bullion )
• Potatoes:
• 1.5 lbs small potatoes (fingerling, Yukon, red potatoes, your choice), halved/quartered depending on size

Instructions

1

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

2

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Complete seasoning, garlic, black pepper, mustard, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, and hot sauce

3

Marinade the chicken in the mixture for at least an hour

4

In a large mixing bowl, add the small potatoes, olive oil, and Kosher salt

5

Fill the cavity of the bird with the cilantro, celery, basil, mint, garlic, and onion

6

Scatter the potatoes around the chicken on the baking sheet

7

Bake on a rimmed baking sheet covered with foil for 2 hours

8

Uncover the bird and bake an additional hour

9

Let rest 10-15 minutes before serving