Tequila Lime Chicken {From Simply Nigella}
After a two month hiatus from food related posts I thought I would jump back in with one of my favorite cooks and food writer - Nigella Lawson. Recently I picked up a copy of her 2017 cookbook, Simply Nigella. There are quite a few recipes I want to sample from this cookbook and have started with the Tequila Lime Chicken.
The recipe is simple with few ingredients and reminded me of another dinner we had quite a while ago. That was a delicious grilled meal - Tequila Honey Pineapple chicken, photo below. See that post and recipe here; I highly recommend it.
We planned to have this again but the little containers of pineapple juice had apparently expired. Didn't know we kept them around so long. It's been ages since a cocktail was made around here and those were from those days.
Anyway, Nigella's recipe turned out very nicely and we plan to have it again one day. As it was baking we took a short walk and wow, when we walked back inside the aroma wafting through the house was amazing. Instant hunger.
I'd like to note that marinating for 6 hours was perfect. I do think 2 days, as mentioned in the recipe as the longest time to marinate, would be way too much time. Citrus can dry out meats if left too long. Also, when I stored the leftovers I drained the remaining juices/marinade.
Recipe is below as I copied from Nigella's site and the book Simply Nigella. We would have this again sometime but I think in side-by-side comparision that Tequila Honey Pineapple recipe would win out.
- 1 preferably organic chicken (approx. 1.4 kg/3-lb, jointed into 8 pieces)
- 5 tablespoons tequila blanco
- 2 limes (preferably unwaxed)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (plus more to sprinkle on at the end)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons regular olive oil
Method
- First, put the jointed chicken pieces into a freezer bag.
- Mix together the tequila, zest and juice of the limes, the chilli flakes, salt and olive oil, and then tip this into the freezer bag with the chicken. Seal or tie tightly (letting out the air first) and place it (on a tray or in a dish) in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours or overnight, or up to 2 days, or leave outside the fridge, but in a cool place, for 40 minutes if you’re short of time.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. If the chicken is in the fridge, take it out and remove the chicken pieces from the bag, reserving the marinade. Sit the chicken pieces on a smallish, shallow baking tray for about 30 minutes to allow them to come to room temperature. It’s important that the chicken pieces sit on the tray without a lot of room to spare, or else the marinade will immediately evaporate in the hot oven. When you are ready to put it into the oven, pour half of the marinade over the chicken pieces and transfer to the hot oven for 25 minutes.
- Take the chicken out of the oven, pour the other half of the reserved marinade over it, then put the chicken back in for another 25–30 minutes. Check it is cooked through before removing from the oven. Put the chicken pieces on a serving plate.
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