Best Bourbon Chicken Recipe

Among the best of the best chicken recipes, I have come to rely on is this Best Bourbon Chicken Recipe which has become a go to dinner recipe.

This Best Bourbon Chicken Recipe could not be any tastier. Sticky sweet and full of flavor your taste buds and belly will thank you for this amazing and easy chicken dish!

One of the best things to make in almost any circumstance is chicken. It’s always good to have some in the freezer ready to thaw because it’s a great go-to protein for any occasion. It’s a genuine crowd-pleaser and there are so many different ways to prepare and enjoy it that you will never ever get bored.

Among the best of the best chicken recipes, I have come to rely on is
this bourbon chicken which has a lot of ingredients, but it’s well worth the amount of trouble you have to go through to make it.

This bourbon chicken recipe is astoundingly scrumptious and it requires only a few steps to finish. However, be warned that you must use caution and exercise safety as you prepare this delicious dish.

Best Bourbon Chicken Recipe with Tips and Tricks to Customize

To really make this bourbon chicken shine I’m going to walk you through more than just the process and ingredients. I have some helpful tips that will help you stay organized and keep the momentum going while you cook. With so many different things to keep track of, you may get
overwhelmed and feel as though the recipe is more difficult than it really is.

Hopefully, the following tips will help you feel more in control so you can enjoy making it as much as you’ll enjoy eating it. When you’re finished, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this is the best bourbon
chicken.

Cooking Bourbon Chicken

The first tip I need to provide you with is to use caution before the sauce is added. It can tend to spit oil a lot. A splatter screen is helpful with this. And I also wear a thin oven mitt and flip the chicken with tongs.

I know it may sound scary but it’s not! And it’s so worth it. Once you do this one or twice it will be old hat and you can do with with your eyes almost closed.

Get Organized

Sometimes, even when a whole recipe is laid out for you, it can feel a bit overwhelming. You see that long ingredient list and you freeze. If you don’t make this sort of recipe a lot, you could not know where to start.

No matter what we are cooking we ALWAYS set all the ingredients out. There is nothing worse than having to run to your pantry to grab something when your in the middle of cooking or baking.

What is easy and expected for me might not be so natural and so you
might feel lost on this bourbon chicken recipe before you even begin to make it. That’s natural.

PIN IT!!

Don’t worry. Just breathe and start planning your prep. The first thing you should do is to gather your ingredients. assess what you have and what you need before going to the store to buy anything new.

There are 17 items on the ingredient list, including chicken and bourbon (go figure). Of all 17 ingredients, each one of them is very common to have in the pantry and you very likely won’t have to leave the kitchen to buy anything else.

Before you begin to cook, round up all of the ingredients and lay them out in front of you on a table or a large counter space. Measure whatever sauce ingredients you can into bowls beforehand, so you can easily incorporate them into the cooking process without having to gauge the measurements as you go. When the time comes to use each ingredient, you can simply pour it in and move on.

Sweet Bourbon Chicken

Down near the bottom of the ingredient list, you’ll notice that this bourbon chicken recipe calls for one cup of brown sugar. There’s no question that that’s a lot of sugar. But, it’s a very important part of the recipe. We tried cutting the sugar to see if it was a good option, but the truth is, the flavor really suffered.

You can cut the sugar if you are concerned about making this meal healthier, but my recommendation is to keep the recipe as is to preserve the flavor and then stick with the suggested serving size to cut down on unhealthy ingredients that way.

You won’t have as much per serving as you probably would normally, but it will taste fantastic. If you prefer more quantity, but still want less sugar, it isn’t against any rules to use half a cup instead, but if you compare the two versions, there is no contest when it comes to taste.

We don’t recommend substituting anything else for the sugar either. Whether you stick to the full recipe or modify the amount of brown sugar you use in this bourbon chicken, you should stick to just the brown sugar.

For one reason, different artificial sweeteners can impact the flavor
differently and the ratio is too variable to pin down the right measurements with any degree of certainty.

The other thing to consider is that even artificial brown sugar tastes different from real brown sugar and most artificial sweeteners don’t even come close to the right flavor. It won’t come out right, no matter what you use and it could potentially ruin the entire dish.

Other Adjustments to Customize Your Bourbon Chicken

Another thing you might want to consider reducing if you are more health-conscious is the bourbon. No. I’m kidding. The sodium. A few of the ingredients are fairly high in sodium, which leads to a mounting total when you put it all together.

The great news here is that curbing the sodium level of this dish is fairly easy to do. Some ingredients are available in low sodium versions. Again, these are ingredients you are likely to already have in your pantry if sodium is a concern for you. Swap out the chicken broth and the soy sauce for low sodium versions to significantly reduce the sodium levels this bourbon chicken contains.

Finally, before we dive right into this incredible bourbon chicken recipe. We can’t talk about salt without bringing up a little bit of spice.

One way to seriously plus this dish is to bring a little bit of
heat. The chicken totally doesn’t need it at all, but for that little extra kick, you can increase the red pepper flakes to taste and even throw in some sriracha for good measure.

Best Bourbon Chicken

● 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
● 5 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
● ½ teaspoon salt
● ½ teaspoon pepper
● ¼ cup vegetable, corn, or canola oil
● 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
● 1 cup water
● 2/3 cup soy sauce
● ½ cup apple juice
● ½ cup chicken broth
● 1/3 cup ketchup
● ¼-1/3 cup bourbon (1/4 cup for a light bourbon flavor or 1/3 cup for a little stronger bourbon flavor)
● 2 tablespoons white vinegar
● ½ teaspoon ground ginger
● ½ teaspoon onion powder
● 1 cup brown sugar, packed
● ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

Directions:

1. Trim any fat off of the chicken and cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons of the corn starch with the salt and pepper; add the chicken and toss well to completely coat.
2. In a large skillet or pot, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add half of the chicken pieces. Cook on one side without stirring for 3 minutes. Turn each piece of chicken and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
3. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and set aside. Add the remaining half of the oil to the skillet, then add the remaining pieces of uncooked chicken. Cook the chicken on one side without stirring for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
   Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
4. Add the minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for 20-30 seconds until fragrant. To the skillet add the water, soy sauce, apple juice, chicken broth, ketchup, bourbon, vinegar, brown sugar, ground ginger, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Stir well and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
5. Reduce the heat to low and add the chicken to the sauce. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce is reduced by half.
6. Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1-2 tablespoons of water. Then stir into the sauce to thicken (optional).
7. Serve the bourbon chicken hot over steamed rice.

What Is Bourbon Chicken

Originally I thought bourbon chicken was an Asian dish. But come to find out it originated and is named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Not that it matters because either way it is so delicious!

Bourbon chicken was the dish I’d always grab whenever we used to go to the mall for a quick lunch. I loved it because it was always bursting with flavor! And the chicken is so juicy and tender.

Now you can make it at home. It may seem a little time consuming at first but, make it once or twice and it will become old hat! You will be making this over and over again.

OTHER RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells

Cheesy Crack Chicken Casserole

French Onion Chicken

White Chicken Enchiladas