RECIPE: Mojito Chicken by Guy Fieri

Like I was telling you on Monday, I found a really fun blog called I Blame My Mother.  Sarah has been hosting the Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge.  You can read more about how to participate on her blog.  This week the featured chef is Guy Fieri.  I love this guy :).  When he was on the Next Food Network Star, my step-son and I were thrilled when he won.  He likes to fuse Asian and Latin flavors in unique dishes.  I chose to replicate the Mojito Chicken recipe.  I had to change it up a bit since my store didn't have mint and I had two different rums to use.  It looks like a lot of ingredients but most of these you'll find in your pantry.  I did run by the store to pick up fresh herbage, limes, orange juice and cornstarch.

Mojito Chicken

1 package chicken breasts (my store packages them in 3's)

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

Marinade (recipe follows)

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Mojito Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine the dry spices and rub the chicken, inside the skin and out.  Place in a dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Marinade

1 cup orange juice

2 limes, juices

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup gold rum

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients, then add the chicken and marinade in the fridge for an hour.  Remove the chicken and place in 13 x 9 baking dish.  Bake at 375 degrees F for an hour.  In the meantime prepare the glaze.

Mojito Glaze

1/4 cup rum

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt & pepper

In medium sauce pan, add rum, broth and brown sugar.  Reduce by 1/3 over high heat.  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch.  When rum mixture has reduced, add cornstarch mixture slowly to simmering liquid and whisk for 3 minutes until 50% thicker.  Keep in mind that you might not use all of the glaze.  When it's thick enough, add the cilantro and transfer to a small bowl.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

When the chicken is done, brush the glaze over the chicken and place under the broiler for 5 minutes.  Remove, let rest a few minutes and then slice and serve with more glaze on the side.

Kevin and I don't usually like liquor or wine flavored sauces or marinades.  In fact, I usually replace the wine in recipes with chicken broth.  However, this recipe was really tasty.  The marinade was REALLY good and I will probably use it again.  The rub was really good too.  I did feel like the marinade sort of washed off some of the rub but after we tasted it, I changed my mind.  We could taste all the flavors.  The glaze was light and flavorful.  Granted this might have something to do with the white rum I used (because I didn't have any other rum in the pantry).  If you don't like rum, you can totally replace it with more chicken broth.  I really wanted to try the marinade with mint but Publix didn't have any so I went with cilantro.  The flavor was really interesting (in a good way) and Kevin even ate it.  (He normally picks off the cilantro in anything we eat.)

Overall, this was a really yummy chicken and I hope you try it too. 

Enjoy!

This post has been linked to:

• FNCCC at I Blame My Mother
• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free
• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale