Word of Mouth's Crunken Chicken

A college friend shared a link to Word of Mouth's blog, which included this recipe for Crunken Chicken. Mine is currently in the oven, but I can tell you the sauce is out of this world. I can't wait for dinner tonight! I particularly like that it is so versitile--it can be an appetizer, you can bake it, or you can grill it. I made mine on a broiler pan in the oven (10 minutes each side, brushing with sauce on both sides when flipping the chicken). I also think this sauce would be pretty kick-ass on appetizer meatballs (the kind you make in a crock pot) or on pretty much anything. Pour it over a pork tenderloin, use it with flank steak--you really can't go wrong.

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1/4 cup bourbon

1 12oz. bottle dark brown ale

1 tbl. cayenne powder (if making for little geeks, omit this or cut it down a bit)

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 tsp. salt

Sauce:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 cup minced onion

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons dry mustard

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided

1/4 teaspoon chili powder (included in original recipe but I left it out accidentally and didn't miss it)

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1/4 cup bourbon

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (whole or cut into 1” nuggets)* (I made 6 breasts b/c that's what was in the package)

Marinade: Combine beer, bourbon, ¼ c. molasses, cayenne and salt in a large bowl. Add chicken, cover and marinate for ½ hour or up to 4 hours.

Sauce: Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until soft, about 6 minutes. Add ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ¼ c. molasses, dry mustard, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and chili powder (unless you forget like me). Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir in ¼ c. bourbon; cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Cook:

In oven--Preheat oven to 425. Drain marinade from chicken. Add chicken to a 9 x 13 baking dish coated with cooking spray or broiler pan. Brush generously on all sides with bbq sauce, reserving some sauce for the table. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, turning and basting after 10 minutes.

To Grill: Grill the boneless breasts or add the nuggets to a skewer. Grill over medium heat, turning to cook all sides, about 20 minutes. Brush with BBQ sauce and cook until glaze is formed – about 3 more minutes. Serve all with reserved sauce.

My kitchen smells amazing. I could eat this sauce with a spoon! Check out Word of Mouth and be prepared to spend some time looking at recipes. YUM!

I think that we may be eating Crunken Chicken Pizza tomorrow night here at Chez Silicon. I bet it's awesome!

Ham Glaze!

Because I wanted my kids to nap at home, I ended up hosting Easter. Part of that was cooking a ham, which I'd never done before. I just bought a spiral sliced ham from the store, and then looked online for a glaze.

You all know I love me some liquor in or on my food, so this is the one I used:

(makes enough for a 4-6 lb ham, although I'd double it and pour it on THICK)

One boneless, fully-cooked smoked ham half (spiral sliced is easier). This recipe is for a 4-6 lb ham, but if yours is larger just adjust the cooking time and make more glaze.
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup bourbon/whiskey
1 Tbsp finely grated orange peel (I left this out b/c I didn't have an orange)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Preheat oven to 325.
On a rack in a roasting pan, roast ham, uncovered, for abotu 20 minutes per pound, or until a meat thermometer reads 140.

Before ham is done (at about 100), simmer a mixture of the brown sugar, bourbon, orange peel, cloves, and allspice over medium low heat for about 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Brush the glaze over the ham about 20 minutes before done (around 120).

YUM!