| Lime Cilantro Chicken - Instructions |
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| Written by Graydon | |
| Monday, 18 September 2006 | |
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This is a great one and despite the lengthy description isn't that hard to make. I thought about calling it "Garlic Lime Cilantro Chicken" but it's not that heavy on the garlic, so it fell from the name. But feel free to pump up the garlic and rename it for your own taste.
Your ingredients... Cilantro (~1/4 of a bunch, bunch being whatever the store put together in a plastic wrapper), 1 orange, 1 lime, chopped onion (I used some dry minced stuff, if you want to use fresh, do), celery salt (~1 tsp), cumin (~1 tsp), garlic (2 cloves), salt and pepper to taste (start w/ 1 tsp each), bread crumbs and extra virgin olive oil. Plus chicken (not pictured, duh!)
Here's the chicken... plain boneless chicken breast w/ rib meat.
Here's the other side, just in case you were wondering
Trim and divy up into 3 pieces (help ensure even cooking). If your chicken is smaller, 2 pieces may work. Larger? OK, try 4 pieces.
I've got 3 breasts cut up into 7 similar sized pieces (3 + 2 + 2 as the others were smaller)
Now to move onto the flavoring... First the cilantro (I'm using a blender because that's what I have... got a food processor, fine, use it. ain't got either? well, go beat a rock down until it forms a bowl and do it native american style)
Here we've got the onion, two garlic cloves, salt, pepper, celery salt, cumin thrown on top.
While you've got an orange and lime, don't let the outside go to waste... zest them up and throw them in there.
Give it a whirl... scrape down the sides... whirl again, repeat until you get some coarse paste looking stuff.
Add the extra virgin olive oil... probably about a 1/4 of a cup or as much as you need to get a good looking mix and enough volume to cover however much chicken you have. I did the ole' drizzle in through the hole in top while the blender was running... what a freaking mess still... so be cautious, or just turn it off... it won't hurt.
Dump over onto the chicken and mix nicely. Add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (really totally optional, but I like the extra crust that carries some flavor) to get a relatively even coating.
Toss your chicken into a HEATED skillet. OK, the picture shows a pot, that's what I had that was large enough on the bottom for all of the pieces to fit without bunching up on each other. If you don't have something big enough, just work in batches and keep the cooked stuff warm someplace.
"Wait, you didn't say how hot!" I know... and sorry, I don't have a picture to show more, but here's the general idea when pan cooking your chicken (sauteing)... put a small amount (tbsp) oil in you pan and put on med to med-high heat and let it warm up until the oil spreads evenly and has a "shimmer" to it, but is not yet smoking (I'll have to explain more later, but just watch it one time and you'll see). I'm cooking with gas (finally) so I'm on medium... see!
OK, another lapse on my picture taking... because you are about to ask "when do I flip it"... well, timewise, it'll be about 3 - 5 minutes... but if you go back two pictures you'll notice the thinner section of one cut getting white on the top... that's what I use as a gauge... when it's looking like the cooked portion is coming up past the mid point of the side on the thicker pieces and the thin pieces start to show cooking on the top, flip them... Keep track of your time though.
Oh, don't that look pretty!
Mmmmmh... them some tasty looking yardbirds...
OK, so you flipped them and then let it go for the same amount of time as the first side. If you are a scared freak, then go a bit more... really worried, get the thermometer out and look for 160F in the middle of the thickest piece... check them all if you have some obviouse hot / cool spots on the skillet. All esle fails, as you take them out, just cut every one in half and look. Remember, this is home cooking... plating a bird sliced in two doesn't matter at home... especially if it makes you comfortable eating the food.
Mmmh again... that is good looking. And the best part? You get some cool looking green stuff along portions... move over green eggs and ham... we've got green chicken! That's it... simple enough. If you want, the stuff left over in the pan once the chicken is removed makes a great sauce. Just add about a tablespoon of flour, mix well and add some chicken broth, scrape up all of the leftovers and let simmer down to the thickness you desire. I made some for this chicken, but got sidetracked and didn't get the pictures... maybe next time. Still thinking this looks complicated? OK, start simple... prep your chicken, drizzle some olive oil on it with some celery salt and pepper and cook the same way. Get the technique worked out and them experiment with the seasonings.
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 16 October 2006 ) |
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