Caribbean Chicken, with Orange & Rum Sauce

Coconut

By Cat, February 25, 2017 (photos, right and below, from Wikimedia Commons (2))

I’ve not yet tested this chicken recipe, but the combination of flavors promises to be delicious. First you prepare, stuff and fry the cutlets, then bake them.

See also: 1. Poultry & Fowl Menu; 2. Latin American Ethnic Menu; 3. Preparing Chicken or Other Cutlets; 4. Good Fats for Cooking; 5. Digestive Bitters

Caribbean Chicken, with Orange & Rum Sauce

This recipe is adapted from one by Viking Cruises (1); the original serves 4 or more, depending on serving size. I’ve adjusted this to serve 1 -2 (one half-breast); just multiply to serve more. I also include my version of the 4-servings recipe.

Angostura Bitters

You may not be familiar with bitters; it is a tincture or infusion of a mix of bitter herbs that is flavorful and also healthful. It is an ingredient in “Manhattan” and  ‘Old Fashioned’ alcoholic drinks, but is also delicious and healing when mixed with soda over ice with lime or lemon (“Bitters and Soda”). Bitters help to prepare your digestive system for a meal, and also help your tummy deal with gas and bloating associated with over-eating (as at Thanksgiving). There are many different brands/recipes for bitters, but the most common is Angostura, which is usually available in the ‘drinks’ ingredient section of your local grocer, or at a liquor store. See Digestive Bitters for more.

This recipe is fairly complex, as you first pound the breasts very thin, which is hard and time-consuming. then you add the apple/almond stuffing and roll them up before deep-frying then baking until done. The sauce is not as complex.

The deep frying uses a lot of oil/fat. The original recipe uses canola oil but I do not recommend that for deep frying because the high heat oxidizes the fat into free-radicals which cause many health issues; plus most canola oil is GMO and heavily sprayed with herbicides. I prefer to use coconut oil or a combo of coconut oil and lard, as they are not easily oxidized by the high heat. Duck fat would also be excellent, but can be hard to find unless you order online.

I intend to experiment with a different way to do the chicken, as I hate pounding the meat, then rolling it after coating with intended flavors (apple and almonds in this recipe). Thinly slicing breasts crosswise will not allow for rolling up the cutlets, but perhaps each breast could be cut in half lengthwise, then pounded separately – that wouldn’t take as much pounding to get them thin enough. Plus the rolled cutlets would not need 3″ deep fat – perhaps only 1″ deep would do, which would save on the amount of fat needed.

Ingredients & Equipment (serves 1 – 2)

See below recipe for original 4-serving version.

• Chicken:
• 1 chicken breast half (6 oz), boneless.
• 1 -2  Tbsp Angostura bitters
• Unrefined sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ large apple, peeled and finely diced
• ¼ cup almonds, chopped
• coconut oil, lard, or duck fat for frying
• ¼ cup unbleached white flour
• 1 medium, farm-fresh egg, beaten
• ¼ cup grated, unsweetened coconut
• Sauce:
• ½ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tbsp rum
• 2 ½ Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• Garnish
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• Chopped parsley, to taste
• Equipment:
• bowl for brining
• meat pounder
• pastry brush
• 2 plates and a bowl (for coating chicken)
• deep, heavy bottomed saucepan that will hold melted fat, 3″ deep (for frying prepped cutlets)
• tongs
• baking sheet
• deep, heavy bottomed saucepan (for sauce)
• 1-2  plates for serving

Method