Margarita Chicken
When a drink after work isn't enough, make this Margarita Chicken!
I make chicken for dinner a lot. It's easy and requires almost no thought on my part, which is great for those long days. But plain ol' chicken can get boring after a while. Which is why I try to mix things up every now and then.
One of our more recent chicken experiments is this Margarita Chicken. It is exactly what it sounds like. Imagine marinating chicken in a margarita and this is what you would get, more or less.
In case you aren't sure what goes into a margarita, its a lot of lime juice, a hint of Triple Sec (orange liquor), some simple syrup, and a shot of Tequila. Since this is a chicken recipe, I decided to forgo the sweetness. But just about everything else in the marinade is just like the drink - lime juice, orange juice (instead of triple sec), tequila, and a generous amount of sea salt! Because I like my margaritas with salt. There may also be a hint of garlic and cumin in there, too. I definitely wouldn't recommend putting either of those in your drink.
To make sure that the lime flavor was coming through loud in clear, I also topped off the chicken with some lime zest along with some salt and pepper.
After the chicken is done getting drunk on it's very own margarita, all it needs is a good sear on a hot grill or in a pan and it is done! And don't worry about overcooking this chicken. The lime juice and tequila makes the chicken breasts nice and moist and tender, so you won't dry it out if you tend to overcook chicken like me.
I hope this recipe will inspire you to mix up your chicken routine. It would be perfect with a side of rice, on a nice salad, or in a taco. The options are endless!
Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 lime juice
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp tequila
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 lb chicken breast (about 2)
Instructions
- In shallow dish, whisk together lime juice, orange juice, tequila, lime zest, sea salt, garlic powder, cumin, and pepper. Place chicken in the disk and cover with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Remove chicken from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking to bring the chicken up to room temperature. Meanwhile, place a pan over medium high heat (or heat up the grill). Drizzle in 1 tsp in the pan and add the chicken. Sear on both sides for 3 minutes each, then reduce temperature to medium and cover. Cook until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165.