Caramelized Chicken

Advocate-tested recipe

Caramelized Chicken

Serves 4 to 6. Recipe is from “The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes That Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South” (e_SCrt2011 by Sandra A. Gutierrez). Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press. http://www.uncpress.unc.edu.

4 dried pasilla, guajillo or ancho chilies (or a combination of all three)

11/2 cups tomato ketchup

11/4 cups orange juice

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

4 tbls. vegetable oil, divided

2 cups sliced white onion

2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 1/2 tsps. dried)

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 (31/2-4 lb.) chicken, cut into serving-size pieces

1. Place the dried chilies in a medium bowl; cover them with 2 cups of boiling water and weigh them down with a plate to keep them submerged. Soak the chilies for 10 minutes, or until soft (don’t let them soak for too long or they’ll lose flavor). Drain the chilies; remove the stems and seeds and cut the chilies into strips; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the ketchup, orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; set aside.

3. In a large skillet with high sides, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat; add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the thyme, bay leaves and chilies. Cook over medium-high heat until the onions begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute; transfer the mixture to a plate and set aside.

4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides (about 6-8 minutes total). Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the oil left in the pan. Place the reserved onion mixture over the chicken, distributing well. Cover the chicken with the ketchup sauce and bring it to a boil.

5. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and simmer for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened to the consistency of barbecue sauce, turning the chicken pieces occasionally (see note). (The sauce will bubble quite a bit, so place a splatter guard or screen over the skillet to avoid a mess.)

Note: If the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has yet to thicken, remove the chicken to a platter and continue reducing the sauce until it reaches the desired consistency. If the chicken is not fully cooked and the sauce has reduced too much, combine 1/4 cup ketchup with 1/4 cup orange juice and stir that into the chicken; simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Testing note: I found dried ancho chilies at Walmart.