This Sage Bourbon Chicken recipe is a go to in my household. The savory mushrooms are balanced so well with the fresh sage and rich bourbon. It is super flavorful, yet a quick skillet bourbon chicken dish that really hits the spot. Which is great for a quick meal during the week, but it’s also sure to impress guests!
This pairs wonderfully with the Roasted Baby Potatoes shown in the picture or a sourdough loaf to soak up the juices.
Keys to Success with Bourbon Chicken
Salt the chicken early, which is also known as Dry Brining. This is going to give you the absolute best result as it flavors the chicken and keep it nice and juicy! Dry brining is simply sprinkling salt over the chicken. The key is the salt needs time to permeate the chicken, so try to salt it 30 minutes in advance or even better overnight.
Use high heat when searing the chicken. This creates the brown on the outside, also known as a Mallard Reaction. It really adds it’s own special flavor the dish and makes it look more appealing!
Slice the chicken against the grain. This makes it more enjoyable to eat as there is less work your teeth have to do. This means look for the long fibers of the muscle, and cut perpendicular to it.
Time Tips for Bourbon Chicken
I like to dry brine all meat that I purchase right after I get home from the grocery store. That way I know the salt it going to work it’s magic and I get this prep step out of the way. After the salt it sprinkled on, I just re-wrap it right back on the Styrofoam it came on or use a non-reactive container such as glass, porcelain, stainless steel or plastic.
Adjustments for Kids
For kids that don’t love mushrooms, it’s easy to slice and serve the chicken without the mushrooms. Of course the chicken will have some of the savory mushroom flavor on it, but that’s a great way to introduce the flavor without the scariness of the actual mushroom! It’s easy enough to serve a raw veggie or fruit on the side of the chicken if they’re not eating the mushrooms, but someday they may just eat it up!
Remember for some foods it can take an average of 12 tries before a kid (and even some adults) will start to like the flavor. One bite today is a win! Check out this article for more details on 10 Strategies to Encourage Picky Eaters.
1 tbsp bourbon (Can substitute apple cider vineager)
1/2cchicken broth
3/4 tsp salt (plus salt to taste at the end)
Instructions
Salt the chicken ahead of time, preferrably about 30 minutes or up to the night before, at about 3g of salt (or 1/2 tsp of kosher salt) per lb of meat. The salt can permeate the chicken, adding flavor and keeping it moist.
Start heating a heavy bottom pan over medium high to high heat. If using a digital thermometer the pan should reach about 400 to 500ºF.
Meanwhile, prep the veggies and herbs. Finely mince the garlic.. Wash and chop the mushrooms in about 1/2 to 1 inch chunks. Then chop the sage and parsley, keeping the herbs separate on the cutting board.
Once the pan is hot, add the butter to the pan. Be sure to coats the entire bottom of the pan and let the butter heat for about 15 seconds. Then add the chicken to the pan. It should take 1 to 2 minutes to start seeing a golden brown color develop on the first side, then flip the chicken to sear the other side.
Turn down the heat to medium. If the pan is looking dry, add another 1/2 tbsp of butter then add the garlic and sage to the pan. Allow it to cook for 30 seconds,
Add the bourbon, mushrooms and agave nectar to the pan. Scrape all the delicious brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Continue to stir occassionally while the the mushrooms cook down and chicken cooks through, around 8 to 10 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature of the chicken in the thickest part. It should read 165ºF or higher for chicken thighs.
Salt to taste once cooked through. Be sure to taste both the chicken and mushrooms, then add salt a little at a time until the flavors start to pop.
Take the chicken out and slice it diagnolly on a cutting board. It's best to cut against the grain, so when you see long fibers, you'll cut perpendicular to them.
Prep Time:5 minutes
Cook Time:13 minutes
Category:Main Course
Cuisine:Healthy American
Variations
If you don’t have bourbon or whiskey on hand, apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar makes a great substitution. The alcohol does mostly cook off when using bourbon, but apple cider vinegar is a great non-alcoholic acid option if anyone in the family wants to avoid it completely.
To provide the best experience, we use cookies on our site to provide personalized content and analyze our traffic.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Analytics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
