With the change in the weather, I start thinking about soulful warming comfort foods and my Jack Daniels Apple Butter Chicken certainly fits into that category of deliciousness!
You may have seen my apple butter pizza that I shared on my blog. I thought that pizza rocked and that blending apple butter with tomato, was a stroke of genius! But what it also did was started me thinking about other ways to incorporate apple butter into my cooking and that’s how I came up with my Apple Butter Chicken.
Mama Jeanette taught me how to listen to food, she would tell me “sonny boy, a dish will tell you what it wants if you give it a chance, you just have to open up your mind and listen”. As usual, she was right, and teaching me to listen was the greatest gift anyone could have ever given me.
So as I’ve done so many times before, I simply took a deep breath closed my eyes, and imagined myself making the dish. And as I begin building the dish, and combining the flavors, it all came together……..
The flavors in this dish flowed together seamlessly, with the saltiness of the chicken stock, complementing the sweet flavors of the apple butter, carrots and caramelized leeks. Add that to the perfectly seared chicken thighs, the still crunchy apples and of course the tangy flavor and aroma of Jack Daniels and my friends you have heaven on a plate! What a perfect dinner for those cool fall nights……..I mean what’s better than comfort food on a cold autumn night.
If you don’t want to use alcohol in your cooking you can replace the Jack Daniels with Dr. Pepper or your favorite root beer.
If you enjoy restaurant-style dishes made with poultry, you’re going to love these!
Jack Daniels Apple Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 12 oz chicken thighs boneless skinless
- 1 oz extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large firm sweet tart apple cored, skin on and sliced, I used Honey crisp
- 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced on a bias
- 1 large leek sliced
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup apple butter
- 2 oz Jack Daniels
- 1 tablespoon butter
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add olive oil and butter into a large skillet and allow the pan to get hot
- dredge chicken things in flour seasoned with sea salt and pepper
- Add floured chicken thighs, leeks and carrots sprinkle with brown sugar,
- Sear chicken and allow it to get good color while leeks and carrots caramelize (about 5 minutes). Turn the chicken over to cook the other side for 3-4 minutes.
- Add bourbon and allow alcohol to cook off
- Remove chicken and vegetables from pan.
- place chicken in a baking pan and put it in a preheated 325-degree oven while making the sauce. It will be in the oven for the 10 minutes it takes to finish the sauce.
- Add chicken stock, and apple butter, blend together and turn down the heat to low, allow sauce to reduce until it thickens up (about 5 minutes)
- Return the vegetables to the sauce, add the apples, and remaining butter.
- Season with black pepper and sea salt if necessary (salt will enhance the flavor of the apple butter)
- Divide between two plates and place the seared chicken thighs on top of the veggies and sauce.
- Serve with roasted potatoes and enjoy!
Eric
Nice fall flavor. Went with a honey butter and bullet bourbon. Chased it down with pumpkin ice cream to really kick off the fall feels.
Lynn
I made this with pork chops and subbed bourbon for vanilla extract . Reduced the apple butter til thick came out amazing very pleased
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for the feedback Lynn, and I’m happy to hear you had fun with the recipe! It’s all about making it your own.
Connie Pearson
Your description has me salivating! I WILL be making this soon. I already have the chicken thighs and the apple butter. Gotta find some root beer. 🙂