Recipes

[Carol1229]

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I find myself using my pressure cooker more and more these days. It makes quick work of cooking dinner, and the meat always comes out tender.

I've made bourbon chicken in a skillet before but never tried it in a crock pot. I ran across this recipe in one of the pressure cooker books I have here and decided to give it a try. It uses simple ingredients and I even had the boneless, skinless chicken thighs that the recipe called for.

I like giving the meat I'm browning for use in a slow cooker or pressure cooker a light dip in seasoned flour before browning. I decided on a touch of cayenne and paprika along with onion powder and garlic powder-that combination worked out great.

Since it's apple cider season, I used that in the sauce rather than apple juice.

The original recipe was written for use in an electric pressure cooker-mine is a stove top one so it only took 6 minutes once the pressure reached High (15psi) to cook the meat through.

I was so pleased with the end result-the meat was cut with a fork tender and delicious. Once the sauce was thickened with a cornstarch and water "slurry", it became silky smooth and was the perfect coating for the chicken thighs and noodles I served with them.

What a feast! This is so delicious-and the leftovers were even better. There's a little background "bite" from the red pepper flakes and ginger but it's not hot by any sense of the word.

This will be going into the regular rotation for sure-if chicken thighs aren't in the freezer, I bet it will be just as good with boneless skinless chicken breasts.

If you love pressure cooking, I highly recommend this one-it's a winner!


Carol



Best of the Best Great Food Fast cookbook by Bob Warden)

1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-2 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 c. apple cider
1/2 c. chili sauce
3 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
1 Tbsp. bourbon liquor *
1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water
Hot cooked noodles or rice

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a resealable plastic bag-mix well. Add the chicken thighs a few at a time; shake to coat, tapping off excess flour.

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of the pressure cooker over medium/high heat. Brown the chicken thighs a few at a time on both sides. Remove the chicken to a plate as they brown; set aside.

Add the apple cider to the pressure cooker and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Add the chicken; stir in the chili sauce, soy sauce, bourbon, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and ginger, mixing well to coat the chicken in the sauce.

Place the lid on the pressure cooker and lock, making sure to put the regulator valve on top. Bring up to High pressure. When regulator starts to rock, set a timer and cook on High pressure (15 psi) for 6 minutes.

Do a quick release of the pressure cooker by bringing the cooker to the sink and running cold water on the edge of the cooker lid until the pressure drops (keep water away from any valves). Remove lid and remove chicken to a platter.

Combine the cornstarch and water; whisk until cornstarch dissolves.

Bring the liquid in the pan back to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let the sauce simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Serve the chicken thighs on noodles or rice drizzled with the sauce. 4 servings.

* The alcohol does cook out, but if you don't want to use bourbon in this recipe, substitute 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar.

Follow the recipe for flouring and browning the chicken-I would brown it in a large skillet, After browning the chicken, place it in a slow cooker that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the sauce ingredients-everything but the cornstarch and water......pour the sauce over the chicken, cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken to a platter, pour the sauce into a saucepan and thicken per the instructions in the original recipe.