Mojito Chicken

Kick off the weekend with this mojito chicken recipe. Yes, mojito chicken. Is your mouth watering right now? I absolutely love mojitos. I mean, what’s not to like – rum, lime and mint. Yum! So, imagine my surprise and delight when I found a mojito chicken recipe in one of my cookbooks. OMG! This recipe is so moist and delicious and has an excellent blend of flavors. Just remember not to drink the marinade…

Mojito Chicken
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
Marinade, recipe follows
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Mojito Glaze, recipe follows

Directions
Flatten out chicken out. Combine all the dry spices and rub chicken with spice mixture. Put into a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients for the marinade, then add chicken to marinade and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight preferred for maximum flavor). Remove chicken from marinade and shake off excess marinade.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large sauté pan over medium to high heat, add 4 tablespoons of extra- virgin olive oil. When oil is hot, place chicken down and sear. When chicken is golden brown flip chicken and add ½ cup of marinade into pan; place pan in oven and cook the chicken for 20-25 minutes or until chicken has internal temperature of 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the chicken from oven and brush with Mojito Glaze. Place chicken under broiler for 5 minutes. Remove from broiler, cut and serve immediately with more glaze on the side.

Marinade
1 cup orange juice
2 limes, juiced
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
¼ cup dark rum

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl.

Mojito Glaze
½ cup dark rum
½ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ cup chopped mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In medium sauce pot, place rum, chicken broth and brown sugar. Reduce by 1/3 over high heat. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch. When rum mixture is reduced, add cornstarch mixture slowly to simmering liquid and whisk for 3 minutes, until 50 percent thicker. Keep in mind that you might not need all of it. When glaze is at desired thickness, add mint leaves and transfer to small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.