Cheesy Margarita Chicken

Originally Posted by: DeusExMachina

It's time for more cooking. This time up is Cheesy Margarita Chicken. To start, we'll gather the ingredients.

Ingredients

As you can see here, I have a bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, a bottle of Rose's Lime Juice, a chicken breast (which is soaking in some Cuervo and some Rose's Lime Juice), a few limes, a container of margarita salt, some salsa, and some grated cheddar cheese. Not pictured is a bag of tortilla chips. This last bit is optional. If you don't have margarita salt, some coarse salt, sea salt, or regular salt will work. I haven't tried kosher salt, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work just as well.

Method

When your chicken has soaked for a while, be it a few hours or just a few minutes, whatever you prefer/have time for, we'll want to cut it. If you're good with chicken and can butterfly cut like a pro, have at it. If not, just do what I do and try to open the breast up a bit.

Before I cut the chicken, I squeezed a bit of lime onto the cutting board and tossed on a pinch of margarita salt. If you like, you can use a bit of oil. I had the pan on medium to medium-high heat.

Then squeeze some lime onto the chicken, add a bit of the Rose's Lime Juice, and a splash of the tequila. Let it cook for a few minutes until it's starting to look halfway done on that side. Then flip it.

Squeeze some more lime and add some more Rose's Lime to this side, and a little bit more tequila. At this point, I usually find pouring out a single shot for the remainder of the cooking is a good idea. You may wish to do so now.

I was starting to grow a bit impatient as this was cooking, so I cut my chicken into four pieces to speed up the cooking process. If you want to keep the breast whole for any reason, it's up to you. It works just as well both ways. At this point it was mostly done, anyhow.

And here's where the cool part comes in. If you've added enough of the Rose's Lime Juice (doesn't need a whole lot for this), your chicken is about to self-glaze. Remember that shot you poured out? Toss it in. It should start bubbling quickly and form a liquid about the color and consistency of teriyaki sauce. Stir the chicken around a bit if you cut it up like I did. If not then just smear it a bit and flip it to get both sides. Now we prep the plate.

All I do is lay down some tortilla chips and toss a bit of the cheese on top. When you put the chicken onto the cheese, it will start to melt. Plus, if you use a lot of salsa at the end, you have bonus nachos.

By now, your chicken should be fully glazed.

If so, you're almost there. Toss the rest of your cheese onto the chicken. Give it a moment or two to start melting.

Then just place the chicken onto the chip-and-cheese bed on your plate. Top with salsa, and if you're going all out for the presentation factor, garnish with some lime slices.

And now if you feel so inclined, pour yourself a nice shot to enjoy with your dinner.

Well, folks. That's all there is to it. Your chicken should come out with a tangy, citrusy, slightly sweet flavor. It makes for good eating with Spanish rice if you know how to make it. Salad is also a decent side. If you're like me, though, the bonus nachos will provide their own side dish.

Enjoy!