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Sautéed chicken with pineapple reduction

I went scouraging through my cabinets in the kitchen and made this up on the fly. It's quick. It's easy. And it is full of flavors. Try using just dark meat for this. They are fattier and will take on some of the flavors better. And as always, use real butter and none of that hydrogenized vegetable stuff known as margerine. Blech!

chicken thighs and legs (or other combination of chicken parts)
kosher salt
pepper
flour
Butter
Thyme
Basil
Balsamic vinegar
Pineapple juice

Cut the chicken meat away from the bones and discard the bones. Cut the meat into small chunks, lay out on a plate, and season them with salt and pepper. Dust them lightly with flour, and set aside.

Add a good 2 tablespoons of butter into a sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt it down, letting it get slightly brown and frothy. You’ll smell a good nutty aroma come from the butter. This is when you add your chicken to the pan. Don’t add too much at a time or else you’ll steam the chicken instead of brown it.

After all of the chicken is brown on all sides, put it all back in the pan and season to taste with thyme and basil. Add two or three jiggers of balsamic vinegar and let it reduce for a few minutes. Add enough pineapple juice to come up evenly with the chicken, give it a stir, and cook it down until it is a rich sauce.

Finish the chicken and sauce off with another tablespoon of butter or, if you have it, a tablespoon or two of heavy cream.

I went a step further and cooked some beans and added them to the sauce. I then served the whole dish over saffron (or yellow) rice. It would also be darned tasty with the walnut-rice pilaf.

 

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