Dan's Habanero Butter Chicken
I lived in AZ for a couple of years and it gave me a love for Southwestern food, so I try to mix up every dish with a little spice.
I lived in AZ for a couple of years and it gave me a love for Southwestern food, so I try to mix up every dish with a little spice.
- Carbohydrate 14.82201 g
- Cholesterol 197.6175 mg
- Fat 25.961685 g
- Fiber 0.904750018407901 g
- Protein 55.6480833333333 g
- Saturated Fat 15.3085683333333 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (340g)
- Sodium 187.5785 mg
- Sugar 13.9172599815921 g
- Trans Fat 2.41819 g
- Calories 521 calories
Step-by-step
- In a sautee pan melt down the butter. Cut habaneros in half and put in butter with your chopped onions. Keep butter on a very slight simmer but not too much or it will burn or turn brown. Keep this going for about 10 - 15 minutes. Take the peppers out of the butter and throw away.
- Pour butter and onions over chicken (save a little for your rice). Very litely drizzle honey and then sprinkle a little brown sugar over your chicken. Sprinkle your garlic and basil over chicken. Put tomato slices on top add you salt and pepper then bake your chicken at 350 for 30-45 minutes untill done. Half way through if you want, spoon some of the butter/sauce out of the of bottom pan over the chicken.
- Cook yellow rice with some of the habanero butter, Serve chicken ontop of the spicy rice.
Habanero peppers supply the fierce structural heat driving this dish, infusing a massive quantity of butter with capsaicin and distinctive fruity aromatics before being discarded. Extracting maximum flavor without scorching the dairy requires deliberate technique.
- Keep the butter on the lowest possible simmer during the 10 to 15 minute infusion phase. Milk solids burn rapidly if the pan gets too hot, turning the fat bitter and dark.
- Remove the habanero halves completely once the butter absorbs the target heat level. Leaving them in during the bake stage concentrates the capsaicin unpredictably.
- Bake the chicken uncovered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 45 minutes until internal juices run clear. Spooning the pan juices over the meat midway prevents the lean breast tissue from drying out.
- Reserve a portion of the infused butter specifically for cooking the yellow rice. This ties the starch component directly to the main protein flavor profile.
Refrigerate any leftover chicken in an airtight container for up to three days. Reheat gently on low power with a splash of water to keep the separated butter from breaking.
