Bourbon Chicken
Yummy, sticky, bourbon chicken recipe tastes just like your favorite food court restaurant. Chicken is marinated overnight, then sauteed until golden brown and simmered in a tasty homemade teriyaki sauce.
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For years now, The Husband has been obsessed with the bourbon chicken at this greasy-spoon restaurant in the food court at the mall. I’m a little competitive when it comes to my cooking and I was determined not to let myself be outdone by a restaurant that sells chicken-on-a-stick.
Bourbon chicken is a fusion dish that originated on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Legend has it, a Chinese restaurant located on the famous avenue wanted a way to meld the two cuisines together, and a bourbon infused sauce was born. It has now become a staple at both Cajun/Creole and Asian food vendors at mall food courts across the United States.
Ingredients and tools you will need
The recipe is easy to whip up and you likely already have many of the ingredients right in your cabinet. If your house is like mine — mama always has a bottle bourbon in her liquor cabinet.To make this easy bourbon chicken recipe, you will need:
For the bourbon marinade:
- 1 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup bourbon – if you’re not a bourbon drinker, don’t go expensive here. Cheap bourbon such as Evan Williams, Kentucky Tavern, or Wild Turkey are fine.
For the teriyaki sauce:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth – store bought or check out this post for making your own homemade chicken stock.
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin – Mirin is a subtly sweet, slightly tangy rice wine that is the key ingredient in homemade teriyaki sauce. Typically, if your grocery store has an International or Asian food section, mirin should be easy to find. But if you need a substitute, try cooking sherry, sweet marsala wine, dry white wine, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
Additionally you will need:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed – I prefer to use diced boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The meat is much more tender and flavorful. Diced boneless chicken breast is also fine if that’s what you have on hand.
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish, optional
- Sesame seeds, for garnish, optional
- Large skillet
- Small saucepan
How to make bourbon chicken
I’m proud to say The Husband has officially declared this the best bourbon chicken recipe he’s ever had. It’s definitely a family favorite that’s on regular rotation on our dinner table.
Marinate the chicken
Plan ahead so your chicken can marinate beforehand! I recommend eight hours, but you could get away with as little as 2-4 hours. But don’t bebop into your kitchen 30 minutes before dinnertime, realize you’ve forgotten to marinate your chicken and decide you are going to skip this step. It won’t produce the same results.
- Whisk all your marinade ingredients together and dump them in a Ziploc bag.
- Add your chicken, press any air out of the bag, and seal. I usually keep my bag upright by setting it in a bread loaf pan to prevent any leaks.
- Place your chicken in the fridge for the next several hours.
Make the teriyaki sauce
- Combine the chicken stock, soy sauce, mirin, white granulated sugar and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar dissolves.
- In a small bowl, combine the water and corn starch until the cornstarch is dissolved. This is called a slurry. You don’t want to add the cornstarch right to the hot teriyaki sauce or it will clump up (every had lumpy gravy?). Mixing the cornstarch with a little water beforehand allows your sauce to thicken and stay nice and smooth. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the sauce mixture.
- Bring the teriyaki sauce to a boil until it thickens to the consistency of syrup. Remove it from the heat. It will continue to thicken as it sets.
Cook the chicken
- Once your chicken has marinated, you want to drain off all the excess bourbon sauce. Transfer the drained chicken to a medium bowl. Add the flour to your chicken and toss until it’s well-coated. This helps absorb any remaining liquid and ensures your chicken will brown nicely.
- Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. You want to spread your chicken out in a single layer in the hot skillet so every piece is touching the hot surface. You will probably have to work in batches — add part of the chicken to the skillet, brown it for 3-4 minutes per side, remove it from the pan and set aside. Add the rest of the uncooked chicken and repeat until everything is browned and cooked through.
- Add all the cooked chicken back to the skillet. Pour the sticky sauce over the top and stir until all the chicken pieces are coated with the sauce.
- Serve bourbon chicken over hot cooked white rice and garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
Recipe variations
Looking for even more of an Asian flavor? Try adding fresh ginger or ground ginger to the sauce, minced garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, or chili garlic sauce for extra heat.
Storage, freezing and reheating instructions
Storage. Transfer any leftover bourbon chicken to an airtight container and refrigerate within two hours. Consume within four days.
Freezing. Once the thickened teriyaki sauce has been added to the chicken, I don’t recommend freezing this dish because cornstarch does not freeze well. However, that does not mean this recipe is completely out of the running as a freezer meal. I frequently freeze the raw chicken pieces in a freezer bag with the marinade. Likewise, you can also cook off the marinated chicken and freeze. You can also mix together and freeze the teriyaki sauce ingredients, leaving out the cornstarch and water. Consume within three months. Thaw the chicken and the sauce before reheating. Bring the thawed sauce to a boil in a saucepan and add the cornstarch slurry to thicken before serving.
Reheating. Bourbon chicken can be reheated for a few minutes in the microwave. However, I prefer reheating it over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove. The teriyaki sauce may be a little thick. If that’s the case, add about 1/4 cup of chicken broth to help smooth the sauce out.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, with some modifications. Drain the chicken from the marinade and add it to the slow cooker. Heat the teriyaki sauce ingredients over the stove until the sugars are dissolved. Do not add the cornstarch slurry. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken and stir to coat. Cook on low for four hours or on high for two hours. Whisk together the cornstarch and water. Thirty minutes before serving, pour the slurry into the slow cooker and stir to combine.
Yes, with some modifications. Using the SAUTE function, brown the chicken. You may need to do this in batches to keep from overcrowding the chicken. Once all the chicken has been browned, turn off the SAUTE function. Heat the teriyaki sauce ingredients — minus the cornstarch and water — until the sugars are dissolved. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken and stir. Lock the lid, select the MANUAL function and set the timer for four minutes. Release the pressure and remove the lid. Combine the cornstarch and water. Stir the slurry into the chicken. Select the SAUTE function again and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
Yes. You can substitute the bourbon with an equal amount of apple juice or orange juice.
Lower your heat. Stir in more chicken broth, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
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Bourbon Chicken
Ingredients
Bourbon marinade:
- 1 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup bourbon
Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
Additionally:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 green onions thinly sliced,
- Sesame seeds for garnish, optional
Instructions
For the marinade:
- Whisk all the marinade ingredients together and transfer them to a large bowl or plastic freezer bag.
- Add the chicken to the marinade.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for two hours or up to eight hours.
For the sauce:
- Combine the chicken stock, soy sauce, mirin, white granulated sugar and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar dissolves.
- In a small bowl, combine the water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the sauce mixture.
- Bring the teriyaki sauce to a boil until it thickens to the consistency of syrup. Remove it from the heat. It will continue to thicken as it sets.
- Once the chicken has marinated, drain off all the excess bourbon sauce. Transfer the drained chicken to a medium bowl. Add the flour to your chicken and toss until it’s well-coated.
- Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add part of the chicken to the skillet, brown it for 3-4 minutes per side, remove it from the pan and set aside. Add the rest of the uncooked chicken and repeat until everything is browned and cooked through.
- Add all the cooked chicken back to the skillet. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the top and stir until all the chicken pieces are coated with the sauce.
- Serve bourbon chicken over hot cooked white rice and garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Do you have questions about this post? Leave a comment. Have you made this dish? Be sure to leave a rating and review!
Thanks for pointing that out. It should be 1/4 cup. I have corrected the recipe.
You have mirin in the list of ingredients, but does the recipe call for 1/4 cup, tablespoon, or teaspoon??
This looks absolutely amazing but I’m a little confused about one thing. 4 pounds of chicken makes 4 servings?
The blog where I found the original recipe used this substitute: 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup water, and 2 tsp of sugar.