Maple Whiskey Chicken

Grab a fork and put on your fat pants. This is one of my favorite, super indulgent, weeknight chicken dishes.

I’m the first one to admit that this will never be called health food.

It’s chicken fried in bacon fat, candied in maple syrup, then doused with whiskey.

And it’s absolutely delicious. Just don’t eat it every night. 😉

This is one of our favorite chicken dishes right now. It’s packed with flavor—and easy enough that you can bang it out on a weeknight.

It’s sweet. It’s spicy. It’s sticky and laced with whiskey. And, there’s bacon.

What more could you ask for?

Ground clove and cayenne give it depth and heat. Maple syrup sweetens things up, and a generous pour of whiskey balances the flavors out and adds some earthiness.

Hot or not?

This recipe as is has a moderate amount of heat. Definitely feel free to crank it up and add more. All depends on what you like.

Maple Whiskey Chicken

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into chunks
6 strips thick-cut bacon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup whiskey or scotch

Serves about 3

Fry the bacon

Grab your bacon. (Mmmmm, bacon.)

Cut it into pieces, spread it out in a pan, and fry over medium-high heat in a large, non-stick pan.

Flip it once it’s starting to brown and crisp.

When it’s nice and crispy, yank it out of the pan and set it aside to drain on paper towels. Reserve about 1/4 cup (no more) of the bacon fat in the pan for frying the chicken.

Prep the chicken

While the bacon’s frying, prep the chicken. Grab your chicken breast. Whack it into roughly 2-inch chunks. Try to keep the pieces about the same size so they cook evenly.

Toss the chicken chunks into a zip-top bag. You can also use a bowl, but I aim for speed/efficiency on the weeknights, which means the zip-top bag is my friend.

Throw in the cayenne, garlic, clove, white pepper, and dried parsley.

Seal the bag and shake the hell out of it to coat the chicken. (Make sure you have a good seal on the bag. I learned this the hard way…)

Toss in the flour. Seal and shake to coat. (I do the spices and flour in separate steps. The spices will stick better to the raw chicken.)

Cook the chicken

This cooks quickly, so make sure you have all your ingredients handy. You’re going to cook on high heat most of the time. Think of it like a crazy, bacon-powered stir fry without all the tossing.

Remember that bacon fat? You only want to use about 1/4 cup of it, or else your end sauce will likely be greasy.

Set the pan back on the stove over high heat. Get the bacon fat nice and hot. When it’s ready, the surface will start to shimmer. Don’t leave it on the heat so long that it starts to smoke.

When the fat is hot, add your chicken to the pan. (If you want to test, dip one piece of chicken in the hot fat. If it immediately starts to bubble, you’re good to go. If not, wait a minute and check again.)

I know: MOUSE, YOU’RE BREAKING THE GOLDEN RULE OF FRYING: DON’T CROWD THE PAN!

I know. Take a deep breath. It will fine. Keep your heat on high and watch what happens.

Let the chicken cook, untouched, for about 3 minutes, until the edges start to get opaque.

Your chicken should have a glorious brown crust on the bottom. When you see that, flip the chicken over. Fry for about another 3 minutes on the other side.

Pour the maple syrup over the chicken.

It will bubble furiously.

Sprinkle with the cooked bacon.

Toss the whole thing together to coat the chicken and bacon. Let cook, on high heat, for another 2 minutes maybe. (If your pan is obviously smoking or burning, notch the heat down a bit. Everyone’s stove is a little different.)

Pour the whiskey into the pan.

A quick note on cooking with booze
Have a pot lid handy *just* in case the whiskey lights up. It’s only happened to me once, but let me tell you: “Surprise Flambee” is never something you want to deal with. If your stove is hot enough that the whiskey does catch fire, toss a pot lid over the pan and just let it go out. No big deal. When the fire is out, uncover. No harm done.

Let the whiskey bubble for a minute or two, then toss to combine the whole mess.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the maple syrup and whiskey have coated the chicken with marvelous sauce.

If you have dogs, they should be incredibly concerned with what you’re doing at this point. (Dexter likes to hang out under my work table and peek out.)

If you like, sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve with buttered white rice.

Weekend chicken + waffles

For more of a weekend meal, this makes an excellent base for chicken and waffles. Follow this recipe and make the chicken. Set it aside, covered, to keep warm. Break out your waffle iron, and go to town. (My go-to waffle recipe is here.) Serve the waffles topped with the warm chicken and garnished with a whole strip or two of bacon.

Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories

2872 cal

Fat

227 g

Carbs

7 g

Protein

228 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Maple Whiskey Chicken

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The Hungry Mouse

Yields About 3 servings

This is chicken fried in bacon fat, candied in maple syrup, then doused with whiskey. It has to be our favorite weeknight dinner ever.

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Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into chunks

6 strips thick-cut bacon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon ground clove

3/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup whiskey or scotch

Instructions

1. Grab your bacon. Cut it into pieces, spread it out in a pan, and fry over medium-high heat in a large, non-stick pan. Flip it once it’s starting to brown and crisp. When it’s nice and crispy, yank it out of the pan and set it aside to drain on paper towels. Reserve about 1/4 cup (no more) of the bacon fat in the pan for frying the chicken.
2. While the bacon’s frying, prep the chicken. Grab your chicken breast. Whack it into roughly 2-inch chunks. Try to keep the pieces about the same size so they cook evenly.
3. Toss the chicken chunks into a zip-top bag. You can also use a bowl, but I aim for speed/efficiency on the weeknights, which means the zip-top bag is my friend.
4. Throw in the cayenne, garlic, clove, white pepper, and dried parsley.
5. Seal the bag and shake the hell out of it to coat the chicken. (Make sure you have a good seal on the bag. I learned this the hard way…)
6. Toss in the flour. Seal and shake to coat.
7. Set the pan back on the stove over high heat. Get the bacon fat nice and hot. When it’s ready, the surface will start to shimmer. Don’t leave it on the heat so long that it starts to smoke.
8. When the fat is hot, add your chicken to the pan. (If you want to test, dip one piece of chicken in the hot fat. If it immediately starts to bubble, you’re good to go. If not, wait a minute and check again.)
9. Let the chicken cook, untouched, for about 3 minutes, until the edges start to get opaque.
10. Your chicken should have a glorious brown crust on the bottom. When you see that, flip the chicken over. Fry for about another 3 minutes on the other side.
11. Pour the maple syrup over the chicken. It will bubble furiously.
12. Sprinkle with the cooked bacon.
13. Toss the whole thing together to coat the chicken and bacon. Let cook, on high heat, for another 2 minutes maybe.
14. Pour the whiskey into the pan. Let the whiskey bubble for a minute or two, then toss to combine the whole mess.
15. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the maple syrup and whiskey have coated the chicken with marvelous sauce.
16. If you like, sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve with buttered white rice. Enjoy!

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