James William Buffet grew up in Mobile, spent a lot of time over here on my side of the bay, went to Auburn for a minute, and eventually finished at Southern Miss. (With a degree in history, I might add.) He lived in New Orleans, Key West, etc. He also checked in on his home turf often. I have never in my life heard anybody say a disparaging word about our favorite son of a son of a sailor, JWB.
Everybody I know has a story about him, and I’m not going to tell any of them here. Check Facebook. Somebody ought to compile those for his grandchildren and their children. There was a second-line parade Sunday in Mobile. A buddy invited me to a cheeseburger and margarita shindig before the parade. Alas, I already had an obligation.
This wasn’t the recipe I planned to post this week, but as I worked through my Saturday morning chore list–it included cleaning out the fridge–I ran across a package of chicken breasts I needed to use. I was thinking about missing the cheeseburger and margarita party, and wondering if I could cook something equally festive as a consolation. When I went into my home office to empty the overflowing wastebasket, I saw my notebook of recipes I’m forever working on.
I’ve taken a stab at Margarita Chicken once or twice already. The idea isn’t new. But I look at the recipes out there and there are recipes with lots of garlic, or recipes with seasonings like cumin and chili powder. Of course you could drink a margarita with a chicken dish like that, but to my mind that’s not Margarita Chicken.
It seems to me Margarita Chicken ought to embrace the native flavors of a good margarita and stop there. Salted rim or not, margaritas are lime-forward, sweet, sour, citrusy, and boozy. Tequila itself is fruity and slightly sweet with a little bite. Triple sec is a sweet orange liqueur. There’s no garlic flavor in there anywhere. And while the experts may comment on a tequila’s earthy notes, the earthiness of cumin is way too much. So ultimately, I did Margarita Chicken a little differently. Go figure.
I hope you like the Margarita Chicken below as much as we did. (The easy and delicious sauce even smells like a real homemade margarita!) I served it with Coconut Rice, which is a staple at my house, and we also had grilled pineapple on the side, which we love. (Grill extra so you can make Pineapple Salsa later.)
I like to think Jimmy would approve.
Margarita Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade and sauce
- 3 T. olive oil
- Zest of three limes plus their juice
- Zest of two oranges plus their juice
- ¼ cup tequila
- 2 T. agave nectar or honey, or to taste
- ½ t. salt
- pinch of red pepper flakes
Chicken
- 4 small boneless breasts pounded to an even thickness, or 2 large breasts halved horizontally to make 4 cutlets
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 T. cornstarch blended with 1 T. cold water
Instructions
- Mix marinade ingredients. Put ⅓ of the marinade in a shallow dish with the chicken, turning to coat. Reserve the other ⅔ for the sauce. Let the chicken sit in the marinade while you prepare the rest of the meal and wait for the grill to be ready.
- Drain chicken and discard that marinade. Lightly salt and pepper each side of the cutlets to taste. Grill indoors, outdoors, or sauté in a skillet over medium heat until done, flipping once. If using a skillet, don’t crowd the pan--work in batches instead.
- Make the sauce: in your smallest saucepan, bring the reserved marinade to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry. Cook, stirring, just until thickened.
- Serve the chicken over rice and drizzle a spoonful or two of the sauce over the top.
Finally catching up on LCK recipes-this looks fantastic and I LOVE the tribute to Jimmy. ❤️