# Tequila Lime Chicken - no Home Run



## Hopz (May 7, 2006)

O.K., I read all the comments about Tequila Lime Chicken. I made it yesterday. Followed the directions explicitly, except only 5 hour marinade, as per some comments about long marinade making chicken tough.

 Used a great tequila, Porfidio Anejo, fresh limes, fresh jalapeno pepper, fresh oj. 

 It was only Ho-Hum...nothing special, not very much flavor.

 Any thoughts from all you TLC fans.

 OBTW total of 15 minutes cooking seems waaay too little to me, and to my digital thermometer...


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## QSis (May 8, 2006)

Yeah, Hopz, I made it last week and didn't care for it either.  I added the zest of the fruit so it did have plenty of flavor; I'm just not a huge fan of that much citrus, especially the juice of sweet oranges, in savory dishes.  Shoulda known better. 

Lee


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## Toots (May 8, 2006)

I made this recipe two summers ago and I was non-plussed as well.  It was not as good as I thought it would be and a waste of good tequila to boot!

I think the Barefoot Contessa has good recipes, I just didnt care for this one.


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## kitchenelf (May 9, 2006)

I've had great tequila lime chicken at an Applebee's before but it was smothered with monteray jack cheese and spring onions  

Yes, some of those citrus marinads are way too subtle for me too.


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## ironchef (May 9, 2006)

Could it have possibly been that the dish was undersalted? Many citrus and/or alcohol based sauces, vinaigrettes, marinades, etc. need more salt than maybe what would be considered "normal", in order to bring out and enhance all of the flavors.


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## SizzlininIN (May 10, 2006)

Sorry but we really enjoy this recipe.  However, we added shredded mexican cheese on top with crumbled, fried bacon and green scallions. I also change up this recipe and use what I have as far a citrus' available.  I love the citrus flavor with the hint of tequilla.  I use Jose' Quervo (?spelling). Sometimes I make it without the tequilla.

Sorry you didn't enjoy it.


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## Hopz (May 10, 2006)

It's not that we didn't enjoy it. It is just that we thought it did not live up to its billing. 
I had 3 TLC breasts left over. I de-boned them all, and diced the meat. Made an Aoli, heavy on the garlic, added roasted red peppers and black olives, served it over linguini pasta. Pretty tasty.


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## QSis (May 11, 2006)

Sizzlin, I'm glad you mentioned  in your original post that you topped the chicken with shredded mexican cheese, green onion and fried bacon.  We did that and it was the best part!  

Lee


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## Gretchen (May 11, 2006)

And no need to use a big expensive tequila for sure.


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## college_cook (May 11, 2006)

I've always felt that tequila and lime flavors really complemented each very well in Mexican cooking, but I think it would be easy to use to much lime juice/zest in a recipe.  I usually just eyeball my own ingredient amounts when I cook, but I'm going to go search for the thread everyone is speaking about and see if I can find tricky steps that might cause the recipe go wrong.


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## Hopz (May 11, 2006)

college_cook said:
			
		

> I'm going to go search for the thread everyone is speaking about and see if I can find tricky steps that might cause the recipe go wrong.



Nothing tricky in this recipe. I (and others) just did not find it to be as "exciting" as all the press it got.

I too like the taste of Tequila and Lime, but from now on I will drink it instead of cook it....


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## college_cook (May 11, 2006)

Is this the recipe that everyone was talking about?  I found it mentioned in another thread.

This looks very much like a concoction I've been using for a few years.  The seasonings look nearly identical to what I use, but I think that's entirely too much citrus juice to use in a marinade, and entirely too long to let the chicken marinate in that much citrus.  I can only imagine the toughness of the meat and the flavor of lime invading every corner of your mouth.  Almost like  a lime-chicken flavored sour candy....

I've also never grilled my tequila-lime chicken, but I very much doubt that is the cause of your troubles.

Here's the problem:  you really want that lime-tequila flavor in your chicken, and you'd almost have to use as much citrus juice as that marinade calls for to permeate the chicken, but the acid also "cooks" it while delivering too strong a flavor.

I always cook the chicken using a little bit of tequila, 1/2 a cup sounds right for the amount of chicken in the recipe.  When it is nearly finished cooking I like to spike it with a little bit of lime, not drown it.  I also always use my tequila-lime chicken almost exclsively for chicken tacos, so here is where I differ.  I use equal parts of thinly sliced red onions, red/yellow bell peppers, and then some roughly chopped cilantro as a vegetable topping for my tacos.  I toss these veggies in a little bit of lime juice, b/c they'll hold onto the flavor a little easier than the chicken will.  This way, you have the tequila flavor in your chicken to match the slightly "limey" flavor of your veggies, and they really combine well this way, IMO.

If you would rather serve the whole chicken breast as described in the recipe then I would suggest mixing together the same combination of veggies listed above, and cook them to use as a side, maybe with some rice, for your chicken.  If you dont like that idea either, then I would suggest tweaking that marinade.  When I look at it the amount of acid in it really sticks out to me as the most likely problem.  Tequila-lime chicken really is a very tasty dish.


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## Hopz (May 11, 2006)

O.K. It looks like this subject will live-on... so....
My answer to my own question would be- yes the recipe looks good, but it actually did not deliver-when directions were followed.

As an alternative, take a whole chicken, run your hand under the skin over the breasts and around the legs, then rub in some EVOO, plus garlic mixed with a little lime and orange juice, lime zest and thyme, plus Tequila. (if you want to add in some chili powder that would be good too)

Into the cavity of the chicken stuff several more cloves of crushed garlic and one whole lemon cut in half., along with one or two sprigs of rosemary.

Bake in oven at low temperature (oh, call it 275) until your temperature probe inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 170.

The cook should drink one or two shots of tequila as you do this procedure.

Serve with roasted fingerling potatoes and side salad of young tender spring greens or mesculin mix, light oil and red wine vinegar dressing. A chilled sauvignon blanc for the guests, and for dessert a nice  cream havarti-dill cheese with soft crackers.


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