add lemon juice to chicken and mix until well-coated
add remaining ingredients for marinade and mix until chicken is evenly coated
marinate in fridge for ~2-3 hours
Preheat oven: 425º F Bake: 15-20 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken
in a small pot, heat butter and garlic (if using) gently on low heat until garlic loses its sharpness and butter is infused
take off the heat and add remaining ingredients for sauce; set aside
when chicken is done cooking, take out and brush with sauce
Notes
for the chili powder, use whatever you have on hand; I didn’t have it and subbed with a burger seasoning; it’s chill, get creative or just leave it out
I didn’t use oil in the marinade and chicken still came out juicy and tender (see photo); might get more browning if you use it
if you don’t have a brush for applying the sauce, just spoon it over or dunk the pieces to coat
Suggested uses
eat as-is
on a salad (you can try adding more lemon juice and maybe balsamic to the sauce leftovers for a quick dressing)
thin the chicken breasts either by pounding with a meat mallet or slicing; your butcher may also be able to do it for you when buying
mix marinade ingredients together in a bowl (or zip top bag) and add chicken, mix until the chicken is completely coated
if using a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is actually touching the chicken so it doesn’t dry out; if using zip top bag, push excess air out and seal
let chicken marinate in fridge for ~1 hour and up to overnight
Cooking the chicken
Stovetop
set dry pan over medium heat; once hot, add a thin layer of oil
gently lay chicken into the oiled pan in a single layer; do not flip chicken until a nice crust forms on the first side down
do not overlap chicken
do not overcrowd pan; you will have to do multiple batches
flip when chicken releases easily from the pan and the first side is mostly cooked through, shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes, and may take less
cook the other side for a few minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken is no longer pink
remove from pan and place in serving plate; cover with aluminum foil to keep warm as you cook the rest of the chicken
bake in the oven
preheat oven: 450º F
line baking pans or sheet with aluminum foil and place chicken breasts on it in a single layer
do not overlap chicken
make sure to shake off excess marinade so chicken isn’t “wet” going into the oven
Bake chicken in oven for ~8-15 minutes; check at the earlier time so as not to overcook; assess done-ness by slicing into the thickest part to make sure it’s cooked through
Because this is a wet marinade, the chicken will kind of steam in the oven a bit. Still delicious, but you don’t get much of a maillard reaction. You could try broiling it instead, but I haven’t tried this and am not sure how well it would cook the chicken all the way through (probably be fine though).
The major benefit of baking vs other methods is its pretty hands off, despite the large amount of chicken, so you’re not tied to the stove. It’s also less messy, with easier clean up since there’s no oil splatters or smoke.
grill
fire up the grill and heat to medium
oil the grates and place chicken breasts over indirect heat, cook until one side is mostly cooked through and gets nice grill marks
flip and cook the other side just until cooked through
Sous vide
preheat sous vide bath to 150-155º F (or whatever your preference for chicken breast))
shake off excess marinade from chicken and place in a silicone or zip top bag in a single layer
submerge in bath for ~1 hour
Notes
orange chicken sauce: I just pulled whatever “Asian” sauce was in the fridge…if I was in my own kitchen, I would probably use oyster, fish, or hoisin sauce; maybe a combination
don’t think too hard about this one and use whatever you have on hand
sesame oil is best, but I only had olive oil on hand so that’s what I ended up using
chicken breast is easy to overcook, especially when thin-sliced, so keep a close eye on cook times (sous vide is the most forgiving)
err on the side of less cook time
you can remove chicken from the heat just when cooked and cover with foil so that the carry-over heat will gently finish it perfectly
Freezing tips
The marinade itself can be frozen in ice cubes, or you can freeze the chicken after covering it in the marinade. This is especially useful if you’ll be sous viding it afterwards, since you can take it from the freezer directly into the water bath.
See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.
Suggested uses
on salads (especially with an Asian sauce like a Thai peanut dressing and fried noodle croutons)
because of the science involved, the cocoa powder can’t be replaced with dutch-processed cocoa powder; read the original recipe post for more details (see Credits section above)
if you do not have applesauce, you can just use oil; you can replace some of the oil in most baked goods with applesauce
espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor, without giving any coffee flavor in this amount; use it if you have it, skip it if you don’t
if you don’t have molasses, use 100g of regular sugar and 150g of brown sugar
other
all ingredients should be at room temp; if you’re like me, just heat a cup of water in the microwave to generate heat and steam, then put the sour cream and eggs in the TURNED OFF microwave to warm up before you start
oil the tray really well as they will stick to dry spots easily
See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.
heat tortilla according to preference (see notes below)
if using cheese, lay cheese on top of hot tortilla and add hot chicken tender on top so the cheese melts easily
layer the rest of the ingredients on top, ending with the lettuce so that you can more easily hold things down to roll without getting your hands dirty
roll up tortilla; it’s not necessary for complete overlap if you’re careful with holding it properly while eating
notes
naturally, all amounts are to-taste so do and use whatever you like
tortilla can be heated any way you prefer:
stovetop: on a griddle, tawa, comal, or dry frying pan, turning to get nice brown spots and taking it off the heat once desired doneness is reached; do not heat too long or it will become crunchy and not foldable
microwave: lay tortilla on microwave -safe plate and cover with a damp paper towel, heat until just warmed through; this will yield a soft, pliable tortilla that’s not crunchy at all
airfryer / toaster oven / oven: heat for a few minutes until warmed through; avoid getting brown spots as it will turn into a giant tortilla chip pretty quickly, especially in a toaster oven or air fryer which works faster than a standard oven
any chicken tender will work, I use a spicy breaded variety and pop it in the airfryer for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through
I use Frank’s hot sauce and find the simplicity of it plays nicely with both the mayo and pickles
for the greens, use whatever you have on hand: iceberg, spring mix, spinach, arugula, celery tops, romaine, etc.
spread each slice with boursin; layer other ingredients on top
Nutrition
470 calories
Notes
I used and recommend an everything bagel
you can use any flavor of boursin, but I recommend the cracked pepper one; if you don’t have it, crack some fresh black pepper on top of whatever flavor boursin you have, after spreading
can turn it into a breakfast sandwich by adding an over easy fried egg on top
