Coffee Chicken Recipe

There is something I love about cooking chicken- its so versatile and easy to make; its almost hard to make chicken taste bad. Undercooked or overcooked, yes, but chicken is very forgiving when it comes to flavors- nearly everything tastes good with chicken, which makes it more friendly to experimentation. Because if the experiment doesn't work, at worst, you'll end up with chicken that is ok, nothing special- its very difficult to make chicken taste terrible. But these food experiments are so fun, because sometimes you end up with a result that is so unbelievably terrific, and this chicken fits that description. Perfection in the kitchen.

I'd first heard of using coffee in chicken a few years ago, and I thought it was a really weird combination, even though I'd never tasted it. I saw it in a cookbook, but my friend reassured me that the coffee actually made the chicken taste terrific, but I'd never believed her 100%, not until I tried it myself.
Today, I decided I wanted to do something different with my chicken. Why not try coffee chicken?
I googled a few different recipes, saw a common theme, and made up this recipe using some of those ingredients frequently paired with coffee and chicken. One of the best chickens I've ever made, I have to say. And pretty easy as well!
Naturally gluten free, dairy free, egg free and I made mine refined sugar free with jaggery, but you can make yours with brown sugar or white sugar or probably even honey and it'll come out just as good.
I have one caveat- this chicken may not be for you if you don't like the taste of mustard or coffee. While their flavors aren't overpowering in this recipe, you definitely can taste them, so skip this recipe if you aren't a fan of those ingredients.

Coffee Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

2 onions
Oil

2 heaping tablespoons dijon mustard
2 overflowing tablespoons worcestershire sauce (I use my own homemade vegan refined sugar free worcestershire sauce)
2 level tablespoons instant or ground coffee
1 tablespoon coarse salt
3/4 cup jaggery, brown sugar, sucanat, or white sugar
1 whole chicken or one to two packs of chicken parts

Instructions:
1. Chop up onions and saute until golden.

2. Mix the mustard, worcestershire sauce, and coffee granules together.

3. Stuff the sauted onions into the cavity of the chicken, or set aside if using chicken parts.

4. Slather the chicken on all sides with the sauce. If using chicken parts, sprinkle on the sauted onions.

5. Sprinkle on the coarse salt and sugar/jaggery onto the chicken.

6. Bake covered, at 350 degrees, for 45 minutes to an hour or so, or until the inside is no longer pink. Baste occasionally with the sauce.

7. Uncover and bake for 20 more minutes.

8. Cut up and serve.

Have you ever heard of coffee chicken before? Ever eaten it before? Are you a coffee fan? A mustard fan? Can you wrap your head around this combination of flavors, or does it sound too strange? Does this seem like something you'd try out?