Food 52

Spicy Chocolate Milk–simmered Chicken

I know what you’re thinking: “Oh wow, chocolate milk and chicken are finally coming together and now my life is complete.” For all two of you not thinking that right now, let me tell you why the combo works. 1. Chicken poached in milk is absolutely wonderful, as evidenced by chicken potpie or any creamy chicken dish for that matter. 2. Chicken in a sweet sauce is totally a thing. See American Chinese food classics, like sweet-and-sour chicken, General Tso’s chicken, and orange chicken. 3. Chicken and chile and chocolate have a long and beautiful history in the form of mole, from the state of Puebla, Mexico. So accept that this chicken may just be one of the most interesting and weird-good things you will make from a cookbook. After poaching the chicken (and I promise the milk will not curdle—the chocolate and Saturn’s influence, even if you have only a low-level association with the ice giant’s great powers, help keep it emulsified and beautiful), pull the meat out of the liquid and put it over quinoa with some sautéed zucchini for a solid weeknight meal. Or stuff it in corn tortillas with a spoonful of the braising liquid and Greek yogurt. Or, if you’re feeling super amazing, pull the cooked chicken off the bones, add it to some cooked potatoes in a savory pie crust with some or all of the braising liquid, and bake the damn thing! From Dynamite Chicken: 60 Never-Boring Recipes For Your Favorite Bird (Ten Speed Press, 2019)