A southern favorite gets a citrus spiced twist perfect for wintertime in this flavorful Orange & Chinese Five Spice Tea Brined Chicken...
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lipton. The opinions and text are all mine.
I know that when folks usually think of tea brined chicken they think of summertime grilling or classic Southern fried chicken. But I wanted to give this family dinner favorite a citrusy & warm spiced twist for the holidays and for the colder months ahead. I paired iced tea sweetened with maple syrup with fresh orange slices and Chinese Five Spice. Chinese Five Spice is a warm and flavorful blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and peppercorns. It pairs perfectly with the bright citrus notes from the orange.
So why tea brine your chicken? First of all, it makes the chicken crazy moist and tender. Secondly, it adds amazing flavor to your chicken. And the maple syrup sweetened tea ensures that your chicken caramelizes beautifully as you grill it.
See that deep color up there, folks? The secret is sweet tea brining. ;)
The brine itself is super quick and easy to make thanks to Lipton Cold Brew iced tea bags. You get all of that fresh brewed tea flavor without boiling any water! Just pour the cold water into a large mixing bowl, drop in two of the Cold Brew iced tea bags, and 5 minutes later you have perfectly brewed tea ready for your brine.
This juicy and flavorful Orange & Chinese 5 Spice Tea Brined Chicken pairs perfectly with a cold glass of Lipton Cold Brew iced tea. In this house, we almost always have a pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge all year round. It is a dinner time staple for us, but I changed up our usual iced tea just a bit by adding fresh orange slices to each glass. It really helped to bring out the sweet citrus notes in this brined chicken.
Orange & Chinese 5 Spice Tea Brined Chicken
by
Prep Time: 24 hours, 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 2 Lipton Cold Brew iced tea bags
- 4 cups of cold water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
- 1/2 of a sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled & halved
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 large boneless chicken breasts
Instructions
Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Add in the Lipton Cold Brew iced tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags.
Add in the maple syrup, salt, & Chinese Five Spice, and whisk until well combined. Pour the mixture into a gallon sized zip close bag. Drop in the onion slices, orange slices, and garlic clove halves. Add in the chicken breasts. Seal closed. Let the chicken brine in the mixture in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Heat the olive oil in a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While the pan is heating, remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and pat dry. Place the chicken in the hot pan and cook 5 minutes on each side, being sure to get a nice sear on each side. Remove from the heat and top the chicken with the orange slices from the brine. Discard the rest of the brine. Transfer the grill pan to the oven. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
While the chicken is baking, whip up a pitcher of Lipton Cold Brew iced tea. In a large pitcher, pour 8 cups of cold water over 2 Lipton Cold Brew iced tea bags. Cold brew for 5 minutes, dunking the tea bags frequently and stirring. Remove the tea bags and then sweeten to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with fresh orange slices, if desired.
Serve the tea brined chicken immediately with a tall glass of Lipton Cold Brew iced tea.
Enjoy!
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How would you reimagine a favorite recipe or family dinnertime with Lipton?
Be sure to check out Lipton Bright Bites on the Food Network site for even more creative twists for winter meals! :)
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lipton. The opinions and text are all mine.