Orange Soy Chicken

recipe by emeril lagasse (foodnetwork)

This marinade is yummy. I like to set some extra aside and use it for dipping the chicken in or for drizzling on the chicken after it is cooked. Obviously, don't reuse any of the stuff you marinate the chicken in though.

Ingredients



1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or non-freshly-squeezed works)


1/4 cup soy sauce


1/2 cup sugar


2 teaspoons orange zest (if you don't use a fresh orange, then you can omit this OR what I did one time was put in lime zest, because I happened to have limes sitting around. The zest of citrus fruits has TONS of flavor, so I recommend adding it (whether orange or lime) if you can)


4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts


2 teaspoons salt


1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper


4 teaspoons olive oil





Directions


Set a 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and add the orange juice, soy sauce, sugar and orange zest. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook until liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes (Keep an eye on it! If it boils over it makes a HUGE mess...not that I ever did that....ok... so I did...). Remove the glaze from the heat, reserve 1/4 cup separately, and then pour the remaining glaze over the chicken breasts in a re-sealable plastic food storage bag. Refrigerate the chicken breasts for 2 hours; remove from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.


Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and discard the marinade. Season the chicken on both sides with the salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil.

(The following is Emeril's instructions of how to grill it. I don't get that technical-- with the rotating 45 degrees, etc.-- but, cook it however you want. Grill, oven, etc.)

 Place the chicken, smooth side down, on the grill and cook for 4 minutes, rotate 45 degrees and cook an additional 4 minutes. Turn the chicken over, brush each breast with 1 tablespoon of the reserved glaze, and cook for another 4 minutes on the second side, or until just cooked through. Remove from the heat and serve.