Chicken Breasts or Turkey Cutlets With Irish Whiskey Sauce

A quick sauté of the chicken, finished in the oven and a simple pan sauce and you have dinner!  Turkey cutlets are also excellent prepared this way!

Makes 6 Servings

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
or 6 Turkey cutlets
1 – 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Salt & pepper
EVOO & butter

For the Sauce:

1 head of garlic, roasted & pureed
1 to 1 ½ cups of chicken stock, low salt or homemade (see below)
1/3 cup of Irish whiskey
2 to 4 Tbsp. stoneground Dijon mustard (or taste)
½ to 1 cup whipping cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Place the head of garlic on a piece of tin foil; drizzle with EVOO. Wrap up & place in a preheated 350 F oven for approximately 45 minutes or until very soft. Remove from the foil, cool then remove cloves from their skin; place on a small plate & mash with a fork. Set aside until ready to make the sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Pound chicken with a mallet until the breasts are somewhat flattened & of equal depth; season with chopped rosemary & salt & pepper. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. each butter & EVOO. Sauté chicken until golden on both sides, remove to a baking sheet & place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.  Check to ensure the chicken is done by cutting a small slit into the thickest part of the chicken to make sure no pink remains but is still nice & juicy.

A tip for prepping this ahead a bit would be to brown the chicken, place on a baking sheet, then finish in the oven at 375 F until cooked through.

To Make the Sauce:

Deglaze the sauté pan with the whiskey, scraping up any brown bits. Boil until reduced by half, then add 1 to 1 ½ cups of stock, depending on how much sauce you want. Bring back to the boil; reduce by half. Add whipping cream, starting with ½ cup, this should be enough unless you really like lots! Just before serving whisk in the garlic puree & the stoneground mustard, season to taste with salt & pepper & a bit more chopped rosemary. Place the chicken breasts on either warmed individual serving plates, top with the sauce or for family style, serve on a large platter.

I really like serving things family style these days, it’s so much more casual!

A nice accompaniment would be a barley pilaf.  click here.  I also really like to  serve the chicken with Colcannon,  click here.

Helpful tip for making stock click here.