You never thought you’d see Coca-Cola in a recipe on my blog, did you? To be honest, neither did I and frankly, John was appalled. He couldn’t believe I was cooking with “crap.” (This from a man who drinks crap every week but never mind.)
For years – at least 30 – I’ve seen people cooking with soft drinks and thought it was nuts. Why would anyone put all those preservatives and sugar in their cooking? After browsing some Pinterest chicken ideas, I saw so many that were done with Coke that it was time for me to break tradition and give it a try.
“Are you sure,” John said.
“So what, if it’s crap, neither one of us is going to waste away,” I mumbled back. We could both stand to miss a few meals so if it was disgusting, no biggie. I’d know.
There were a lot of recipes calling for the chicken to be cooked in the slow cooker but it was too late when I decided. I found several calling for the chicken to be cooked in a frying pan and then sauced and went with a combination of those.
As you do, I kept poking my finger in the sauce and adding some of this and some of that and you know what? It wasn’t bad at all.
I yelled for John to come and help me get it on the table. His job is to plate up for his dad while I take photos. Rob complains that we always have to wait for meals while I photograph and dinner is cold. (nothing new there for a food blogger, right?) We’ve come up with a plan that John plates up for Rob, I shoot the photos and then we all eat together. We all still finish at the same time.
Have you tried cooking with soft drinks? Is it something you do often or would do again? I saw a recipe for pork cooked in root beer and I mentioned it to John who said, “Don’t you dare!” heh
- 4 chicken breasts, sliced in half or a dozen chicken tenders
- 12 ounces Coca-Cola (the sugar variety)
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup honey barbecue sauce
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- Prepare chicken by cutting each breast in half and pounding just a bit with a mallet or rolling pin. This helps to have the chicken all the same size. (If using tenders, you're fine)
- In a frying pan on medium high add the oil and the chicken in batches and cook until the chicken is brown all over.
- Add the remaining ingredients into a sauce pan on medium heat and mix well to combine.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.