Spicy Prickly Pear Glazed Chicken

I found a recipe online that sounded good, but it made 24 chicken thighs and used bourbon, which we don't have and didn't want to figure out what to do with the extras. I wanted to make this in much smaller portions and leave the bourbon out so I used the recipe as my base and then tweaked it. This turned out really really yummy! It was incredibly moist and tender and the sauce was perfect. I sautéed some canned green beans to go with this and tasted excellent with the sauce as well. Here is how I made it:

Spicy Prickly Pear Glazed Chicken:

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 1/2 chopped red onion
• 2 seeded and chopped serrano chile (use more to give this more kick, or less for a more mild kick. 2 chiles gave it just barely a detectable pinch of spice without making this too hot)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• juice from one lime (not key lime!)
• zest from one lime
• 2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 3 TBS brown sugar
• 1 1/2 c. prickly pear juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 TBS butter
• 6 Chicken thighs (we used boneless, skinless)
• Chopped cilantro as garnish

Directions:

1. In a sauce pot, heat the oil. Saute the onion over medium heat until browned. 
2. Add the chile and garlic and saute until softened. 
3. Add the cumin and coriander and cook for 2 minutes. 
4. Add the lime juice and zest, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. 
5. Transfer the mixture to an electric blender and puree until smooth. Return the mixture to the pot. 
6. Add the prickly pear juice, salt, and butter. Return to a boil. Cook until the mixture has thickened. You almost want a paste, but not too gummy. 
7. In a large resealable bag, combine the thighs with 1/3 of the sauce. Toss to cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 
8. Preheat the oven to 375. 
9. Lightly oil a baking pan (or I just lined mine with tin foil). Lay the thighs in the pan, and brush 1/2 the remaining sauce over the top.
10. Bake for 25 minutes. 
11. Turn the thighs over and brush on the remaining sauce. Bake for 20 minutes. 
12. Broil the thighs for 3-4 minutes to finish off. 
13. Top with cilantro