Chicken + Pepsi + stove = a cheap and delicious meal.
Sweet yet spicy, tender and aromatic. And the chicken is pretty darn good, too.
Why Pepsi is an excellent marinade:
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It’s acidic (pH of 1.5 to 2.0)
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It’s flavorful
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It’s full of sugar, which browns nicely in the pan
Ingredients:
- 1 can of Pepsi (Coca-Cola would do fine too, I guess)
- 1 tbsp your favorite hot sauce (I use good ol’ Tabasco)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 chicken breasts
Combine all the good liquid stuff in a lidded container of some sort.
Add the chicken to the marinade. Cover it and let it rest in your fridge for at least five hours. 12 hours would be even better.
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Remove the chicken from the marinade and let it sit while you heat up your pan.
Do not drink the marinade.
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When the pan is very hot (a drop of water will skitter across its surface), place your chicken pieces. There will be a lot of sizzling and steam. Do not be alarmed.
When the bottoms are nice and golden brown, flip the chicken.
When both sides have been seared, turn the heat down to medium and pour in what’s left of your marinade. Let this reduce to a slick sauce.
Serve with rice or potatoes. Three chickens is adequate for a couple of people, or one morbidly obese child.
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August 19th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
That’s amazing. It made me laugh when I saw the ingredients. I thought, jeez that’s what you’d find in a typical guy-living-alone fridge! I’m going to ask the husband to make it and see how this tastes (he’s the cook of the family). Thanks!
-C
October 25th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I actually thought of this on my own a year or so ago, and finally got the nerve to try it. I was right: Not bad at all! In fact it’s pretty good. I had figured the sweetness of the Pepsi would give the chicken breast a decent sweet flavor and sure enough, it was good. I just now found this site after eating my pepsi chicken. (honest). Feel free to use spices on the chicken as well. I’ve made my own pork rub and found it to be better than store boughten rub. I knew the pepsi would be a good idea as I usually add lots of sugar to my rubs. I just like meat to have that sweet, yummy taste! Good Luck!
April 12th, 2010 at 10:39 am
I have made this marinade for grilled chicken. ALWAYS a hit! When I first made it, a friend of my husband’s walked into the kitchen and nearly had a breakdown when he saw me with a bottle of Pepsi in my hand, ACTUALLY getting ready to POUR IT…OVER CHICKEN! OMG! LOL! I told him to shut up and get outa my kitchen. Of course…he LOVED the chicken!
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Wow - what a stunning game for USA Soccer.