Chicken with Coffee Glaze

Coffee Glazed Chicken

I am always trying out new ideas for sauces, glazes and the like. After making a coffee spice rub last week I decided to try my hand at using coffee for the base of a glaze/marinade for meats. I started with a couple of cups of strong brewed coffee and went from there. I brought the coffee to a boil and started adding ingredients I thought would work well together. By the time I was done the mixture had cooked down by half. The flavors worked well together and I was pretty happy. I am calling it a glaze but it can also be used as a marinade. I used it on chicken but I could see it working well on pork, beef, lamb or even mushrooms.

For the chicken I took cubes of boneless chicken breast and put them in a bowl and covered them with about 1/2 cup of the glaze. I put that mixture , covered, in the fridge for a couple of hours. I think overnight would be even better. I also soaked some bamboo skewers in water. I put the chicken on the skewers and baked them in a 425 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. I brushed them with more of the glaze about 10 minutes into cooking. I discarded the rest of the glaze I had soaked the chicken in. Unused glaze will keep in the fridge for a few weeks or could be frozen.

Here is the recipe for the glaze.

Coffee Glaze

2 c. strong brewed coffee

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. apple cider vinegar

1/2 c. dark rum

4 cloves minced garlic

2 T. honey

2 T. hot sauce- or more to taste

2 T. whole grain mustard

1 T. salt, or to taste

2 t. paprika

1 t. smoked paprika

1 t. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally until mixture has reduced by half or a little more. You should end up with 1 1/2-2 cups when done. Use as a marinade or as a glaze for meats or mushrooms. Store extra in fridge.