Bourbon Chicken Pizza

This recipe has absolutely zero resemblance to the 'Bourbon Chicken' you may find at fast-food joints. That dish is apparently named after Bourbon Street and not after the alcoholic beverage, which it does not contain. This dish is named after the spirit, which it does contain. 

I just had to throw that out there, as it goes toward the story of how this particular recipe was created: Hubby asked me several years ago whether I had heard of something called 'Bourbon Chicken' and if I knew how to make it, as he had just heard someone mention it that day. I told him I had heard of it, and that I had even tried it once, and I asked if he knew that it did not, in fact, contain bourbon. He was shocked and appalled. So he asked me to create a bourbon chicken dish that actually utilized bourbon... and then he said he wanted it to go on a pizza. I asked if there were any other specifics he had in mind, and we talked it through a while, and what follows is what we came up with - which has now become our favorite pizza, we make it almost every single time we make pizza, if that tells you anything about how good it is. 

We start with caramelized onions, because... well, have you had caramelized onions on pizza? But instead of using butter or plain olive oil, we decided to saute them with a Spanish dipping oil we love - sun dried tomatoes are a prominent ingredient in this sweet/smoky/tangy mixture, and making sure to get plenty of bits of those tomatoes into the pan is an important step. Saute the onions over medium heat just until they begin to soften and release their lovely aroma. 

Then turn the pan up to high and add in your diced chicken. Saute just until chicken is about half cooked, then pour in your bourbon and cook until chicken is done and the liquid has absorbed/evaporated. At this point, you really have the bourbon chicken aspect finished; you could enjoy this as is, with rice or pasta or some warm soft tortillas. Add some fresh lime and cilantro and you'd have some yummy tacos...

Back to pizza: I highly recommend you use homemade crust, my recipe can be found here; but if you prefer not to, I'm sure it will be alright. Not quite the same, but tasty anyway. Spread your favorite barbecue sauce thinly over your prebaked crust - we use one that is a bit smoky and spicy, which complements the bourbony chicken nicely. Then sprinkle with your favorite shredded cheese (we actually use rice cheese, as dairy is a no-no, but I bet it would be great with anything you normally use on pizza). Tear up a few big handfuls of fresh spinach to cover the cheese, then top with the bourbony chicken and onions. Pop this into the 450* oven for about ten minutes to melt the cheese and crisp the crust.

Mmmm. Don't you want to try this? Wait - before you answer that - Are you a fan of delicious flavor?

And here's the recipe:

Bourbon Chicken Pizza

One prebaked pizza crust  (find the recipe to make your own here)
4-6 Tbsp barbecue sauce (more if you like it thick)
~1/2 cup shredded cheese (again, more if you like)
Fresh spinach (a few big handfuls)
1 small or 1/2 med-large onion, sliced
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken, diced (I use thighs, but breasts would work if you prefer)
~1 Tbsp oil for sauteing **I use spanish dipping oil for the complimentary flavor, but you could use plain olive oil or even butter**
1 oz bourbon **I'm intentionally not specifying the brand here, we've used a couple different brands as we've had them to very similar effect**

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat, saute onions just until softening and aromatic. Turn heat to high and add chicken; saute until chicken is cooked halfway. Add bourbon and cook until chicken is done and liquid has absorbed/evaporated.
Spread a thin layer of barbecue sauce on prebaked crust, top with shredded cheese. Tear up spinach and layer on top of cheese. Top with bourbon chicken and onion mixture. Bake at 450* about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is crisped and golden-brown.

Enjoy!                                            

Sue