Spicy Cocoa Chicken Recipes

SPICY COCOA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Grease glass baking dish lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
• In one bowl, rub chicken drumsticks thoroughly with the olive oil.
• In another bowl, crush the corn flakes until they become a rough, crunchy powder.
• Add the 4 tsp cocoa, 4 tsp sea salt, and 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper into the crushed corn flakes and mix it all together with the utensil of your choice until well blended.
• Roll the oiled chicken drumsticks in the corn flake mixture using pressure to get a thick coating over each entire drumstick. Stir the mixture again between each drumstick to make sure it stays evenly blended.
• Place drumsticks in glass baking dishes and bake in the oven for 40-60 minutes. I just tried to eye it. I noticed the coating brown darker after about 40 minutes, so I cut into one of the drumsticks with a knife. It seemed a bit too juicy still, so I cooked it for another 10 minutes or so. The idea is to make sure it's cooked all the way through (rare chicken is NOT good), but avoid letting the outer breading get too dark. Trust yourself. And remember, if you take it out too early, you can always put it back in the oven. If you take it out too late, there's no going back!
• In a cereal bowl (or smaller bowl), vigorously mix together the agave nectar and cocoa powder with a spoon. Add a healthy pinch of salt, to taste. Taste a bit of the sauce. You'll notice it tastes good, but has a bit of a strange flavor by itself because of the agave nectar -- but it all comes together as a very light accent with the chicken.
• Drizzle the salty chocolate agave nectar sauce in a zig-zag form on each plate. I made this easier by pouring the sauce into a small zip-lock bag and cutting a tiny tip off one corner of the bag. Then just squeeze the sauce out.

SPICY CHOCOLATE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat a braiser or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil and bacon; cook until the bacon is golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon to a plate, using a slotted spoon.
• Turn the heat up to medium-high. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels, and sprinkle all over with the salt. Add the chicken, skin-side down, to the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and brown on the reverse side, an additional 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon.
• Add the onions, carrots, garlic and chiles to the pan, and cook an additional 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the allspice and pimenton; cook another 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and deepened in color, 2 minutes more. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce slightly. Add the chicken broth and then whisk in the chopped chocolate. Nestle in the browned chicken pieces, skin-side down, and sprinkle with the bacon. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes, turning the chicken pieces halfway through.
• Remove the chicken to a platter to rest. Meanwhile, whisk the butter and agave nectar into the sauce. Stir in the peas, then spoon the stew over the chicken pieces.

COCOA-CHILI-RUBBED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add almost all of the 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet. Brush both sides of chicken breasts with remaining oil.
• Generously rub chicken with the cocoa-chili rub until evenly coated on all sides. Place chicken into skillet and sear on both sides. Remove skillet from heat and bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.