There’s two things that at 50-years-young that I have to keep in balance: My appetite for cast-iron-cooked, beer-infused, delicious foods and…my midriff. And trust me, the balance is very hard to maintain. I want to eat and drink like I weigh 400 pounds, but I also want to look like a Ken Doll (without the omissions that come with a child’s plastic toy [tongue-in-cheek]).
I will likely never describe one of these recipes as being “Paleo,” “Low-Carb,” “Gluten-Free,” or created to fit into any “diet” box. There’s definitely no opposition to any diet that anyone finds beneficial for health. My moto is pretty simple: Lower Carbs than my Fats, Fibers, and Protein. It’s what works for me. With all that being said, this chicken, kale, and coconut recipe screams “low carb!” And with all the cast iron recipes that include pasta, rice, flour, and sugar, having this recipe in your cast iron recipe book is a big plus!
Beer-Brined Coconut Kale Chicken
There’s two things that at 50-years-young that I have to keep in balance: My appetite for cast-iron-cooked, beer-infused, delicious foods and...my midriff. And trust me, the balance is very hard to maintain. I want to eat and drink like I weigh 400 pounds, but I also want to look like a Ken Doll (without the omissions that come with a child’s plastic toy [tongue-in-cheek]).I will likely never describe one of these recipes as being “Paleo,” “Low-Carb,” “Gluten-Free,” or created to fit into any “diet” box. There’s definitely no opposition to any diet that anyone finds beneficial for health. My moto is pretty simple: Lower Carbs than my Fats, Fibers, and Protein. It’s what works for me. With all that being said, this chicken, kale, and coconut recipe screams “low carb!” And with all the cast iron recipes that include pasta, rice, flour, and sugar, having this recipe in your cast iron recipe book is a big plus!
Equipment
- 12-inch skillet if making 4 chicken breasts
- 15-inch skillet if making 6 chicken breasts (how we will be preparing this recipe)
- 17-inch skillet if feeding an army (6 or more chicken breasts)
- Salad Leaf Spinner to dry off your washed Kale Leaves
- Wood or Metal Spatula for turning the mixture in the pan
- Can Opener if using canned ingredients
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Meat Tenderizing Hammer
Ingredients
- 12 Ounces Beer For the Brine: See Recipe
- 6 Each Chicken Breast Boneless / Skinless (not the thin cut). Could Substitute Thighs
- 2 Tablespoons Butter Or Oil / Bbacon Grease to cover the bottom of the size pan you’ll be using
- ¼ to ½ tsp Thyme per chicken breast side Per Taste
- ¼ to ½ tsp Dry Rosemary per chicken breast side Per Taste
- ¼ to ½ tsp Smoked Paprika per chicken breast side Per Taste
- ¼ to ½ tsp Pepper per chicken breast side Per Taste
- 5 Cups Kale You may need more or you may need less.
- 1 Each Medium Onion Chopped fine or course
- 3-6 Cloves Garlic
- 3 Cups Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes 2 Cans. Drained. Or, you could chop up a couple or three garden tomatoes.
- 1 ½ Cups Coconut Milk Or One Can. Full-Fat or Reduced-Fat, it's up to you.
- 1 Tablespoon Red Curry Paste “Heavy” Tablespoon of Red Curry Paste; I use a mild paste
- ½ Cup Cheese More or less it’s up to you and your dedication to your current diet.
- 1-2 Teaspoons Parsley flakes or Fresh Parsley per Chicken Breast Or even a bit of Italian seasoning.
Instructions
- Create your beer brine per your preference (see recipe)
- Brine the chicken either before tenderizing or after tenderizing; the option is yours
- Let the chicken brine for 2 or more hours. Remember, these are not large cuts of meat. Take note of your particular brining time and adjust future brine times according to your personal preference.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and tenderize with a meat mallet. More is not better; tenderize but maintain the chicken breast shape. Don’t tenderize to the point of making ground chicken.
- Place the chicken breast on a tray or large cutting board in a single layer in preparation of adding the spices.*
- The spices you will need are: Rosemary, Thyme, Smoked Paprika and Pepper. Depending on how many chicken breasts you are using, consider applying these spices at about ¼ to ½ teaspoon per chicken breast. Measuring is not critical; just sprinkle the spices one-at-a-time over the upside of the chicken breast.
- ¼ to ½ tsp Thyme per chicken breast side (per taste)
- ¼ to ½ tsp Dry Oregano per chicken breast side (per taste)
- ¼ to ½ tsp Smoked Paprika per chicken breast side (per taste)
- ¼ to ½ tsp Pepper per chicken breast side (per taste)
- 2-6 Bunches of Kale. Not all kale bunches are created equal. And, measuring cups of kale is like trying to measure cups of cotton balls. You WILL need more kale than you think will fit in your pan. Kale wilts down so flat and you’ll want a nice bed of kale in the bottom of that pan. Wash some kale up and if you have extra, all the better for a salad or for another recipe.
- Set a colander over a bowl to place the tomatoes to drain (canned or fresh)
- Open the two cans of fire-roasted tomatoes and, using a rubber spatula, move them about to get the excess liquid off and into the bowl below. Don’t “over spatula” them to the point you make tomato sauce in the bowl below. You just want to get the bulk of the liquid off. TIP: Save that rubber spatula; you can use it to get the extra coconut milk out of the can later in step 23.
- Save the tomato liquid for another recipe (goes well in a hamburger soup recipe). We will not use the tomato liquid in this recipe; we will only use the tomatoes we strained out.
- Preheat your skillet over medium-high heat.
- While the skillet is preheating, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C
- Add the butter, oil or bacon grease to the heating skillet. How much depends on how big your skillet is. You want enough to cover the bottom of the skillet and enough to “lubricate” the pan during the sautéing process. You can add a mixture of different fats to enhance the flavor. All up to you!**
- Start with browning the chicken. We’re not actually cooking it here in this step. Just searing the chicken. Place the chicken spiced-side up to start.
- Once the chicken is “browned,” turn the chicken over to the unseasoned side and sear the spiced side.
- This is optional: season by sprinkling a bit of spices on the unseasoned side of the chicken while the other side is searing.
- Once all of your chicken breast are seared, place them aside but keep them on the stove top to keep them warm.
- DON’T CLEAN THE PAN. Add a bit more grease as needed and let it heat up.
- Add your onions and garlic. I add them at the same time. Sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are a bit translucent.
- Once your onions and garlic are ready, pour in the can of coconut milk.
- Add the tablespoon (heaping) of red curry paste.
- Mix these all about then add your tomatoes and mix again.
- Now it’s time to add the Kale.
- Once the kale begins to wilt and has reduced in size, smooth or flatten the mixture down level. This is both to create a bed for the chicken to lay upon AND to keep any of the pieces of kale to dry out during the baking process and become chewy.
- Turn the skillet heat down to low to keep it cooking but not burn while you finish setting this up.
- Add your chicken to the bed of kale. Puzzle them in so none are overlapping (too much). However, overlapping is A-OK.
- If you are using a temperature probe, now is the best time to set that up. I LOVE (like passionate love) my wired / wireless probe. It takes the guessing game out of the cooking process. Get one...it’ll change your life. Here’s what I use: https://amzn.to/31m9trx (affiliate link).
- Once your chicken has reached 165°F / 74°C. Pull it from the oven and set it on the stove top.
- Set your oven to BROIL.
- Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of the chicken and kale. How much cheese? Well, that depends on the dedication to your current diet. I just put enough for flavor. Is it possible to add too much cheese? Well, my thinking is this: “too much cheese” is like “too much money.” Moving on…
- Sprinkle a bit of fresh or dried parsley on top of the cheese to “bring it home!”
- Replace the pan into the oven (now on the Broil Setting).
- Watch it close. Once the cheese is browned like the toasted cheese of a pizza, pull the pan from the oven. Turn the oven off.
- Now shout, “TA DA!”
Video
Notes
*Seasoning Tip: When seasoning your raw chicken, place it on a tray or cutting board. Next, place the tray of chicken in my [cleaned] kitchen sink. This way, when you are “sprinkling'' the spices, I can get an even coat on the chicken breast and the “over-shake” off to the sides of the tray make it to the sink and not all over the counter or the floor.
**Adding fat to the skillet: If your coconut milk is the full-fat variety AND you have solidified coconut oil in the can (usually coagulated at the top of the can), you can use the coconut oil for your sautéing. BUT, be warned that most of the coconut milk cans and containers do not have this. If it’s white and creamy looking DON’T USE THAT TO SAUTE. It’s just coconut cream fat and not coconut oil.
***Adding the Kale: Do this in bunches. Start with a single layer and mix them into the liquid. The kale will begin to wilt pretty quickly. Once you feel you have enough room, add another layer and keep wilting the kale. Don’t over cook at this point but don’t under cook either. The cook time in the oven will be rather short. So, cook to the consistency you prefer. The kale may turn from being a pale green (depending on the variety of kale you are using) to a dark, rich green.Nutrition
Calories: 271kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 8gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 324mgPotassium: 434mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 6703IUVitamin C: 71mgCalcium: 210mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
