Stephen Colbert's Chicken L' Orange Recipe Does Not Taste Funny (Delicious!) by Donna John

My new favorite cookbook has gotten quite a workout lately. The cookbook is by Stephen Colbert, the former host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He wrote a wonderful cookbook, Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves, with his wife, Evie McGee Colbert. This high-protein recipe for Chicken L' Orange is actually Stephen's mom's recipe.

"My mother was never taught how to cook as a girl, and raising eleven children did not leave her a lot of time to learn," Stephen writes in the cookbook. "The '50s and '60s were the dawn of processed foods, and they suited Mom just fine ... This was my favorite – the one I would ask for on my birthday and the one Mom made when the McGees came to dinner the night after Evie and I were engaged."

This saucy Asian-inspired orange chicken recipe is fantastic! Not only do you get moist, juicy chicken floating in a rich, flavorful orange sauce, but this is a no-stress recipe. The prep is quick and simple, and you can do other things while the chicken bakes away in the oven.

To make this chicken dinner, you will need to gather the following ingredients: bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces, flour (all-purpose or gluten-free flour), cooking oil (vegetable or canola), orange juice (read about the health benefits of oranges), bottled chili sauce, molasses, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, garlic salt, fresh oranges for garnishing and cooked rice for serving. I also grabbed some green onions for color and a bite of freshness.

If you've never cooked with bottled chili sauce before, why not? My introduction to this flavorful sauce was back in the day when we made those cocktail wieners with chili sauce and grape jelly. Heinz introduced their bottled chili sauce in 1895, almost 20 years after the company introduced their famous tomato ketchup. This baked chicken recipe elevates the humble ingredient.

The Colberts serve this saucy orange chicken over white rice with fresh orange slices. You could add another side dish, if desired. I popped some spring rolls in the air fryer and called it a day. Now on to the next recipe in the book from the Colberts.

Cuisine: American / Asian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes to 1 hour (ovens vary)
Total Time: 50 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 pounds chicken parts, bone-in and skin-on 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup bottled chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 3 oranges, cut into wheels, for garnish
• cooked rice, for serving

Here's how to make it: 

1. Put the flour onto a plate. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and black pepper. Roll the chicken in the flour to coat. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the chicken.
   
2. Brown the chicken on all sides, working in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan.
   
3. Remove the chicken to a baking dish. (The Colberts remove the chicken to paper towels first, but I skipped that step.)
   
4. While the chicken cooks, stir together the orange juice, chili sauce, molasses, soy sauce, Dijon mustard and garlic salt in a small bowl.
   
5. Pour off the fat in the pan from the chicken, leaving the brown bits on the bottom. Pour in the orange juice mixture.
   
6. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring up the brown bits, for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
   
7. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
   
8. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked through. Chicken is cooked through at 165 degrees F internal temperature on a food thermometer. (The Colberts say to cook the chicken 1 hour, but ovens vary as do the size and type of chicken pieces you use. My chicken was done at 40 minutes.)
   
9. Serve the chicken with rice with the sauce over the top and garnish with orange slices. (The Colberts pass the remaining sauce around the table.) Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge.
   

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