Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Chicken

Yesterday I talked about the fact that lunches can be boring, providing you with a nutritious vegetarian lunch idea as a nutritious and healthy change. Today I’m giving you another idea that is relatively quick, particularly if you make the various components ahead. It’s a specialty of Outback Steakhouse, served for dinner alongside mashed potatoes and vegetables. You can do that too, but here I have put it on a bun, topped it with their Bloomin’ Sauce, and it was sensational!

Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Chicken

Slightly adapted from copycat.com

Bloomin’ Sauce

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

2 t. ketchup

2 T. horseradish

¼ t. smoked paprika

¼ t. kosher salt

1/8 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. dried oregano

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

 For the chicken:

 2 c. flour

4 t. smoked paprika

2 t. garlic powder

1 t. kosher salt

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

½ t. cayenne pepper

1 c. buttermilk

½ c. water

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, flattened to 1/2” thick

Prepare the bloom sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. 

 Place the flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper into a pie plate. Stir to combine.

Place the buttermilk into another pie plate, add the water, and stir to combine.

 Place a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet.

 Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.

 Dip the chicken into the buttermilk and shake off the excess.

Dip the chicken into the seasoned flour for a second time.

Place the breaded chicken onto the wire rack and repeat for the remaining pieces of chicken. The chicken should rest for about 5 minutes before cooking.

 Pour 1 to 2 inches of vegetable oil into a skillet. Heat the oil to 350°F.

 Place 1 or 2 pieces of chicken into the oil and fry until done, about 7 to 8 minutes. Turn the chicken breasts over while frying to make sure both sides of the chicken are golden brown. Then remove the chicken from the oil and let it drain on a wire rack.

 To serve, place the fried chicken on a plate and drizzle some of the bloom sauce on top.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Fried Chicken

 There used to be an Outback Steakhouse close to my home. When Mr. O-P was well, we would order from them for pick up. We could get one large meal (we generally opted for the full rack of ribs) and share it between the two of us. We would wait until they offered their "get a free blooming onion with one adult meal" special. A number of years ago that location closed, so I haven’t eaten there in about six years. 

 

When I found a recipe online for their Bloomin’ Chicken, I had to give it a try. I made the sauce early in the day so that the flavors would have a chance to meld. I also flattened the chicken so that I would have only a small amount to do at dinnertime. 

 

I varied a bit from the original recipe. In my opinion the chicken needs to be flattened to a quarter of an inch so I did that (It also cooks faster this way, thereby using less energy). I also think that Chick-fil-A or Syberg’s Sauce works just as well and tastes just as good, so, in my opinion, there’s really no point in bothering to make sauce. I’m not a fan of deep-frying, so rather than using a big pot with 2 inches of oil, I used an All-Clad with a 4-inch side, and a half inch of oil. The results were phenomenal! Truly, much better than chicken I’ve had when I've dined out. As I always do, I soaked my chicken in buttermilk overnight. The end result was chicken that was flavorful and juicy, with a super crispy exterior. This was phenomenal. There’s really not much to it, and I like that in a good meal.

 Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Fried Chicken

Slightly adapted from desirerecipes.com

 Bloomin' Sauce

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

2 t. ketchup

2 T. horseradish

¼ t. paprika

¼ t. salt

1/8 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. dried oregano

1 dash ground black pepper

1 dash cayenne pepper

Seasoned Flour Breading

2 c. flour

4 t. paprika

2 t. garlic powder

1 t. salt

½ t. ground black pepper

½ t. cayenne pepper

 Chicken

½ c. water

1 lb. chicken breast

Vegetable oil for frying

Bloom Sauce

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 Seasoned Flour Breading

Stir all ingredients to combine.

 Chicken

Place the buttermilk into a shallow bowl, add the water, and stir to combine. Prepare the chicken by pounding it to ¼ inch thick. If your chicken breast is greater than 1 inch thick, slice in half horizontally. Place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap, and gently pound out thin with a meat mallet.

 Set up a breading station by placing the seasoned flour first, then the buttermilk mixture, and then a baking sheet with a wire rack on it.

Dredge chicken into seasoned flour, and then shake off the excess. Dip the breaded chicken into the buttermilk, shake off the excess. Then dip the buttermilk-dipped chicken into the seasoned flour for a second time. Place the fully breaded chicken onto the wire rack.

 Repeat for the remaining pieces of chicken. The breaded chicken should rest for about 5 minutes before cooking.

 Add 1 to 2 inches of vegetable oil into a skillet. (See above text) Heat the oil to 350°F.

 Place one or two pieces of chicken into the oil. Deep-fry the chicken pieces in the hot oil until done, about 5 to 6 minutes, turning midway until both sides of the chicken are golden brown.

 When the chicken is done, remove it from the oil and drain on a clean wire rack.

To serve, place the cooked chicken on a plate and drizzle on some of the bloomin’ sauce.

 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Alice Springs Chicken

It’s been a long while since I’ve had chicken, so was struggling to come up with a recipe that sounded interesting and tasty.  Largely I’m a beef or pork person, finding chicken a bit bland.  When I shared this sentiment with my youngest son he told me that one of the best chicken dishes he’d ever tasted was at Outback Steakhouse, adding that it was called “Alice Springs Chicken.”  Since there’s pretty much a copycat recipe for everything, I did a search and, sure enough, found a recipe for the chicken that he described.  He was right, this is very tasty.  The chicken breast was extremely moist and flavorful; the topping was even more delicious with the smoky taste of bacon and wild taste of the mushrooms topped with cheese, no less!  As the mustard needs to be made ahead of time and used as a marinade, you have to plan ahead, but I can tell you that it is worth it!

Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs Chicken Clone

4 skinless, boneless Chicken Breast halves
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
2 cups sliced Mushrooms
2 tablespoons Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Paprika 
12 slices Bacon, fully cooked
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese & 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
OR 
2 cup shredded Mexican Blend Cheese 

Directions:

Make a batch of The Best Honey Mustard You've Ever Tasted (recipe below).

Pour about ½ of a single batch or ¼ of a double batch of the honey mustard in a bowl and add the chicken. Set in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours or, better yet, overnight. Save remaining honey mustard in a sealed container in 'fridge to use as a dipping sauce later.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat up the oil in a frying pan on the stove and sear each chicken breast 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.

Transfer chicken to oven safe pan and brush with honey mustard.

Salt and pepper breasts.

Add butter to frying pan and sauté mushrooms.

Stack bacon across each breast, spoon mushrooms on each breast and then approx. ½ cup of cheese on each. 

Cover pan with foil or lid and bake 7-10 minutes to melt cheese. Dust with paprika and serve with honey mustard.

The Best Honey Mustard You've Ever Tasted

1 cup Mayonnaise

4 tablespoons Sugar

4 tablespoons Cider Vinegar

6 tablespoons Honey

2 tablespoons French Mustard (or any other kind works)

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Make at least an hour before and refrigerate to let flavors combine.

Store it in a clean jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party