Paleo Lemon Coconut Chicken

Sockmonkeys Kitchen ♦ January 17, 2013 ♦ 8 Comments

Are you too chicken to try Paleo?

Incredibly moist organic chicken, stuffed with lemon and coconut, is not only delicious, but Paleo too.

Well, after reading today’s blog, you just may be ready to take the first leap.

You may or may not know what “Paleo” is.

Some think it’s eating only meat. Some think it’s only raw vegetables. Some think you have to dress like Fred Flintstone and order that side of brontosaurus ribs at the drive in….

Okay, so I made up that last part… but you get the idea.

Paleo is a way of eating that a large number of people have embraced in recent years, and of those people that I know personally, each of them has become much healthier, and they’ve even lost weight. I won’t get into the whole Paleo thing here, but I’m giving you a really good link to check out if you’d like: Robb Wolf’s explanation of Paleo.

So, why are we talking Paleo anyway??

My boyfriend Steve eats Paleo. And he knows how to cook. Actually, he works the western BBQ for a catering and events company, feeding amazing Tri Tip and Chicken for hundreds of people at a time … so he’s especially good when it comes to cooking meats.

He recently concocted a recipe that I absolutely love, so I thought I’d share it with you.
Being that it’s along the Paleo guidelines, you’ll know you’re eating in a healthy manner. Which is good, because I’ll probably blog about some kind of chocolatey dessert in a couple weeks. I mean, hey… we gotta keep the playing field even, right?

Steve made up this recipe one day and blogged about it. I will share his blog at the end of this, but since writing it, he has changed up the dish a bit… plus there weren’t enough photos. And,  if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I love the overabundance of pictures. It’s like reading a cookbook: you’ve got to have pictures so you know what it’s supposed to look like. So, there I was, hawking him the entire time he was cooking. But, at least we have pictures

This organic lemon-coconut chicken is so tasty – I can pretty much guarantee you’ll really wish you made a double batch so you can have leftovers the next day.

Paleo Lemon Coconut Chicken
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2 Organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Large Organic Lemon

2 Tbsp Organic Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

4 Tbsp Organic Coconut Oil

*Note: you’ll need a large covered pan for this recipe. A glass lid works best, since you can watch the progress of the chicken’s cooking.

Cut one end off of lemon; cut 4 more medium slices. Set aside.

Carefully cut peel from remaining lemon, so that the bitter white pith remains on the fruit.
Cut any white off of peel.  Mince lemon peel into tiny pieces. Set aside.

With a very sharp knife, butterfly chicken breast (make a cut that is parallel to the cutting board, about 3/4 of the way through the breast.)
Open up the top piece, as though you were opening a book.

Lay two lemon slices on one half of chicken breast; cover lemon with coconut, and a pinch or two of lemon zest.
Set remaining zest aside for later.

Close the chicken back up and tie it together.

→ For this meal, Steve used silicone ties which my sister Robin gave to me years ago.
I cannot count how many times those ties have been used… but if you don’t have any, you NEED them. Really!
You could also use kitchen twine, if you don’t have fancy-schmancy ties.

Heat oil on high heat in a large pan.  When oil is hot, carefully place chicken in pan, making sure that stuffing remains inside.
When the edges begin to turn from pink to white about ¼” all around on the top, flip the chicken over to sear the other side.

When well seared on both sides, add remaining lemon zest, reduce heat to medium and cover.

Cook until done, approximately 5-10 minutes more, depending upon the size of the breast.

**The pan juices are amazing. I think next time those need to be blended with some arrowroot powder for thickening.

For this  organic meal, he served it with skinned blood orange slices and lemon green beans.

What I didn’t photograph is the fan of avocado slices he put across the top of the chicken before we ate. Oh my was that a great addition!

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I’d love to know what you think – and, do you think you’ll try it next time you’re in the mood for chicken?

Here’s Steve, at one of his catering gigs with Cowboy West Productions.

Before we go, here’s a link to the original blog that Steve wrote.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be one of my blogs if there weren’t a reference to either a movie, TV show or song that somehow related to my topic. (What? You never picked up on that?)
Anyhoooo… here’s a little paleo piece from my childhood…