One of my favorite restaurant chain chicken dishes is Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan! The perfectly seasoned chicken breast topped with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes in a lemon, butter, basil and white wine sauce is just a perfect pairing of flavors.
The story behind the name goes like this: Johnny Carrabba and his uncle Damian Mandola founded the restaurant in 1986 in Houston, Texas. They wanted to create a menu that honored their Italian heritage and featured dishes inspired by family recipes. Johnny’s brother, Bryan Carrabba, played a significant role in the early days of the restaurant and was involved in developing some of the original recipes. To pay tribute to his brother’s contribution and acknowledge his involvement in the creation of the dish, Johnny Carrabba decided to name it “Chicken Bryan” after Bryan Carrabba.
I find that the recipes from Carrabba’s always put a different spin on the traditional Italian favorites. And while I, personally, don’t take issue with that, it is obviously a complaint that the restaurant chain has heard before. A quote from the founder’s, taken from Carrabba’s website reads; “So give us a break here. Don’t go picking over our Grandma’s and Mamma’s and Aunt’s and Uncle’s recipes, whining about this not being the way they did it at your house. Great! We’ll go to your house, this is the way the old folks taught the young folks. This is the way we remember things tasting. And this is what it all comes down to-with generous sprinklings of life, love and oregano-for two Sicilian boys from Texas who love to cook and eat.”
For a fun Italian restaurant night, at your house, serve the Chicken Bryan with Carrabba’s Mama Mandola’s Sicilian Chicken Soup and their Calamari with Ricardo Sauce. Buon Appetito!
Ingredients
- Four 5-oz. chicken breasts
- 4 oz. jarred Sundried Tomatoes, lightly chopped
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 slices
- 4 oz. log of goat cheese cut into 1 oz. “coins”
- 3/4 cup white onion, chopped
- 1 TBL garlic, chopped
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 TBL white pepper
- 2 TBL fresh basil, julienned
- 2 TBL EVOO
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder and Dried Oregano to season the chicken
Instructions
Season the chicken breasts and, using an indoor grill pan or outdoor grill, grill the chicken until cooked throughout, approx. 8 minutes per side. Set aside.
On a medium-high heat and in a large sauté pan, add the EVOO. Once shimmering, add the garlic and onion and sauté until translucent. Add the wine and simmer until the alcohol burns off. Add the lemon juice and white pepper and stir. Reduce the heat to low and allow sauce to reduce.
Once reduced by ½, whisk the butter into the sauce 1-2 TBL at a time, allowing the sauce to emulsify. Add the sundried tomatoes and basil and stir. Place the grilled chicken back into the sauce and coat each of the breasts. Plate the breasts, top each with 1 coin of goat cheese and ¼ of the sauce, ensuring to get sundried tomatoes on each breast.
Serve with Carrabba’s Bread Dip and The Olive Garden’s Fettucine Alfredo and enjoy!
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
