I Tried Stephen Colbert’s Favorite Childhood Recipe From His Mom

When I was a kid, my mom did most of the cooking. She had a few signature dishes I loved, but her chicken noodle soup was my absolute favorite. With just a few simple ingredients, she created a cozy, nourishing soup I still crave. And I’m not alone—plenty of us have fond memories of our mom’s famous chicken dishes.

In Stephen Colbert’s newly released cookbook with his wife, Evie, he shares his own childhood favorite: his mom’s recipe for Chicken L’Orange. In the headnote, Colbert mentions that this was the dish he always requested for his birthday and the one his mom served to his future in-laws after he proposed to Evie. Knowing all that—and that moms make the best food—I knew I had to give it a try.

Stephen Colbert’s Favorite Childhood Recipe

The cookbook “Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves“ is a collection of recipes Colbert and his wife made for their family during the pandemic. It includes family favorites, Southern classics, and everything in between. Since Colbert’s favorite childhood recipe was Chicken L’Orange, Evie tried to re-create it multiple times, though it took a few attempts. Determined, she kept making adjustments until she landed on a version that tasted almost identical to the original. She shares that version in the book.

After trying my hand at the recipe, I can say that the resulting dish looked fantastic— I couldn’t wait to try it. I don’t often get excited about chicken, but as soon as my fork met this dish, I was thrilled. The chicken was so incredibly tender that it took just a gentle push of my fork to pull off piece after piece. Paired with the sweet and slightly spicy sauce, it made for some of the best chicken I’ve ever had. I even poured extra sauce over my rice and, I’ll admit, I had no problem cleaning my plate.

Mr. Colbert, I understand why this is your favorite dish, and bless your mom for making it and you for sharing it. It’s now one of my favorite recipes as well—here’s how you can make it.

How to Make Stephen Colbert’s Mom’s Chicken L’Orange

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 pounds chicken parts, preferably bone-in, skin-on
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup vegetable 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

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spread flour on a plate. Pat chicken pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Roll chicken pieces in flour to coat them lightly.
3. Heat oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Oil is ready when a chicken piece lowered into the oil gives off a very lively sizzle.
4. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides—don’t overcrowd the pan! Adjust the heat as necessary so the chicken keeps sizzling, without splattering. Move the cooked chicken pieces to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
5. While the chicken is browning, stir the orange juice, chili sauce, molasses, soy sauce, mustard, and garlic salt together in a small bowl.
6. When all the chicken is cooked, pour off the fat from the pan but leave the brown crunchy bits behind. Return the pan to the heat and pour in the orange juice mixture. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan, and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
7. Put the chicken skin-side up in a 3-quart baking dish (9×13-inch or similar). Pour the reduced sauce over the chicken and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
8. Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).
9. Move the chicken to a platter and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Garnish with the orange wheels. Serve the chicken with rice and pass the remaining sauce around the table.

Recipe from “Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves” by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert. Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors and reprinted with permission of Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.