Friday, September 23, 2011

"Unbelievable Chicken"

A couple of weekends ago we had friends over and I barbecued some chicken using a recipe that received a lot of hype on the web. The name of the dish, "Unbelievable Chicken", is well-suited, as the result was unbelievably delicious. I of course had nothing to do with the development of the recipe--I was only following instructions. And yet, I couldn't help but feel proud of what was served to our guests. You will be, too. What really stands out is the flavor, a combination of citrus, sweet and sour.


From allrecipes.com:
Ingredients

1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons prepared coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Directions

In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 8 hours, or overnight.
Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the prepared grill, and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear. Discard marinade.

We let the chicken marinate for almost a full 24 hours. If there's anything I would add to the recipe, it's that when grilling chicken it's imperative that you give the chicken sufficient time for indirect heating on the grill. That is, use the direct heat to begin with until the skin and flesh are browned (no raw parts showing), then move the meat to a section of the grill not directly over the heat, which should be set to medium. As always, whether it be chicken, pork, veggies or beef, close the lid of the barbecue while grilling,especially when using indirect heat. Once over the indirect heat, flip after seven minutes or so, then check your thickest chunk of meat for doneness. Remember that breast cooks faster than dark meat. You're good to go once juices run clear.

The breast took the flavor better, I thought, than the dark meat. Jenny disagreed.

As for the dessert, everyone loved it. What got everyone talking were the chocolate wafers, which were Annie's Chocolate Mint Thins. As simple the sandwiches were to make--just place a small scoop of chocolate ice cream between the thins--they were a smash.