We usually marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts but I wanted to try a spice rub. I turned to my favorite cookbook, The New Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated. Here's the link to the book on amazon. It's really an encyclopedia of cooking and it hasn't steered me wrong yet. Great gift idea for anyone who wants to learn the how and why of cooking.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Best-Recipe-All-New/dp/0936184744/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307064795&sr=1-1
The key is brining the chicken breasts first. I trimmed and pounded 4 boneless skinless chicken breats (this works for bone in but the cooking time is different). Dissolve 1/2 cup Diamond Kosher salt in 1 quart water and pour into a ziplock bag (you can use 1/4 cup table salt but the Diamond Kosher is best). Soak for 1 1/2 - 2 hours in fridge. Drain, rinse well under running water, then let it drip in a colander. Pat dry with paper towels.
Next make the spice rub. The cast of characters:
Mix:
2 TBS Cumin
2 TBS Curry Powder
2 TBS Chili Powder
1 TBS Allspice
1 TBS Black Pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
Coat chicken with spice mix and rub it in good (go on, get your hands in there, just don't rub your eyes afterward!):
Here they are ready for the grill:
Heat the grill over med-high heat, then brush with a little oil, and grill for 5-6 minutes a side (depends on the thickness). Here they are in all their grill striped glory:
Add a little steamed broccoli and cauliflower on the side and heaven on a plate:
Mr. H was concerned cuz he could smell the cinnamon and thought that's what it would taste like. But I'm tellin ya, the warmth of the spices, the delicate, crispy coating, the tender, juicy inside, was amazing. Delish!
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