Grilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast with Red-Pepper Almond Sauce for Two
By Annie PetitoPublished on March 11, 2020
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 2
Ingredients
Chicken
2 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed5 tablespoons water 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon honey ½ teaspoon table salt Pinch pepper 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oilRed Pepper Sauce
2 ½ teaspoons sherry vinegar 1 small garlic clove, minced¼ teaspoon table salt 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons whole almonds, toasted1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika Pinch cayenne pepperBefore You Begin
We like the complexity that toasted sesame oil gives to the sauce, but extra-virgin olive oil can be substituted. The chicken and sauce can be served alongside a simply prepared vegetable or starch for dinner; the chicken can also be used in a sandwich or sliced and eaten in a salad.
Instructions
- Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound gently with meat pounder until ½ inch thick. Whisk water, fish sauce, honey, salt, and pepper together in bowl. Transfer mixture to 1-quart zipper-lock bag. Add chicken, press out air, seal bag, and turn bag so contents are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Combine vinegar, garlic, and salt in small bowl and set aside.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
- Toss bell peppers with 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil in bowl until evenly coated. Remove chicken from brine, letting excess drip off (do not pat dry), then toss with 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil in second bowl until evenly coated.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place bell peppers, skin side down, on grill and cook (covered if using gas), until most of surface is well charred, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly charred on second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer bell peppers to bowl and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place chicken, skinned side down, on grill and cook (covered if using gas) until chicken develops dark grill marks, 3 to 5 minutes. Gently release chicken from cooking grate, flip, and continue to cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- While chicken rests, pulse almonds in food processor until finely chopped, 10 to 12 pulses. Add sesame oil, paprika, cayenne, vinegar mixture, and bell peppers (do not remove skins) and process until smooth, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Loosen with water as needed and season with salt to taste. Transfer to bowl and serve alongside chicken.
for the chicken
for the red pepper sauce
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 2Ingredients
Chicken
Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
Red Pepper Sauce
Why This Recipe Works
The perfect grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts are juicy, savory, and well browned and can be served as is or added to salads or sandwiches. We first pounded them to a ½-inch thickness so that they cooked through evenly. Soaking the chicken for 30 minutes in a potent “brinerade” seasoned it and added moisture that helped keep it juicy during cooking; we spiked the salt water with just enough umami-rich fish sauce to add savory depth without any trace of fishiness, as well as honey that encouraged browning and balanced the salt. Coating the chicken in a little oil before grilling kept it from sticking to the grate, and cooking it over a hot fire ensured that it browned deeply. To maximize the hot fire and make a flavor-packed accompaniment that could be used as a sauce or sandwich spread, we grilled bell peppers before cooking the chicken and pureed them with toasted almonds, sherry vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic.
Before You Begin
We like the complexity that toasted sesame oil gives to the sauce, but extra-virgin olive oil can be substituted. The chicken and sauce can be served alongside a simply prepared vegetable or starch for dinner; the chicken can also be used in a sandwich or sliced and eaten in a salad.
Instructions
- Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound gently with meat pounder until ½ inch thick. Whisk water, fish sauce, honey, salt, and pepper together in bowl. Transfer mixture to 1-quart zipper-lock bag. Add chicken, press out air, seal bag, and turn bag so contents are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Combine vinegar, garlic, and salt in small bowl and set aside.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
- Toss bell peppers with 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil in bowl until evenly coated. Remove chicken from brine, letting excess drip off (do not pat dry), then toss with 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil in second bowl until evenly coated.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place bell peppers, skin side down, on grill and cook (covered if using gas), until most of surface is well charred, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly charred on second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer bell peppers to bowl and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place chicken, skinned side down, on grill and cook (covered if using gas) until chicken develops dark grill marks, 3 to 5 minutes. Gently release chicken from cooking grate, flip, and continue to cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- While chicken rests, pulse almonds in food processor until finely chopped, 10 to 12 pulses. Add sesame oil, paprika, cayenne, vinegar mixture, and bell peppers (do not remove skins) and process until smooth, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Loosen with water as needed and season with salt to taste. Transfer to bowl and serve alongside chicken.
for the chicken
for the red pepper sauce
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