Prime Cuts

Here is a favorite spice rub of mine for chicken that is a great thing to do for summer barbeques.   I love to prepare this on the grill, but not really on the grill?!   I get my grill about medium hot (can hold hand over hottest part for at least 5 sec.) and place a thick cast iron skillet or thick metal tray, saute pan, or sizzle platter…directly on the grill.   Let this blackening plate heat thoroughly before you cook any food on it.  While waiting for the plate to heat up prepare your chicken by patting it thoroughly dry and preparing the spice rub, recipe follows.

Joe’s Bird Blackening Spice Rub

This spice rub should pack a lot of flavor without being too spicy.  I personally don’t care for food that is so spicy that the simple, natural flavors of the base food are masked.  This rub is full of flavor yet still mellow in terms of spiciness.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Spanish paprika
1/2 cup smoked paprika
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup cumin
1/4 cup freshly/finely ground black pepper
1/8 cup cayenne pepper
1/8 cup garlic powder

Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly with whisk, and store in an airtight container, taking out only as much as you need at a time.  Will keep fresh and flavorful for 1-2 months.

2. On a clean plate pour out enough spice rub mix to thoroughly coat both sides of however many chicken breasts you are cooking.

3. Place chicken directly on spice mix and pat down with spice to thoroughly coat all exposed surface of chicken breast.   This dry coating of spice rub mix will prevent the chicken from sticking to the blackening plate and become the outer crust of flavor that will keep the juices from the chicken locked in the meat.

4. Place the seasoned chickens directly on the hottest part of the blackening plate on the grill, turning every 5 minutes or so.  The chicken should develop a bit of char, but not as much as if you were to cook it directly on the grill bars.  If your chicken is blackening too much, remove it from the pan and relocate the blackening pan to a less hot part of the grill, giving ample time for the temperature to reduce before returning the chickens to the heat.  The even smoothness of the plate helps create the crust and keeps the crust on the chicken rather than sticking to the grill bars when you try to turn it.

5. Check for doneness by pushing down on the chicken with your index finger, when there is a strong bounce back and the chicken feels firm it is done.  Generally 20-30 minutes for medium to large chicken breasts, and it is always best to cook slow and long at low temperature than quickly at high temperature for foods that must be cooked thoroughly.  If you like, pound the thickest parts of the chicken breast prior to cooking to reduce cooking time.

Enjoy this chicken with a cool dipping sauce such as a chilled homemade ranch or chive sour creme.  These dipping sauces will contrast and refresh the palate against the smokey/spiciness of the blackening spice rub crust.

Enjoy!

P.S. This is great topped with some melted bleu cheese or Gorgonzola and put in a sandwich!

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Photo by: Chinkerfly