New Recipe In-Progress: Tex-Mex Roadside Chicken Wet Rub

As some of you may know, I look upon BS (boneless-skinless) chicken with
great disdain, as the things are almost completely devoid of flavor and
moisture.

I made my Grilled Malibu Chicken for dinner last night, and I had leftover BS
breasts that are on death row today. I also need to re-shoot the plated
shots of the grilled artichokes from last weekend. The prepped shots were
OK, but the plated one blows chunks, but I digress.

So... Today I was racking my brain wondering what I could do with these
Barbra Streisand chicken breasts to make them halfway interesting to eat;
then it hit me like a lead pipe upside the head.

This week I was trolling the web and stumbled upon a post about "Mexican
Roadside Chicken". It looked pretty good, but I didn't bookmark or make
note of it. However, I did remember just enough to throw together this
working recipe.

[FONT=verdana,sans-serif]Ingredients
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
1 tsp (heaping) Whole dried allspice berries
1 Tbsp Whole dried oregano leaves, preferably Mexican
1 tsp Whole cumin seed
1/4 tsp Whole black pepper
1/8 tsp Smoked paprika
1 tsp Ground chile de arbol
1 tsp Ground ancho chile
1/4 tsp Gebhardt's Chili Powder (or ground New Mexico chile)
[/FONT][FONT=verdana,sans-serif]1/4 tsp Ground coriander[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,sans-serif] 1/8 tsp Ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp Red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Water

Method
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a coffee grinder dedicated for spice
grinding, or a food processor.

Grind until all of the ingredients are fine and well-incorporated.

Dump the mixture in a small mixing bowl, and add the vinegar and water.

Whisk the mixture well. It should be the consistency of a cake batter.

Smear the rub on your chicken, refrigerate and let marinate 1-2 hours.

Grill as you normally would.

Tip: I bet this would make a good marinade if you were to thin it by adding
water and orange/pineapple juice.

----

Again, this is a working recipe that I'll be using tonight. If you see me post
it soon you'll know it worked. If not, I'll disavow any knowledge of it. :-D

John
[/FONT]

Oops... Dinner tonight is "Tex-Mex Roadside Chicken Tacos with Grilled Artichokes and
Garlic-Chive Aioli" :wink:

John

swibirun said:

I know Rick Bayless has a version of this that's out on the 'net, maybe that was the one you saw. Don't think you really need it because I like what you're onto with this one. Can't wait to hear how this turns out! (Unless of course it didn't turn out, in which case.....didn't happen)

Hey, what was the name of that book you told me about, "Flavor Bible" or something like that? I thought I had saved the name but can't find it.

Click to expand...

Thanks. The yardbird will be going on in the next 30 mike or so.

The book is "The Flavor Bible". I've posted a review here and on
my blog. I'd link it, but I'm on my phone. It's simply a must-have
for serious 'flavorologists' (cooks).

John

Well, it was generally a hit with the ladies. I served the chicken
chopped on grilled corn tortillas with angel hair cabbage and a
sauce of a 50/50 mix of low-fat sour cream and salsa.

Our eldest daughter (12) said that they were the best tacos that
she's ever had, but my wife said that the chicken was too spicy.

I think I'll cut the chile de arbol in half for the final recipe.

Look for a recipe post soon. Thanks for playing along.

John