The Best Chicken Ever
20 ingredients
Ingredients
- Secret #1: Brining
- 1 quart of water
- 1/4 cup salt
- chicken breasts
- Secret #2: Spice Blend
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Secret #3: Moroccan Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 medium clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika (sweet, hot, or smoked)
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro or parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Brining: Put 1 quart of water in a large ziplock bag and add 1/4 cup salt. Let the salt dissolve.
- Add the chicken breasts to the bag. This will look gross; ignore it.
- Put the bag in the fridge and forget about it for 2 hours.
- Remove the bag from the fridge; ignore that it looks even grosser.
- Rinse the chicken well. Think about something else as you do this so as not to notice that you're holding raw chicken.
- Place in a sieve to drain/dry while you move on to Secret #2.
- Spice Blend: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well with a fork.
- Coat the chicken pieces with the mixture; massage and pat it on lovingly. You want the pieces pretty densely coated.
- Dipping Sauce: Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and salt & pepper together in a small bowl. Inhale and rejoice that you have a nose.
- Gradually whisk in the oil, then stir in the fresh chopped herbs.
- Serve at room temperature.
Notes
Secret #1: You will think brining is not necessary or too fussy, but you won't regret it. If you're short on time, you can just salt & pepper the chicken, but the magic just might be in the waiting. Secret #2: Spice blend makes enough for about 2-2.5 lbs. of chicken -- tastes good on pork, too, and as a sprinkle for sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and acorn squash. If you roll the meat in the mixture, throw away any remaining spice blend; once and done when raw chicken is involved. Secret #3: Kinda like salad dressing, the Moroccan sauce is also delish drizzled on raw cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, and onions, or on lunch vegetables like green beans, cabbage, broccoli.