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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Pecan Lime Chicken

This chicken is not what it was stared out being.  The original idea for dinner was Grilled Chicken with Garlic Walnut Lime Sauce.  Uhmmm...yea, a tad bit different then Pecan Lime Chicken.  Here's what happened:

When making my grocery list the other day, I just KNEW that I had walnuts in the freezer from something I just made recently.  So I peaked into the freezer and sure enough, there was a small bag of some form of nut.  I immediately "assumed" that they were walnuts and I went on my merry way.  Flash forward a few days - As I start to get the ingredients together for the sauce, I reached into the freezer to pull out the bag of "walnuts" and lo and behold.....they were pecans!! CRAP!!!  Well...walnuts and pecans, they can be intermixed right???  Wrong!  At least not in this sauce.  The sauce had this taste... this odd taste to it.  I can't really explain it.. it was just odd and I don't think it would have had that had I used actual walnuts.  I tasted the sauce again and again and just couldn't convince myself that it was good enough to serve as a sauce....but I didn't want to throw it all away.... so I thought.. Ok, let's improvise, let's just pour it over the chicken...I'm going to grill it anyway, it can't hurt it at least, right???  And what do you know.... it actually turned out much better than expected!! YAY!!

So even though I did not get the sauce I was hoping for, we did get a great piece of chicken that was surprisingly simple to throw together.  You can't beat that!

Pecan Lime Chicken
Strangely adapted from Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbecue!
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts cut off (I actually used honey wheat bread because we had it on hand)
2 Tablespoons pecans, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoon lime juice
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Place the slices of bread in a bowl and add enough warm water to cover.  Let the bread soak for 5 minutes, then drain it well in a strainer.  Using your hands, squeeze the bread well to wring out any excess liquid. (it's a gross job, I know, but it must be done!!)

Place the bread, pecans, and garlic in a food processor and puree to a smooth paste.  Withe the processor running, gradually work in the lime juice, vegetable oil, and olive oil in a thin stream to obtain a smooth sauce.  Add the salt and pepper and pulse just to combine.  Pour over chicken and allow to marinate for 1-4 hours (the longer the better).

Preheat grill to medium-high.  Oil grill grates.  Remove chicken from marinade and place directly over the fire.  Grill for 8-10 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through.  Remove from grill and allow to sit for 3 minutes before cutting into it.  Enjoy!


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14 comments:

Big Dude said...

I like it when I stumble into something delicious. The chicken looks nice and moist Ms Queen of the grill.

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

It sure is pretty looking! Sounds like a tasty combo Jenn, sorry the flavors weren't what you were hoping for. Its an interesting sauce, with the soaked bread, almost more like you'd see in gazpacho.

Stephen C said...

It's time for me to do chicken again. I'm a fan of peanuts and pistacchios, but walnuts make my teeth itch. Pecans sounds like a convenient sub in a pinch.

Arthur said...

Your post inspired me to play with some recipes that combine pecan and chicken. Sounds like a good combination.

Pam said...

Another tasty combination of flavors! It looks and sounds fantastic.

Cranberry Morning said...

That must be the key to new and interesting recipes - improvisation! Good job. Looks delicious, Jenn!

Juliana said...

Wow, your chicken looks great, and love the idea of pecan...yummie!

Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking said...

Jenn, you make the most mouthwatering grilled chicken. This has really got me in the mood to tear into a big piece of meat... too bad it's just after 8AM in California, hah! What a wonderful flavor combination. I love this recipe!

Gary said...

Question: How bad would it be to not use the bread? I'm thinking I can reduce the carbs by not using the bread.

Unknown said...

Arthur - So glad I can inspire you :)

Georgia...you make me blush!!!

Gary - The bread is used as a thickener for the sauce and since you are just marinating the chicken anyway, runny sauce is not going to be a problem.

Roxan said...

It's ok! I think pecans are a great sub for walnuts... Sometimes we are just our own worst critics. I'm glad that you were able to get together another chicken that you liked though.

Unknown said...

I love it! Improvise - I just mentioned it on my blog too...sometimes it's just what we got to do! Nice work, looks and sounds great to me!

Rivki Locker said...

I like pecans MUCH better than walnuts and I think this recipe looks wonderful. pecans make a wonderful addition to so many dishes!

Chris said...

I'm allergic to pecans but I have to give you the award for the best source credit of the year. Strangely adapted had me LMAO.