theparkerfamily

beside my on-going crush on nigella lawson, the best chef on tv is alton brown.

not only is he able explain nearly everything in the world of cooking in a way that makes sense (though the grape juice commercials are a bit of a stretch) i can watch him grill a whole chicken for 30 minutes, even though i honestly can’t imagine anything less edible than the notion of breaking up a chicken, picking it up by its ankle, and then gnawing on its thighbone.

that said, his recipe for ring of fire chicken is next to godliness in my book — even though i will happily use an (utterly verboten in alton brown’s world) pre-deboned breast of chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of deboned chicken breasts
• 1 quart water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 1/2 ounces kosher salt, approximately 3/4 cup
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon adobo powder, without pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika

Instructions

1. Put the chicken pieces in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag with the water, honey, and salt. Seal the bag and move around vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to distribute the honey and dissolve the salt. Set the bag in a leak-proof container and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine curry powder, chili powder, cocoa powder, adobo powder, cumin, and hot smoked paprika in a 1 gallon resealable bag.
3. Pat the chicken with paper towels until very dry. Do not rinse.
4. Put the chicken in the bag with the spice mixture and shake to thoroughly coat the chicken, or put spice mixture in an empty spice shaker and apply liberally. Lay the pieces on a cooling rack set inside a half sheet pan. Rest for 30 minutes.
5. Grill on high heat until cooked, about 4 minutes per side.