Grilled Southwest Chicken with Jalapeño Butter

Grilled Southwest Chicken with Jalapeño Butter

Poultry
Main Dish

Serves 4

This is an old recipe from Cappy’s Restaurant on Broadway, and makes an easy summer lunch or dinner. The jalapeño butter can be made well in advance and kept in the freezer, and would be good on any grilled food.

You only need a little jalapeno jelly — pour the rest of a block of cream cheese at full room temperature, and serve with crackers for an appetizer.

Ingredients #

  • For the Chicken: #

    • 6 (7-8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    • 1 cup Italian salad dressing
    • 1/4 cup jalapeño jelly, melted

  • For Jalapeño Butter #

    • 1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers (depending on size)
    • 2 tbsp chopped red bell pepper
    • 1 clove garlic
    • 1 tbsp chopped parsley or cilantro
    • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
    • 3 dashes Tabasco sauce
    • 1/2 tsp paprika
    • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
    • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened fully to room temperature

Instructions #

For Jalapeño Butter #

Remove and discard the stem and seeds from jalapeno(s). Place the peppers in a food processor with the bell pepper, garlic, parsley, Worcestershire, Tabasco, paprika and cayenne. Pulse until the peppers and garlic are very finely minced, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the butter and process until the mixture is uniformly combined, scraping down the sides as needed.

Lay out a double layer of plastic wrap on your work surface, and scrape the butter out onto it. Form it into a roll of about 1 1/2” in diameter, twist the ends of the plastic wrap tightly, and freeze for up to a month. Slice the butter as needed.

For Chicken #

Lightly pound the chicken breasts with a meat hammer or rolling pin — just enough to give them a more uniform thickness, so they’ll cook evenly on the grill. In a glass baking dish or resealable plastic bag, combine the the chicken breasts with the Italian dressing, and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Melt the jalapeno jelly with a teaspoon of water, and have it ready in a small bowl with a basting brush. Prepare a charcoal grill to cook the chicken.

Remove the breasts from the marinade and place them on the prepared grill. Cook through, about 5 minutes per side (although an instant-read thermometer is a much better guide — pull the breasts off when they’re at 162 F in their thickest part). During the last few minutes of cooking, baste the chicken several times with the melted jalapeño jelly.

While still hot, top each breast with a slice of the Jalapeño Butter, letting it melt slightly before serving.