Saturday, May 23, 2009

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

Oh my goodness, I am in love. If anyone is in need of an amazing salad you must try this one. It is a main dish and I feel like I'm at a restaurant while eating it. It is soooo good. I have made it in the past but I added the mango this time and I inhaled the salad. I couldn't breathe until it was gone.

I found the recipe on this link. Check it out. There are amazing pictures to go with every step by step recipe.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/05/spicy-honey-chicken-salad.html



It's a blog I follow and it has some really fun recipes. Most of the things that I have tried are really good but this salad has got to be my favorite.

One thing though, she uses chicken thighs, I tried once and I just can't do it. I am a breast person. They are so much less fatty and I have a thing against meat fat. It just grosses me out.

It's also a must to use the dressing that goes with the salad and you can't forget the avocado. Scott and my girls both love this as well. I copy and pasted the recipe here (in case I ever lose the recipe) but you should check out their blog. It may look overwhelming but really it's not bad at all.

Spicy Honey Chicken

2 t vegetable oil

Rub:

2 t garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder for extra heat, increase chipotle or add ground red pepper

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (Yes, Thighs!!)
everyone is always asking me if they can use breasts for this. Sure you can, but I'm tellin'ya right now it's better with thighs.

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. You're taste buds will thank you.

Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

this recipe used to be called "Bermuda Vinaigrette," in case you were confused!
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 T grated onion
1/3 C fresh orange juice
3T fresh lime juice
1T honey
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil

3. Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar and shake your bootie (and the jar) vigorously. Store in the fridge, and shake before dressing salad.

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

1-2 heads Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce
2 ripe but firm mangoes, chilled
2-3 ripe but firm avocados

Spicy Honey Chicken
Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

This serves 4 large salads or 6 smaller sized ones.

While chicken is grilling, wash lettuce and divide among serving plates. Slice avocados and mangoes and place them on top of the lettuce. When chicken is finished, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing to preserve the juices. Then slice it up and divide among the salads. Drench it all in the Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette and pretend you're at a fancy restaurant!

4 comments:

Stephanie B said...

was it spicy, that was one thing that kept me from it. I love a lot of recipes from that blog. I've tried the buttermilk syrup and the Mango-pineapple sorbet. Some of my favorites!

Becky said...

It's not spicy at all. I'm not sure why the title says spicy. I'm not a spicy fan and it's great.

Ann said...

I really like this salad too. I don't like a lot of spice in my food. So, when I make the rub I leave out the crushed red pepper.

colleen said...

Hi Becky! I'm kind of back in the blogging world again (at least for today)! And I can't believe some of the shots of your girls... all grown up and all. :)
I am in a "dinner group" here in KY, and I am super excited to try this one out. Yum!