Blackened Chili Lime Chicken

Some people devote their lives to finding a cure for cancer.  Others work tirelessly to end childhood hunger.  I seem to be devoting my life to creating delicious, crunchy, and flavorful chicken with a minimum of work.

I am sort of embarrassed to say that this recipe took me a year to develop.  Not because I spent that time meticulously measuring spices, figuring out exactly the matrix that would produce the best flavor, but because I vaguely decided I wanted to do something easy with citrus and chili, but couldn’t figure out what that “something” was.  First I tacked Asian, dabbled in coconut milk, lime juice and Thai chilies, then veered Latin and tried various marinades.  All of those dishes probably could have turned into something good, but I wasn’t feeling it.  The sauces I created just weren't doing it for me.

So then I hit on a dry rub.  But before I give you the recipe – and, trust me on this one, it is ridiculously good – first I have to talk about flavors that I do not like.  I’m pretty sure this is something I’m not supposed to do.  I’ve read lots of cookbooks and food blogs, but I’ve never, ever, seen anyone talk about things they don’t like to eat.

I get it: one man’s tuna fish is another man’s cat food, and no one wants to piss off a reader.  But I mean absolutely no offense when I tell you that I do not particularly like smoky flavors in my dry rub (or in most other places).  Almost invariably, dry rubs have smoked paprika.  Mine does not.  (For the record, I also hate smoked cheese.  And green peppers.  And okra.  But that’s about it.)

Without the smoke to muddy things up, the dry rub has a much cleaner citrus flavor, and the chili really shines through.  With garlic and coriander as supporting characters, the whole thing is really a symphony.  As always, the chili is to taste, and if you find it too spicy, you can add a bit more brown sugar to balance it out.   But I insist that you finish off the dish with a squeeze of lime juice.  It makes a huge difference!  You can make the rub ahead of time – I now keep a jar of it in my cabinet, at the ready when I need a quick and seriously yummy chicken dinner.

Blackened Chili Lime Chicken

3 tsps Ancho Chili Powder

1 ½ tsps. Garlic powder

1 ½ tsps. Mexican oregano (or regular, if you can’t find Mexican)

1 ½ tsps Coriander

¾ tsp Cayenne pepper

2 Limes, zested (the skin grated off)

3 tsps salt

3 Tbsps brown sugar

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts

2 Tbsp neutral oil, like vegetable oil

Directions

Mix together all the ingredients.  Rub on chicken.Heat oil on high heat in a large skillet, preferably a cast iron skillet.  Cook chicken quickly, until it is just cooked through and the chili lime rub is slightly blackened.

Squeeze lime juice over chicken and serve.

Serves two with leftovers.