Spicy Grilled Chicken Paillards

Ingredients

  • For sauce:
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon mild honey
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 [3-inch] cinnamon stick
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • For paillards:
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika (not hot)
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • salt to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare chicken. Trim the tenderloins from the chicken breast halves [a chunk of meat often attached to the underside of the breast]. Place each breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with flat side of a meat mallet until about 1/4-inch thick or so.

Make sauce. Simmer all sauce ingredients except butter in a 1-quart saucepan, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Set aside while cooking chicken.

Make paillards. Cook cumin, paprika and pepper in oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer spiced oil to a small bowl, reserving skillet for sauce [do not clean].

Brush some spiced oil on each side of paillards, then season with salt. When charcoal is ready, spread evenly in one layer and put grill in place. Oil it lightly and arrange paillards on grill. Grill 2 minutes, then turn over and grill until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil.

Finish sauce. Pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into reserved small skillet, discarding solids. Add any juices from chicken accumulated on platter to sauce and bring to a boil. Add butter and swirl skillet until butter is just incorporated. Season sauce with salt and spoon over chicken