Spilling the Beans

Have you had enough of my chicken recipes?  Hopefully not!  I am constantly on the hunt for interesting chicken recipes.  Chicken is lean, has relatively low phosphorus and fills me up.  But…let’s be honest.  Chicken is super boring.  I know I’m not alone in that thought because apparently, “chicken” is the #1 searched term on foodnetwork.com.  People like me struggle to find recipes that make chicken more appealing and to keep it fresh.  I mean really, how many baked chicken dishes can one person eat?

So this is a recipe that I found while trying to discover new ways to cook chicken.  I love a good sandwich or burger, but substituting chicken for beef or even turkey usually makes it dry and uninteresting…but not this recipe!  Why?  Because it’s got a load of delicious toppings!  When you pile amazing ingredients like pineapple and grilled red onion, the chicken suddenly takes a backseat and you’re left with just a really super tasty sandwich, which happens to be made with chicken.  It’s genius.

A couple of notes about this recipe:

1. I like to make my own BBQ sauce. That way, I can control what goes into it and eliminate the salt/additives that most bottled sauces have.  I’ll include a separate note below with that recipe.
2. This recipe is great if you have an outdoor grill, but if you don’t, I highly recommend purchasing an indoor grill pan. This is what I use and it comes out great (I live in NYC, so it’s basically impossible to grill outdoors unless you want to get arrested). You can cook everything on this handy pan so it’s only one thing to clean.
3. I like my chicken really thin, so I generally pound the chicken breasts so they’re all the same size and thinner than they come in the package. Then I cut them in sandwich-side pieces (usually in half).  This also significantly reduces the cook time.

Original Recipe: https://www.slenderkitchen.com/recipe/grilled-hawaiian-chicken-sandwiches

Revised Recipe: Me J Jackie

PREP TIME:  30 MIN COOK TIME:  15 MIN TOTAL TIME:  45 MINUTES

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (see note #3 above, you may want to pound them thinner and cut them in half)
• 1/3 cup barbecue sauce** Recipe to follow
• 1 can pineapple rings + juice
• 5 tbsp soy sauce or Coconut Aminos
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha/hot sauce (optional, more to taste)
• 4 English Muffins or King’s Hawaiian Rolls
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• 2 cups greens

Jackie’s BBQ Sauce

• 1 Cup Salt-Free Heinz Ketchup
• 1 8 oz Can Salt-Free Tomato Sauce
• ½ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• ¼ Cup Agave Syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1.5 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Optional: Pinch of McCormick’s Salt-Free BBQ Seasoning (or other brand)
• ¼ cup water

Directions for BBQ Sauce: Really easy, just mix all of these things together. If it’s too thick, feel free to add a little extra water.

Directions for Burgers:

1. If you have time and plan in advance: mix together the barbeque sauce, pineapple juice, soy sauce/coconut aminos, garlic, ginger and sriracha. Marinate the chicken (that was pounded thinner) between 30 minutes to overnight.
2. If you don’t have time (as I usually don’t), mix this same list of ingredients and set aside.
3. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade letting excess drip off. Spray the pineapple slices with cooking spray. Grill the chicken and pineapple for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through. For thinner chicken, cook less time on each side.
4. If the chicken wasn’t marinading, spread the barbeque sauce/pineapple juice mixture on top of the chicken while it’s cooking.  Make sure to coat both sides.
5. Serve layered on the hamburger roll with sliced red onion, fresh jalapeno, greens, grilled pineapple, and a drizzle of the homemade barbecue sauce.