Tequila Lime Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa
I had to be crazy to grill today. It literally poured the entire day – even the dogs had no interest in going outdoors.
However, yesterday my husband and I returned from a mini vacation to Arizona. The weather was perfect and the food, spectacular! I was so inspired that I couldn’t wait to get home and cook.
Although I had something specific in mind to prepare this evening, my daughter begged me to make something using a salsa. I decided on Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken Breasts with Grilled Pineapple Salsa. For a side dish I prepared Roasted Golden Beets with a Citrus Vinaigrette, both were light and delicious. The salad was inspired by a restaurant we dined at in Arizona. I’ll share that recipe on my next post.
I started by marinating my chicken breast halves this morning so they’d have plenty of time to absorb the flavors. My salsa I whipped together this evening while the grill was fired up. This dish would be fantastic with grilled chicken, sea bass or halibut. I hope you like it…….
Tequila LIme Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients:
Chicken:
1/8 cup tequila
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (approximately 2 limes)
1/8 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (I used Clementine's since I had an abundant amount)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salsa:
1 large fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into 10 rounds
1 large orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, minced
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Chicken: Combine all ingredients except chicken breasts in a large zip lock baggy and blend. Add chicken breasts, seal, and swish around to coat all the chicken breasts. Set bag in a bowl and place in refrigerator for 2-24 hours.
- Preheat grill, then remove chicken breasts from marinade sprinkling with additional salt and pepper if desired. Place breasts on grill what would be skin-side down, even though they're skinless, for approximately 5 minutes. Flip chicken and grill for another 7-10 minutes or until just cooked through. (Check out my tips for Grilling the Perfect Chicken) Remove from grill, cover tightly allowing to rest for about 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with Grilled Pineapple Salsa.
- Salsa: Grill pineapple rounds until nicely charred on each side. Remove from grill and dice 4 of the rounds.
- Add all salsa ingredients (except pineapple rounds) to a medium size bowl and blend. Cover and set aside until ready to use.
- To Serve: Place a round of grilled pineapple onto each plate.
- Top with grilled Tequila Lime Chicken Breasts.
- Spoon salsa over the top, and garnish with additional cilantro. Serve.Note: I created the salsa recipe as I do most of the ones I make. Making your own salsa is so easy - simply use ingredients on hand and use spices that will compliment your dish. You really can't go wrong. Enjoy!!
The Tequila Lime Chicken was adapted from Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style. I did change the recipe slightly by adding olive oil and reducing the ingredients by two-thirds.