; Supermarket Serenade: Grilled Guajillo Chicken

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Grilled Guajillo Chicken

Guajillo. Don't you just love saying it? Gwah-Hee-yo.

I have never actually worked with dried peppers before. I've worked with dried mushrooms (which I love), but I have always been rather intimidated by dried peppers. But on a recent trip to the supermarket I threw caution to the wind and decided to buy a package of guajillo peppers and a package of ancho peppers.


First up are the guajillos. Easier to use than I had thought, they are an inexpensive way to provide some great flavor to your dishes. They are a mild pepper rating about 2 or 3 on the hot scale-with 10 being super hot, so if super hot is what you're looking for these are not the peppers you want. But if you're looking for a nice smoky flavor, a hint of spice, and some nice color, these peppers deliver on all counts.

The peppers have a leathery skin and need a bit of soaking to reconstitute. Be sure to wash before using and trim the stems before placing in boiling water to reconstitute.

I had an abundance of thin sliced chicken cutlets in my freezer and decided to make use of them, so I thawed and marinated them in a guajillo based marinade then grilled them. Paired with yellow rice and sauteed peppers they made a quick tasty dinner. I also shredded one and added cheese and green onion placed between two whole wheat tortillas for a tasty quesadilla for one of my picky eaters...yummy.

Guajillo Grilled Chicken

4 dried guajillo peppers, washed
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
6 boneless, skinless thin sliced chicken cutlets

Place the guajillo peppers in a small bowl and cover with the boiling water. Cover the bowl and let peppers sit for 15-20 minutes, until tender.

Transfer the peppers and 1/4 cup of the water to a food processor (reserve the remaining water). Add the oil, tomato paste, honey, vinegar, cumin and salt; process until smooth. Place the paste and the remaining water into a zipper top plastic bag along with the chicken; shake well to combine. Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat a grill to medium high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the hot grill, discard marinade. Grill chicken 2-3 minutes per side.

4 comments:

The JR said...

I've always wondered how to use those. Looks good.
Ramona

Mary Bergfeld said...

I've never used the dry ones, but I regularly use those that come in a jar because I love the heat of the brine. Your recipe sounds and looks delicious.

Barbara Bakes said...

I've never been brave enough to try the dried peppers, but this sounds so easy and delicious!

Lisa Engel said...

What a great marinade! I'm sure you could even turn that into a yummy red sauce for Chilequiles