Grilled Chicken Breasts in a White Wine Marinade

Grilled Chicken Breast in a White Wine Marinade

 Update

You may or may not have noticed that I haven?t posted to this publication for about a month. Naturally, the question becomes: Why? Part of the reason is financial, as my budget has seemed a little too tight in the past month to purchase ingredients to profile new recipes. Also, I started a few projects that haven?t materialized to the point where I can write about them yet. 

 Per the suggestion of Chef Dasalla, I also purchased The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America?s Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. It?s a great reference for home cooks like me. It lists hundreds of ingredients, their complementary flavors, taste (i.e. sweet, salty, sour, etc.), function (i.e. cools the dish, warms the dish), weight (density), volume (the strength the flavor of the ingredient), technique (how the ingredient is best cooked), any tips in using the ingredient, flavor affinities (three or more ingredients that work well together), and flavors to avoid. In its introductory chapters, one of the points the authors make is any idiot can follow a recipe, but to prepare a great dish, the cook needs to taste it occasionally and know what needs to be added or what needs to be performed to improve upon it.

I’ll be focused on this mantra more intensely in the upcoming months, as I’ve started a project I’ll call Baptism. The only note I’ll make about it here is that it has to do with a cooking competition. I’ll explain more in future posts. From here until Baptism is complete, I’ll be evaluating each dish on a scale of 1 to 10 in a new section titled “Baptism Evaluation” for the dish’s taste, ease of preparation, sophistication, and bottom line (whether the dish is a good candidate to be included in Baptism).

The Flavor Bible

 Backstory

I heard of the concept of a wine pairing when I was younger, but never understood it until I attended a banquet when I was a college student at a hotel. I remember having a glass of Chardonnay with a chicken dish that evening. Not a particularly remarkable dish, but I remember the wine enhancing the flavors in the chicken, so much so that it heavily influenced the ingredients when I was making my own marinade for some grilled chicken earlier this Spring.

Recipe

There is no website to refer to, as this is an original recipe.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 Tbs garlic, minced

3 Tbs Italian parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs olive oil

1/4 Tsp kosher salt

Marinade Ingredients

1. In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients (except for the chicken) together. Place chicken in a resealable bag then add the marinade. Refrigerate for at least four hours but it can be marinated over night.

2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a grill over medium high heat. Place the excess marinade in a clean bowl and spoon it over the chicken as it’s on the grill. Immediately turn the chicken and spoon the marinade on the second side. Cook five to seven minutes. Turn and then cook an additional five to seven minutes or until done.

Note

I have cooked this chicken without using the excess marinade, but I’ve noticed the flavor stronger with it. I need to make a note of caution here to use the marinade at the beginning of the grilling process to kill off any bacteria that might be present in the marinade from the raw chicken. If this seems too risky, set aside some of the marinade before placing the chicken in it. 

Baptism Evaluation: 

Taste: 7 

Ease of Preparation: 8 

Sophistication: 2 

Bottom Line: No 

The dish doesn’t incorporate many cooking skills, so I don’t think this would be a good candidate. 

Final Thoughts 

This makes for a great weeknight meal, as the preparation couldn’t be easier. This marinade can also be used when grilling pork. I just happened to be cooking chicken the evening I took pictures. White chicken meat isn’t my wife’s favorite, but I have found that she will eat it when I use this marinade. 

Enjoy!