Living in a small apartment complex there are no communal barbecues and with an even smaller balcony, there is no room to own my own. With these limits, I find myself craving barbecued foods all the time! While I have found some hacks such as cooking ribs in the slow cooker, there really is no replacement for chicken cooked on a barbecue with caramelized and slightly charred sauce. Or is there?
Remember that chicken we cooked last week in the broiler (Quick Chicken and Pasta Dinner)? Combine that method of cooking the chicken in the broiler with a well made barbecue sauce and you have found a replacement that is close as you can get without the hassle of a barbecue. I like to take a basic barbecue sauce and add a little sweet, a little vinegar, and a little spicy to create the master sauce. Don’t like spicy? Skip the chipotle and add something smokey instead!
While I would like nothing more than a large slice of cornbread slathered in honey to go with this chicken, in trying to eat healthier and little less gluten, I opted for a veggie side this time. Don’t worry though, there is still a special place in my heart for good ole’ cornbread and chicken 🙂 I chose to go with sauteed asparagus with garlic of course, an ingredient I try to work into as many recipes as I can because I just can’t get enough of it! Since I prefer a crisp asparagus that is vibrant in color, I don’t saute them for very long in order to retain these coveted qualities.
And there you have it, barbecue chicken without the hassle of cleaning the barbecue, but with all the flavors and essence of the real thing!
Grab a few extra napkins and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken Breast
- For the sauce
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce
- 1 tbsp. ketchup
- ¼ tsp. worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- ¼ tsp. red wine vinegar
- pinch of chipotle chile pepper powder
- 5 asparagus
- 1 clove of garlic
- olive oil
- 1 tsp. parmesan cheese
Prepping the Dish
- preheat broiler
- trim fat off of chicken breast and place on foil-lined baking sheet
- broil chicken breast for 7 minutes
- while chicken is cooking, mix up the BBQ sauce by adding all sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisking together until combined
- note regarding chipotle chile pepper powder: this powder is very potent and a little goes a long way. Make sure to rinse your hands after adding a pinch and be careful not to touch your eyes!
- after 7 minutes, flip the chicken and generously coat with half of the sauce with a brush or spoon
- I prefer to use a silicone brush to avoid loose hairs falling into the dish
- cook the chicken for an additional 7 minutes in the broiler
- while chicken finishes cooking, trim about an inch off of the bottom of the asparagus and cut each spear into 2 inch pieces using a diagonal slice
- roughly mince garlic
- coat a small sauce pan with olive oil and saute asparagus for 3 minutes over medium heat
- add garlic and cook for an additional minute, garnish with parmesan cheese
- the asparagus will be crisp and slightly tender, if a more tender texture is desired, increase cooking time by a few minutes, but be careful not to overcook as they will become mushy
- once the chicken is fully cooked, remember to let it rest for two minutes out of the oven on the pan before slicing so that it retains its juices
- if you cut the chicken too quickly, you run the risk of it losing the juices and drying out
- when plating, flip the chicken breast and coat with the remaining sauce
The Kitchen For One 