Pecan Mozzarella Chicken

Grilled chicken breast can be tricky; it just takes practice.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are notoriously hard to grill.  Trust me, I have dried out more chicken in my backyard (and made my kids eat it anyway) than I care to admit.  Honestly, the trick is to learn from your mistakes and don't be afraid to fail.  Because when you get it right, it's freakin' magic!

Like many people, my first experiences with grilling were on a gas grill.  At the expense of irritating a lot of people, I'm saying right here and now, cooking on a gas grill is no good.  Gas has no flavor and it sucks the moisture out of even the best cuts of meat.  That's just my opinion based on my experiences. It was only when I ditched the gas and started cooking with charcoal did I realize what I was missing.  My burgers had more flavor and my chicken wasn't as dry. 

Through trial and error, I have discovered that chicken breasts are done best by cooking with indirect heat.  When I would cook on Mr. Draper's grill (the horizontal grill rescued from the rubble of Hurricane Katrina), I would put the coals on one side and the meat on the other.  Now, cooking on my Akorn, I use the stone diffuser.  Either way, the chicken is never sitting over direct flame.

Vegetables like asparagus always taste better with a little smoke.

Start by giving the chicken a light scruffing and then season it with salt, pepper and cumin.  Light half a chimney starter of hardwood lump charcoal and let it get white hot.  Dump it into the grill, add a couple of chunks of hickory or pecan wood, and bring the temp. up to between 325 and 350 degrees.  In a bowl, mix a couple of handfuls of chopped pecans and a little barbecue sauce together for the topping.  Use just enough barbecue sauce to coat all of the pecans and help them stick together.  You don't want the topping to be too runny.   

Put the chicken on and let it cook for eight to ten minutes.  Flip the chicken and baste it with barbecue sauce.  After another eight to ten minutes, flip it and baste it again.  You can flip and baste a couple of times, allowing the chicken to build a good layer of flavor.  The last time you flip and baste, make sure the underside of the breast filets are facing up.  The topping won't stay on otherwise.  Add a small amount of the topping to each piece of chicken and then finish with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.  When the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165 degrees, take the chicken off the grill and let it rest for ten minutes before serving.

 This chicken can be served with just about any of your favorite sides.  This time around I went with asparagus.  I put it on the grill when I first put the chicken on and let it cook for about ten minutes or so.  I left it on just long enough for it to start to become tender.  I then took it off and set it aside.  While the chicken was resting, I finished the asparagus in a non-stick pan with a little melted butter.  I tossed the asparagus in the butter, added a little salt and pepper, and then drizzled on a little honey.