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Grilled Chicken Breasts

Glenn Lindgren: Pollo de plancha is a long-time Cuban favorite that pre-dates Americans flight from red meat during the famous "Red Scare" of the 1990's.

Raúl Musibay: Those were frightening times, with evil pieces of red meat – the red menace – lurking on every corner!

Jorge Castillo:We never bought into the "red meat is bad" movement. We love our steaks too much to go along with that!

Glenn Lindgren: In any case, the Red Scare made an instant hero out of the boneless, skinless chicken breast. It started turning up on restaurant menus all over the United States.

Raúl Musibay: The Cubans were way ahead of the wave! We've been enjoying the grilled chicken breast for ages.

Jorge Castillo:And it has nothing to do with health reasons!

Glenn Lindgren: Hey, they just taste good!

How to Make the Best Pollo de la Plancha

Pollo de la Plancha – Grilled Chicken Breasts

By Three Guys From Miami

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
Total time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

A Miami menu favorite you can cook the correct way at home.

INGREDIENTS:

4 whole boneless chicken breast
s fresh lime juice
salt and pepper
cumin
1/4 cup flour for dredging
1/2 cup white onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sprinkle a little water on the chicken breasts and place (one at a time, please) on a piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap over to make a little pouch.

Place the pouch on a cutting board and beat with a smooth meat mallet or rolling pin until very thin. Don't go crazy with the hammer. You want a thin chicken breast, not ground chicken. If your chicken breasts are very thick, you'll want to slice them in half lengthwise before pounding them out.

Remove the plastic wrap and dry the chicken with a paper towel. Sprinkle it with a little lime juice. Shake on some salt, pepper, and cumin by eye.

Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, shaking off any excess. You want a very thin layer of flour.

Sauté the onion briefly in a large sauté pan over medium heat – just long enough to heat through and coat with a little oil. Add a pinch of salt and a little pepper to the onions as they cook. Add the garlic during the last minute or two of sautéing. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onion and garlic and set aside.

Increase the heat to high. Toss in the chicken breasts and fry the chicken, browning on both sides.

The chicken should cook very quickly – do not overcook. Just a few minutes on each side should do it. Just make a small slice in one of the breasts to make sure it's cooked through.

To serve: cover each breast with the cooked onions and garlic. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some fresh cilantro. Serve over rice.

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