Molasses Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Potato Mash

The other night I was thinking about our Cuban dinner and was craving those flavors but wanted something quick and simple. So, I did what I normally do in a situation like this... I turned to Williams-Sonoma to hunt down a recipe.


I ended up finding a molasses chicken, which was reminiscent of both the molasses beans and the chicken from our Cuban meal. I decided that it would be fun as a sandwich so Aric grilled the molasses chicken (Gardein chicken for me) then we smothered it between fresh spinach leaves, ranch dressing, red onions, asiago cheese and two toasted pieces of focaccia bread. It not only looked divine, it tasted divine too.


We paired that with the oh so delicious sweet potato mash from Thanksgiving for a twist on the traditional  potato side dish.


A quick and simple dinner that is tasty and looks great - you can't ask for much more than that.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. canola oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1 chicken, about 4 lb., cut into 8 pieces
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Make the bourbon-molasses sauce

Prepare a hot fire in a grill.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the ketchup, molasses, vinegar and bourbon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Grill the chicken

Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill rack. Place the chicken pieces, skin side down, on the rack over the drip pan, positioning the legs, thighs and wings closest to the heat. Cover the grill and cook, turning the pieces occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh or breast (not touching bone) reads 170°F, about 50 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of grilling, brush the pieces generously with the sauce. Remove from the grill and serve. 

Serves 4.