Grilled Chicken With Mango Habanero Glaze

PanNan's Note:

This recipe was created for the Ready Set Cook #8 contest. It's best to make this delicious sweet and spicy glaze ahead of time, and keep it refrigerated until needed. It will make about 1/2 cup. Because it's very hot and spicy, it doesn't take much to glaze the chicken breast. If you have some left over, it can be used like pepper jelly for other uses too. (I doubled the glaze recipe to keep on hand in the fridge.) Habaneros are delicious but extremely spicy. If you want to tone down the heat, use less habanero, or use a milder pepper. Also, use extreme care when mincing the habanero. I use a paper towel wrapped around my fingers, to prevent my fingers from coming in contact with it. If you get it on your fingers, and touch your eye - YOWSA!

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ mango , ripe, chopped
• ½ teaspoon ginger (grated fresh or ground)
• ½ habanero pepper , minced finely
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dark rum (like Meyers)
• ¼-½ orange (used to provide 1 tbsp freshly squeezed juice)
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• salt
• chopped cilantro (to garnish)

Directions:

1. Add the first five ingredients (sugar through cider vinegar) in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium and stir frequently, mashing the mango, until the ingredients are incorporated and begin to boil. Lower the heat to simmer, and let cook slowly for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Squeeze 1 tbsp juice from the orange and add with the rum to the sugar/mango mixture. Stir and simmer gently for 2 - 3 more minutes. Set aside and cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Salt chicken to taste. Grill chicken until nearly finished. Baste chicken with glaze and grill a few more minutes on each side, basting lightly with glaze with each turn until the chicken is done.
3. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve. Reserve and refrigerate extra glaze for future use.

Reviews

[agileangus]

I used a whole habanero, about the size of a small plum. My daughter & I thought it had just the right amount of spice . . . my son (who loves hot food) thought it wasn't spicy at all. This glaze would be good on pork chops.

[newtocookingm&m]

Loved it! I don't like the flavor of habanero peppers so I used half of a large jalapeño from our garden, next time I will use a whole one or more than one there was no spiciness at all, I wanted to play it safe since our young kids were eating it too. I guess all that sugar cancels it out maybe? Either way spicy or not we still really enjoyed the recipe and hope to make again! Thanks

[alligirl]

This was OUTSTANDING! I took a page from a couple of other reviewers, and seasoned my chicken breasts with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic sea salt, and a sprinkling of jerk seasoning. They were then grilled. I took part of the mango sauce and put it through a fine sieve, and DH brushed the glaze over at the end of grilling. We topped with the remaining sauce before eating! I only used 1/2 habanero, which was nice heat to follow the sweet! We enjoyed this with a ginger beer. This was terrific, and I can't wait to make it for my friends! Thanks, PanNan, for sharing. Made for ZWT 5.