Roasted Chicken Breasts With Chipotle, Cumin, and Cilantro

Submitted by gold.klas

"To make sure that the breasts cook at the same rate, purchase two similarly sized whole breasts (not split breasts) with skins fully intact. Whole chicken breasts weighing about 1 1/2 pounds work best because they require a cooking time long enough to ensure that the skin will brown and crisp nicely. If you do not own a broiler pan, use a roasting pan fitted with a flat wire rack. This recipe can easily be increased by 50 or 100 percent. If you do increase it, just make certain not to crowd the chicken breasts on the broiler pan, which can impede the browning and crisping of the skin."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 teaspoons chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ground black pepper
• 2 whole bone-in skin-on chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds each)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Line bottom of broiler pan with foil, place broiler pan rack on top; set aside.
3. In small bowl, mix minced chipotle chiles in adobo, ground cumin, chopped fresh cilantro leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and butter until combined.
4. Sprinkle underside of chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper.
5. Gently loosen bottom portion of skin covering each breast. Using small spoon, place a quarter of softened butter under skin, directly on meat in center of each breast half. Using spoon, spread butter evenly over breast meat.
6. Rub skin of each whole breast with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle liberally with pepper.
7. Set chicken breasts on broiler pan rack, propping up breasts on rib bones.
8. Roast until thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 35 to 40 minutes.
9. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Carve.
10. Serve immediately.