Chicken with Papaya BBQ Sauce

Chefs, home cooks, and anyone in between rejoice!  The Cooking Channel has arrived!

This sister channel to the Food Network has all that the Food Network (cluttered with reality-style programming as of late) has been missing.  Plain and simple - cooking shows.  No mundane shows on the history of cotton candy, no timed gingerbread house-building contests or tours of the fattiest restaurants in America, no babbling Southern women whose idea of cooking is to throw butter into anything.  Good, old fashioned cooking shows that inspire people to head to their kitchen and create something spectacular.

Although I think the name leaves a bit of creativity to be desired, I am thrilled to welcome this new station to my cable box.  In its beginning stages, it has a mix of great new talents, some great old talents (Julia Child), mixed with a few Food Network elite reruns (Giada, Tyler, Dave, Michael, etc).

On Everyday Exotic, chef Roger Mooking made a jazzed up chicken dish that I simply had to try.  Ryan adores papaya, so I was excited to see how he would react to this dish.  I omitted making the spiced cashews, this is a weeknight after all!   Perhaps I will try making this step when I am not quite as rushed.

Serve this dish with coconut rice and a tropical salad for a delicious, special treat! 

** Tip- this recipe makes a lot of BBQ sauce.  Save the rest for later by jarring it!  I just learned how to jar something and get that vacuum seal!  Here's how- pour the remaining hot sauce to the top of a clean glass jar, screw the lid on and put in your refrigerator.  It's that easy!  Hot air is less dense than cold air, so it occupies more volume than cold air.  When the air cools down. it will create a vacuum seal.  Make sure the dimple on the lid is concave before storing.

Chicken with Papaya BBQ Sauce

Marinade

• Seeds of 1 large papaya
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup canned coconut cream, (use the creamy part skimmed from the top of the can)
• Save the remaining coconut milk to make coconut rice
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Papaya BBQ Sauce

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 sweet onion, finely diced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, seeded, deveined and quartered
• Zest and juice of 2 limes
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 5 cups large diced papaya
• 2 tsp kosher salt

Chicken

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more as needed
• 4 marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts (as per marinade recipe above)
• 1/4 cup Papaya BBQ Sauce, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish, optional 

For the marinade:

In a bowl, combine the papaya seeds, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, coconut cream, cilantro, and ginger, and mix thoroughly.
Add the chicken breasts to the bowl, and toss to coat in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

For the BBQ sauce:

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat, and add in the onion. Cook, until the onions are translucent, stirring continuously to ensure the pieces do not brown.

Sprinkle the sugar, scotch bonnet, lime zest, and lemon zest over the onions, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour in the lime juice, lemon juice, water and vinegar. Bring the ingredients to a boil. Add in the diced papaya, and adjust the seasonings with the salt, if desired.

Bring the mixture to a boil again, reduce the heat, and allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, and let the mixture cool slightly. Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender, and puree the sauce until smooth. Transfer the BBQ sauce to a bowl, and set aside.

For the chicken:

Heat and a grill over medium-high heat and lightly grease the grate with oil.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, and lay the breasts on the hot grill. Discard the marinade.

Baste each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons Papaya BBQ Sauce, and continue grilling, turning once and basting occasionally with the remaining sauce, until the meat is cooked through.