GRILLED BONE-IN GARLIC CHICKEN BREASTS WITH LEMON, PARSLEY, AND GRILLED FIGS

Preparation

Baking Directions:

For the brining (optional step): In a bowl or pot large enough to hold the chicken, stir together the water, sugar, and salt until the sugar and salt completely dissolve.

Add the chicken breasts, making sure they are submerged in the liquid; add additional water if necessary to cover.

Place in the refrigerator for 2 to 5 hours, then remove the breasts from the brine, discard the brine, and pat the breasts dry with paper towels.

Build a multi-level fire in your grill: Leaving one-quarter of the bottom free of coals, bank the coals in the remaining three-quarters of the grill so that they are three times as high on one side as the other as on the other.

When all the coals are ignited and the temperature has died down to medium (you can hold your hand about 5 inches above the grill grid, over the area where the coals are deepest, for 4 to 5 seconds), you’re ready to cook the chicken.

Rub the chicken breasts with the 4 tablespoons of garlic and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper.

Place them skin side down on the hottest part of the grill and cook until the skin is very brown and crisp, about 4 minutes.

Now move the breasts to the cooler side of the grill, place them skin side down, cover them with an inverted foil pan, and cook until they’re done.

To determine doneness, poke the chicken with your finger to test its firmness level; if you’re unsure, nick, peek, and cheat: Make a small cut in the thickest part of one of the breasts and check to be sure that it is opaque all the way through, with no red near the bone.

While the chicken is cooking, make the vinaigrette: Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and the remaining teaspoon of garlic in a large bowl with the vinaigrette.

Turn each breast over a couple of times with your tongs to coat, then transfer it to a serving platter.

Drizzle with any remaining dressing over the chicken.

Cover loosely with foil to keep warm while you grill the figs.

Rub the fig halves with the vegetable oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

Place them on the grill cut side down and cook until just nicely browned, about 2 to 3 minutes.

COOK TO COOK: Chicken breast terminology is a little confusing.

When you say “breast,” you are properly referring to a double breast, while a single breast is correctly referred to as a “cutlet.”

However most consumers call a single breast just that — a “breast.”

To make our meaning clear, we refer to the double breast as a “full breast” and the single breast, or cutlet, as a “split breast.”

Just so you know.

Serving Directions:

Remove the foil from the chicken, arrange the figs around the breasts on the platter, and serve.