Buffalo Rubbed Chicken Breast With Grilled Corn and Side Salad

This meal is one that was born out of my love of heat. Trisha, early in our marriage, wasn't a huge fan of anything hot, however as her palate has grown she's definitely become a fan of a few things flavored with some heat, particularly buffalo chicken wings. Most of the time she enjoys the deep-fried variety that you just throw in some hot oil, cook for about eight or nine minutes and then delve into and enjoy. We recently bought some Franks Red Hot Marinade (I LOVE Franks on almost anything) that is made specifically for fresh chicken wings to enjoy on the grill or baked. That is a meal that you will see on the blog sometime in the near future.


It is Labor Day today so therefore we felt we should show one of the meals I took pictures of that has a Beer with it, because there is nothing more that speaks to us on a Holiday than drinking a beer with our meal. Weather it's over the weekend while camping, staying at the cottage or just Grilling out in the backyard a beer should always be enjoyed on the holiday. (Responsibly of course)

So the Meal we chose is one that Trisha surprised me with because of her aforementioned luke-warm relationship with Heat. She wanted to have some chicken breasts on the grill, and to my surprise she wanted to try out one of the spices she bought with me in mind, which you can find here, The Pampered Chef "Buffalo Rub". So we got the Buffalo Chicken as our protein. What two things to enjoy with the high heat from the Buffalo Rub? Well, we wanted to balance it with some sweetness so we decided on some beautiful organic Michigan sweet Corn, and we wanted to finish it off with a nice light Romaine salad topped with a drizzle of Ranch.


As some of you may know, couples don't always agree. That's not surprising. When you are young, first in love, having little spats here and there about where she wants to go out to eat, or where you want to get ice cream and things like that, you never understand the direction some future disagreements will go. One disagreement I never thought I'd have with Trisha is how best to cook and eat proteins. I KNOW! How lame is that? I know people's taste's vary but once you eat a moist chicken breast I can't imagine eating one more dry than moist. My preference with beef is similar. Once you've eaten a steak cooked Medium, I couldn't imagine eating a steak cooked anymore than that beautiful 160 degrees it takes to achieve Medium. I actually thought about getting a tattoo of the #160 once, but cooler heads prevailed in that one. I'm just kidding a little here, but the point is when going out to grill the Chicken or the Steaks, because Trisha likes her food a little more cooked than I, the cooking time will obviously be different and therefore timing is very important. .It really can be an art form of sorts. When you get sauces, baking, grilling and stove top garnishes involved, timing can be everything to make sure all the food gets done about the same time so your not eating any of it cold. I will tell you this, if I can learn to time things in cooking, anyone can. It all just comes down to communication with your spouse or significant other and understanding and accepting each other's preferences and adjusting your cooking time accordingly.


Here's how to cook the Meal:


1. Turn the Grill on High heat.

2. Prepare and Cook the Corn: As I mentioned earlier, timing can be an art form and one I think I've come to have mastered after we've eaten many burnt cobs of corn.


We wrap the Corn in some Tin Foil when we cook it on the grill. First we put butter on top of the corn, add a little salt and pepper, and wrap it up. We do this so the butter melts into the corn and spreads the flavor of the salt and pepper throughout the cob while it cooks so you can just unwrap and enjoy without having to add the butter, salt or pepper afterword.


Cook the Corn for about 10 Minutes BEFORE you put the Chicken on, rotating it a 1/4 turn about every 5 minutes throughout the cooking.

3.Take fresh or thawed Chicken breast and rub down both sides with whatever spice you like, in our case the Buffalo Rub. 
     Tip: If you cannot get the Rub to stick to the chicken, run it Olive Oil to get it damp for the Rub to stick to.


4. After you've cooked the Corn for 10 minutes, Put your chicken on the grill and cook until done. We use a digital thermometer to get our temperature just right. A perfect chicken breast is done at 170 degrees.
    Tip: As I stated, Trisha likes her Chicken more dry. So to allow her's to cook a little longer I take my chicken off the grill first with all the Corn. After I run that inside, I unwrap a couple Corn's to let them cool a bit before eating, then go back to the grill and get Trisha's Chicken that has now cooked an additional 2-3 minutes and is done the way she likes. You could also throw the chicken on about seven minutes after you put the corn on. Either way, the more well done chicken needs about three more minutes of additional cook time.



To finish the Chicken off, I added a drizzle of ranch over the top to cool the heat a little bit, then drizzled some Franks over the ranch to add some more heat! I know, I love my heat though. 


So Trisha's wanting to surprise me with some heat turned into a perfectly grilled chicken breast, with a little char on the outside to add crunch to the moist piece of chicken and the heat of the buffalo rub really was cooled by the ranch. Likewise, the corn was just the way we like it, soft from cooking in the melting butter, perfectly sweet to balance the spice, and had just a little char on the outside to give a little POP when you bite the cob. A perfect char on a cob of corn looks a lot like the golden brown when roasting a marshmallow over the campfire (something else I highly recommend on the Holiday). Lastly, the salad added a light balance to the meal, leaving the taste of some fresh carrots as well as the ranch craving another bite. And who could forget the BEER! My beer of choice during the summer months is Bud Light Lime. Its strange for me to say that since I don't prefer regular Bud Light, however, the lime from the beer, in this meal, added a nice bitter taste to go along with the sweet from the corn and the heat from the Buffalo to form a meal that hits on all the taste buds. If you don't drink alcohol, try a Limeade or lemonade. 


Trisha enjoyed her more dry, less spicy Chicken as much as I enjoyed the masterpiece of moist, spicy goodness you see before you. Again, I kid. As a husband and father Grill Technician, you have to be able to adapt and learn your timing, as well as communicate to get well executed and delicious meals. Enjoy!