GRILLED BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN BREAST with OLIVE-CAPER RELISH

We frequently grill on Sundays to create something that’s quick and easy, leaves no mess in the kitchen, and provides leftovers for weekday lunches, and this grilled chicken checks all of those boxes. A simple marinade of just a few hours makes the poultry moist and flavorful while the butterfly technique allows it to cook in just 6 minutes. The olive relish tops everything off by adding vibrant and contrasting notes that are sure to excite anyone’s tastebuds.

We hope you can use this as a guide to inspire you to create your own combination of flavors. The marinade is the true secret for the suppleness of the chicken. If you would like some additional ideas on flavor profiles, check out our “Simple Marinade for Meat & Poultry” recipe guide. Also, you can play around with the relish. The recipe below came about by just scanning our fridge and pantry to see what we had on hand. We’ve since made others using Guiliano’s pickled vegetables, handfuls of fresh herbs, and some olives, artichoke hearts, and radish. We call it a “chow chow”. Just think, a little fresh, (herbs or vegetables-like tomatoes), a little sweet, (teardrop peppers), a little pickled, (cocktail onions), and a little earthy, (olives), to get a good balance. You would be amazed at what you can come up with using items you already have in your cupboard.

Grilled Butterflied Chicken Breast with Olive-Caper Relish

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Prep Time 6 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 6 minutes mins

Total Time 6 hours hrs 26 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

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Marinade

• 2 Boneless-Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt Sea Salt or Kosher Salt is preferred
• 1/8 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Onion, roughly chopped Yellow or White, or 2 Shallots
• 1 Carrot roughly chopped
• 2 Celery Stalks roughly chopped
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves Smashed or Chopped
• 1 Bunch Fresh Parsley Roughly Chopped
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil or up to 1 Cup, depending on the amount of chicken

Olive-Caper Relish

• 1/2 Cup Pitted Castelvetrano Olives, Roughly Chopped *1/2 C. Measured After chopping.
• 2 Tbsp Capers
• 1/4 Cup Sliced Cocktail Onions *Sliced in Half
• 1/2 Cup Sliced Cherry Tomatoes *Sliced in Half
• 1/4 Cup Teardrop Peppers, AKA “Sweety Drop” peppers Can usually be found at your grocer, or Amazon or Walmart
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 2 Teaspoons Chopped Chives
• 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Cup Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

 

Marinade

• Trim any excess fat or silver skin from the Chicken and season with the Salt and Pepper

  Butterfly each breast. *(See photos below). Place one hand on top of the breast and gently press down while using the other hand to guide your knife, cutting horizontally through the center of the meat, stopping about 1 inch before cutting all the way through, so that the meat opens up like a book.

  *Alternatively, you could cut the breast all the way through, depending on how you want it to look when you serve it. This is what we did in the photo shown.
• Place the Chicken in a large ziploc bag, and add the Onion, Carrot, Celery, Garlic, Parsley and Olive Oil. The Olive Oil should generously coat all the ingredients, so add more if needed.
• Marinate Chicken anywhere from 3-24 hours. *3 hours gives a great flavor if you’re in a hurry, but the chicken will become more tender up to 24 hours.

Olive-Caper Relish

• Place all the Relish ingredients in a bowl and combine.

  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.

Chicken Preparation

• Remove the chicken from the marinade and gently rub off any loose ingredients that might have stuck to it.
• Let the grill preheat until it is at least 500°. (We let ours go to 650°-700°).

  Place the chicken on the grill and allow it to cook for 4 minutes. Flip the pieces and cook for another 2 minutes, then remove.
• Before serving, top with a few generous spoonfuls of the Olive-Caper Relish.

  Also, a few dollops of Salsa Verde or Pesto around the plate is a nice addition.

Notes

Serve this with any of your favorite sides-you really can’t go wrong.  

*Our photo shows an entire meal done on the grill, as we prepared Sliced King Mushrooms and Broccolini along side the chicken. They were both simply brushed with some olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and grilled for about the same time as the chicken. We found the vinaigrette to be a great compliment to everything-so you might want to make a double batch! 

*Below we’ve provided photos showing how we butterfly a chicken breast.

 

Keyword Chicken Recipes, Main, Marinade

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