Thursday, July 9, 2009

Spice is the Variety of Life

So it’s dinner and you’re trying to lose weight, and there’s a chunk of wiggly chicken in front of you and suddenly you slide down the the floor weeping and banging your head against the counter, screaming: “NOT GRILLED CHICKEN AGAIN!”

This is a dramatic way of saying that I know a lot of us get a little sick of grilled chicken every night, so it was kind of fun to find this recipe in Fitness magazine for a nice and spicy meat rub:

3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix it up and rub it over around 4 chicken breasts that have been brushed with a little canola oil (to make it stick). Grill or bake. Mmm....

Myself, actually, I rubbed this on a little super-lean, fat-rimmed pork that I already had defrosted before I read the magazine and it was fantastic! It does have a bit of a kick, but when I made it for my parents, who normally shy away from spicy, they only called it flavorful and delicious. I’ve only tried this rub on meat, but I wonder if it couldn’t also me used on grilled zucchini slices or other BBQ vegetables as well.

The rub is point-free (the sugar is spread pretty thin) and it gives you a chance to use some good oil. Some people make dubious claims about the fat-burning magic of red pepper; I don’t buy it, but if this rub can make a lean meat really kick that’s good enough for me.

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