If you enjoy cooking and do it often, whether it be professionally, as a hobby or simply for your family, there are a two people, I feel, you should most definitely get to know. A fish monger and a butcher. I should note, I am not referring to the people at your local, run of the mill grocery store. I am referring to butchers and fish mongers at reputable establishments.
I have mentioned before how much I adore my butchers, the ‘men in white’, as I so lovingly refer to them (shout out to Bill and Fred!). You may be wondering exactly why you should get to know the person behind the counter. Well, there are many reasons, aside from the fact that 99.9% of them are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.
1. They can tell you exactly where your meat or fish is coming from, and I don’t know about you, but I like to know the source of my food. I want to know it is safe and I can trust serving it to myself and others.
2. They can advise you about the various cuts of meat or type of fish and the preferred cooking methods.
OUR LATEST VIDEOS3. They can even provide insight on accompaniments that will best compliment a dish you are thinking of preparing.
4. They can tell you what product is most fresh, and when it comes to fish, this is something you want to know.
5. They cut proteins to order. Need 2 steaks of chateaubriand, each exactly 8 ounces? No problem. You can’t get that at the grocery store where everything is pre-packaged.
Now, if you have taken the time to get know them, and have a good relationship with them, there are added benefits.
- More than likely they will be willing to specially order something for you. Trust me, around the holidays, this will prove to be very useful!
- They will specially prepare items for you, which can save you time. This specific benefit brings me to today’s post.
Jalapeno and Brown Sugar Chicken Breast with Peach Compote. My lovely butcher’s “airlined” these chicken breasts for me so I didn’t have to. Why? Because I wanted the cute, little bone to be frenched and protruding from the chicken breast. You can certainly use a plain boneless chicken breast instead, but see what you could have if you took a little time to get to know your butcher?
Anyways, this chicken is so downright delicious I would confidently place it in the top 10 best things I have made, to date, on No Spoon Necessary. The chicken itself is tender, moist, juicy and robust with flavor (and cut with love). It is spicy, sweet, a smidge sour, a little sticky and, all around, knock your socks off scrum-did-a-lee-umptious.
The heat of the jalapeno and the sweetness of the brown sugar pairs terrifically with the savory and sweet peach compote. Together they provide a harmonious symphony of delicious flavors that will make your palate sing and definitely have you going back for more.
I normally have so much more to say and ramble on and on about a dish, but this chicken is almost too good for words. Almost, because let’s face it… I always have something to say. 🙂
Enough talk, let’s get down to action. I urge you to make these Jalapeno and Brown Sugar Chicken Breasts with Peach Compote. Taste for yourself how delicious it is and why I confidently ranked it so high up in my list of favorite dishes. Until next time, go get to know your local butcher and fish monger. Cheers and happy cooking!
-xoxo-
Cheyanne
Tender, sweet and spicy Jalapeno & Brown Sugar Chicken Breasts topped with a luscious peach compote.
- Chicken:
- 2 Pounds Chicken Breast Skin On and Airline (optional)*
- 4 Jalapeno – roughly chopped, seeds partially removed*
- 8 cloves Garlic
- 3 TBS Ginger – minced (can substitute 2’’ peeled ginger)
- 4 TBS Light Brown Sugar , packed
- 2 tsp Honey
- 3 TBS Soy Sauce , reduced sodium
- 4 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- Peach Compote: (yields roughly 1 cup)
- 3 large Peaches – pitted and roughly chopped (about 2 cups or 14 oz)
- 1 TBS Light Brown Sugar , packed
- 1 TBS Honey
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 2 TBS Water
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pinch Salt
- 2 Dashes Cinnamon
- Marinate the Chicken: In the bowl of a food processor add jalapenos through pepper. Process until relatively smooth. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Transfer to a baking dish or large Ziploc bag. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate. Allow to marinate at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
- To Cook Chicken: Remove chicken from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Turn chicken in marinate so that the skin side is facing up. Bake chicken for 25-30 minutes, depending on size of breasts, or until chicken reaches 160 degrees (you will continue to cook it).
- Meanwhile, make the Peach Compote*: Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottomed medium sized saucepan. Place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook until fruit is soft and liquid is sauce like in consistency, 10-12 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Set oven to low broil and broil chicken for 3-5 minutes, or until skin is crisped and chicken is browned. Remove and transfer chicken to a clean work surface. Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes before transferring to a serving plate. Top chicken with peach compote and serve cooking sauce on the side.
*Ask your butcher to cut airline chicken breasts for you, or substitute Skin On, Boneless Chicken Breasts.
*If you are not a fan of anything spicy, fully remove all seeds from the jalapenos before adding them to the food processor.
*To Prepare Compote in advance: Prepare according to recipe. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool completely. Transfer to Mason jar and refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature 30 minutes before topping chicken.
*If peaches are not ripe enough, or you want a smoother compote, use a potato masher to slightly mash peaches during the last few minutes of cooking.
*Compote will keep, stored in the refrigerator, for up to 2 weeks.
You’re absolutely right, Cheyanne about those two professional guys we should know (I would add a very good doctor – better specialist in poisons – you know, just in case…). Unfortunately, I don’t know any of them. Moreover, I don’t work with meat and fish that often – I’m not good at that while my better half won’t screw it up. I do love to cook poultry, though, and in my book, this chicken is the perfection! I do love the contrast of the flavors by incorporating the peach compote. A few years ago I made pork covered in rhubarb sauce (it was the idea of Jamie Oliver) and then repeated that with chicken – was divine. So I’m 99% sure I’ll love this version as well. Good job, Cheyanne and congrats – you’ve just contributed to my waiting list I should try!
Again, I am learning more and more about your quirks, Ben. It is nice that your other (better?) half is good at cooking meat and fish, since that is not your forte. You probably have the right idea- sit back, relax, and let someone else handle the heavy cooking… you stick to your fabulous salad, donuts and the such 😉 Pork in rhubarb sauce sounds fantastic. If that is on your blog, I will most definately be hitting print on that recipe and trying it out (your version, not Mr. Oliver’s). I am honored to be a contributor to your “to try” waiting list. *Insert bowing down to my lord, here* Cheers!
Girl, you speak the truth about the fish monger and butcher. Even if for the very simple reason that I do not want any part of doing either of their jobs in my kitchen! Yours did a great job on this chicken. It’s so pretty and unique to see a bone in a chicken breast like that. I’m all about some peaches and brown sugar too! I don’t know why, but I just love sticky chicken!
Rachelle, I highly respect anyone in the culinary profession, and I feel like the majority (aka 99.9999999999%) of the jobs in are overlooked and under apprechiated. I’m glad you feel like I spoke the truth *high five*! I don’t know what it is about sticky chicken either, but I Can’t.Get.Enough. Like ever! So freaking good! We need to have a party dedicated to all foods sticky. That could actually be fun 😉 Cheers, girlfriend! xo
This looks incredible! I can’t wait until I get over this dumb cold and awful cough so I can consume all things spicy once again. This recipe will be at the top of my list of foods to eat that have a kick.
Also, great advice about getting to know your butcher and fish monger! You’re right, it definitely helps around the holidays too! 🙂
Aww, Beeta- I am sending positive vibrations your way that you feel better soon!! Being sick is absolutely the WORST!! 🙁 You take care of yourself so you can get back to spicy foods, stat! lol! And I’m glad you obviously have a good butcher and fish monger to ring up, especially during the holidays (totally helps, right!?). Get better soon! *Hugs!*
Ha! Ha! It’s good to have butchers as friends, isn’t it? We bought all of our meat at the butchers when we lived in Kenya; however, I haven’t taken the time to find a good butcher here in Boston. I guess I have been too lazy and have been getting all my meat from Whole Foods. Fish. . .well that is another thing as I am very picky on fish and will be heading to the fish monger in Cambridge this weekend. We’ll have to still work on the butcher. . .especially after seeing this lovely chicken. And can we talk about how much I’m loving this peach compote (Cherries and peaches are my two favorite fruits). I bet it tastes amazing on this chicken.
Lynn, Wow sounds like you had a heck of a long distance move!! I wish you luck in finding a good butcher, but I’m impressed you already found a new fish monger. One out of two ain’t bad! Thank you so much for the kind words, the peach compote really is delicious with the jalapeno chicken 🙂 Cheers and warm wishes for a wonderful holiday weekend!
YUM! What a lovely recipe! Gotta love that combo of salty and sweet! I feel like chicken is so versatile! Great recipe thanks so much for sharing!
Cailee, the salty and sweet combination is one of my favorites too! Gotta love chicken, it’s so easy to take on all types of flavors. Thank you so much for the kind words and stopping by! Cheers!
Hello! That’s such a good point about getting to know your butcher! I really must make an effort to do that …
Love the sound of this chicken recipe! It’s just a little bit different … and beautiful , too! 🙂
Helen, I highly encourage anyone to get to know their butcher or fish monger. From my own experience, they actually make spending money (as a food blogger) more bareable… if that is possible? lol. Thank you so much stopping by, I love your blog (btw). Cheers and happy cooking/blogging! 😉
Love that this is sweet AND spicy AND savory! All of my favorite things in every bite!
Joanne, Great mouths taste alike? 🙂 That is my favorite combination too! Cheers and hope you have a terrific holiday weekend, my dear!
I love when delicious flavors make my palate sing…especially since I can’t hold a note for the life of me! So, yes, butchers and fish mongers….my great Aunt Rosie, way back in the day, was a butcher. And one of the sweetest, most knowledgeable butchers her small town had! So, yes, I’m on a banana, yogurt and some lentil crisps today, which means your pictures are killing me! Wonderful recipe, my friend!
Annie, hahahha!! I can hold a note, but it won’t be in tune. And I may break a few mirrors in the process! 😉 So VERY cool your Aunt was a butcher!! I was going to make my blog post about how I wanted to be a butcher at one point in time, but I decided to save that story for another day. Figured I’d give the profession a nod first. Banana, yogurt and lentil crisps all sound delicious… and like i’m looking at my own pantry/fridge! However, as much as I love all of those things, I’m not going to lie, this chicken is better. Not to toot my own horn. lol. Cheers, my sweets and hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend… filled with more food than just the three ingredients previously mentioned 😉
Sticky, sweet, spicy chicken…you’re speaking my language! The peach compote dresses the chicken so perfectly. This with some creamy mashed potatoes and a salad would make me very happy. I think I need to make some new friends with a certain set of knife skills (hee hee).
We definately speak the same culinary language, Thao! Mashed potatoes and a salad would definately be terrific with this chicken! I hope you do make friends with your butcher, mine are not only wonderful individuals, they also go out of their way to help me out. I simply pick up the phone, call them, and they have never let me down. Cheers, my friend and warm wishes for a great holiday weekend!
This chicken looks divine! I love the flavours – so good! Cannot wait to give the recipe a go!
Jess, thank you so much! If you do try it, I hope you love it as much as I do! Cheers, pretty lady and warm wishes for a great weekend!!
Ooookay I am sold. Totally making this! Anything that has jalapenos in it I am totally game for. I need to find a local butcher in my area! I always just buy from the grocery store….whoops.
You and I share a love of everything jalapeno, Annie. 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with buying protien from your local grocery store, and I do it in a pinch. However, if you can get to know your butcher and you shop for proteins often, they can make the teeny-tiny bit more you will spend worth your while. Even chicken breast from a trusted source tastes a billion times better than the prepackaged ones from your local grocer. 🙂 Cheers and hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend!
This looks incredible, Cheyanne! Love that it has so many flavor elements – especially the sweet and spicy part. Such a fabulous recipe!
Thank you, Kelly! I love the flavors of this chicken, but I think I’m slightly biased 🙂 Lol. Cheers and warm wishes for a continued great holiday weekend!
I am sitting here wondering why I am over salivating – and then it hit – dang – it’s because of this chicken – I simply love the combo of jalapeno and brown sugar chicken with that peach compote! Delicious!
lol! Thank you Shashi for the kind words and stopping by! I agree, jalapeno and brown sugar is a delicious combination. And you pretty much can’t go wrong with peach compote on anything. 🙂 Cheers and warm wishes for a wonderful weekend!
Okay, you have definitely sold me on this dish! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the combination of sweet, salty, and savory and this chicken recipe definitely does not disappoint. Thanks for an awesome recipe, as well as some truly beautiful photography! 🙂
Thank you so much for the kind comment, Beth! 🙂 Warm wishes for a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!!
This is by far my favorite chicken recipe now. My husband said “this is restaurant quality babe!!” We had some fresh peaches and I was looking for a spicy sweet savory recipe. So glad I found your site. I will make this every time I need a “wow dinner” for guests as well. Thank you!!!
Yay, Stephanie! I am SO glad to hear both you and your husband loved this chicken!! And I love that you used fresh peaches because they are absolutely DELICIOUS this time of year! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know you made this and liked it! You just made my week!! Cheers to a beautiful day! And thank you again for the kind words! 🙂