BBQ Chicken & Grits

Ingredients:

• Grits

  • 4 cups chicken broth

  • 1 1/2 cups stone-ground grits

  • 2 ears of corn, grilled

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • Kosher salt

• BBQ Chicken:

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1in pieces

  • 1 cup BBQ sauce + more for serving

  • 1/4 cup honey

  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

  • 1 avocado sliced

  • handful fresh cilantro

  • fresh chopped chives

Directions:

• Cut the chicken into 1 in bite size pieces. Add to the ziplock bag.

• Add the BBQ sauce, honey & red pepper then toss well to coat.

• Preheat the grill to medium high heat.

• Bring 4 cups chicken broth to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. While whisking constantly, carefully pour in 1 1/2 cups grits, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Whisk and scrape down the grits from the side of the pan. Cover and simmer, stirring often, until the grits are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

• When the grits are soft to the taste, stir in about 1 cup of the corn kernels, add the 4 tbs of butter and still till melted. Stir in the 1/2 cup heavy cream and a big pinch of kosher salt. Stir to combine.

• If this is done before the chicken you can warm up and add a little more cream.

• When the grill is ready, grill the shucked corn for about 10 min to get a nice char on all sides. Once cool, remove kernels from the cob.

• Remove the chicken from the baggie and put on skewers.

• Grill the chicken, brushing with any leftover BBQ sauce for 3-4 minutes per side, gently flipping 2-3 times until chicken is cooked through and has light char marks. You can also use a grill pan or skillet.

• To serve, divide the grits among bowls. Top with corn kernels, avocado, BBQ chicken then garnish with cilantro and chives.

Notes:

• Servings: 3-4

• Original Recipe: Honey BBQ Chicken and Charred Corn Polenta. - Half Baked Harvest 

• Options: If you don't have skewers, grill the chicken the cut to serve but grilling on the skewers gets better coverage for the BBQ sauce.