Bone-In Chicken Breast with Fig jam marinade

Tonight's dinner was a beautiful chicken breast with a fig marinade served with toasted Israeli couscous with porcini mushrooms and sauteed spinach.

I recently bought some Quince and Apple's Fig and Black Tea Jam at a local farmer's market.  I love fresh figs but in Wisconsin, they are available for about two days.  So I go to the experts to get the flavor and joy of a fleeting summer. 

The master of the grill, Todd, cooked these bone-in chicken breasts to perfection.  I, of course, made the marinade.  Here's the recipe:

Marinade:

• Half (little more) jar of fig jam
• 1/3 cup water
• 1tbs olive oil
• 1-3 cloves of minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper to season
• Red pepper flakes to taste.

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, stir.  Take two chicken breasts and put in plastic bag.  Add marinade.  Let sit 30 minutes on counter while grill gets hot or sit in the refridge for up to 12 hours.  When ready to grill, take meat out of bag and plate.  Using a brush, spread the marinade over the meat.  Pour the rest in a bowl to use later. 

Grill:

Todd is the master, I can only give basics at this point.  Heat grill as normal.  Sear the breasts quickly on high heat.  Then turn down heat in the middle of the grill - or set to cool area.  The idea is to finish cooking slowly with indirect heat - about 30 minutes all together.  Turn regularly. Baste the meat with the marinade when turning.  Towards the end of grilling, turn the breasts meat-side down and fill the cup of the rib bones with the marinade.  Let sit on the turned-off grill while finishing the rest of the sides. 

We served with boxed couscous and added dried porcini mushrooms and a wok full of sauteed spinach.  The wine was a delightlfully full-bodied Simi Sauvignon Blanc 2009 purchased at our local Pierces Supermarket for under $12.  

Delish.