Bobby Flay’s Pan-Roasted Chicken With Mint Sauce

Yikes--people are still recommending rinsing chicken first? That is a dangerous germy practice, long discredited. If you need a dry chicken part before cooking, pat it with paper towels.

Thanks, Stephen. You make a good point, but you also reveal a more important one: We're looking for flavor here, rather than color. Sweet and unsmoked Spanish paprika is nice for some; hot and smoky is nice for others. This is one of those ingredient lists we can file -- thanks to these Notes -- under "Dealer's Choice."

Finishing by roasting in a cast iron pan made the chicken really golden. The mint/garlic sauce is wonderful and could be used on hardier fish. It's an easy dish, quickly made. Served with roasted fingerlings in the same oven and sauteed spinach, it was a hit.

Spearmint is typically used for savory foods, peppermint is typically used for sweet.

This was delicious. We could have eaten the sauce straight from the bowl, and it held up well to microwaving the next day for the hubby's lunch. Served with sautéed spinach seasoned with garlic and fennel, and roasted Yukon Gold potato wedges seasoned with smoked paprika and garlic. I used the recipe's amount of seasoning and sauce for 3 (bone-in, skin on) breasts. You've got to love a recipe that says "season chicken aggressively with salt."

i put the cast iron skillet in the oven while it's preheating--when ready, remove it & then add a couple tbs butter, place chix skin-side down and put back in oven--flip after 15 min. after add'l 15 min check chix temp cooking to 165°. super easy! no grease spatter on stove! i've done it this way 5 times in the last few weeks b/c it's so simple!

used boneless breasts and didn't have ground fennel but it was still amazing

Listing "Spanish paprika" as an ingredient is not helpful. That comes in many forms -- sweet, semi-sweet, hot, smoked, unsmoked, different regions, etc. Maybe Messrs. Flay and Sifton are just trying to steer us away from the American variety, which adds color but rarely much flavor. I used the sweet, unsmoked variety from Spain, and I thought it turned out well. Still, it would have been nice to know if a different kind would have tasted even better.

No way does this get cooked in an additional 15 minutes in the oven. I had to roast it for a total of 30 minutes after pan searing.

This turned out OK, but a few things aren't quite right:
1. This recipe makes far more of the spice rub than is necessary--I had more than half of it left over after generously rubbing both sides of the chicken.
2. The sauce sounded interesting, sort of a chermoula using mint instead of cilantro, but it doesn't quite work. It's trying too hard. I like honey and mustard but not so much with the mint. Next time I'd leave them out, and add another Serrano and some lemon juice.

I made this recipe tonight for dinner. I found it just OK. I think there is too much mustard in the 'pesto,' not way too much but it was the predominant flavor in my prep. I also don't think the rub added too much, but aggressive salting was a good idea. Next time, I might try this with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Lastly, I used a cast iron pan and had to leave the chicken in the oven for thirty minutes, as another person noted.

We've made this multiple times and it is always delicious. I use only 2 cloves of garlic; 4 had a tendency to make the sauce bitter. The green sauce is what makes this recipe.

Made this with boneless pork sirloin chops at my son's suggestion. Same cooking instructions otherwise. Served with roasted butternut squash and braised kale flowers. It was a great hit!

This was very good - slight changes were that I made with boneless chicken breasts and used a jalapeno vs Serrano pepper. I also cut up the chicken after resting , deglazed the pan and then added the chicken pieces back to the pan, stirring to distribute the pan goodness! Served over brown rice with the mint sauce. Will make again!

I cook this in a cast iron skillet. Mine did need to cook longer in the oven than suggested. This is the ONLY recipe I've ever found that keeps the breast so juicy - and my husband, who is a "thigh & leg man" loves it. The sauce is delicious and unique.