Grilled Chicken with Cherry-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed; see Tip) dark sweet cherries, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup cherry preserves
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or more to taste (see Ingredient Note)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

Directions

Stir cherries, broth, preserves, ketchup, vinegar, chipotle peppers, thyme and allspice in a small deep bowl. Transfer to a shallow non-reactive dish (see Note) large enough to hold chicken. Add the chicken and turn to coat well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat grill to high. Oil the grill rack (see Tip). Remove the chicken from the marinade. Transfer the marinade to a medium skillet.

Reduce the grill heat to medium and grill the chicken until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 7 to 9 minutes per side. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce is reduced by about half, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the chicken cool slightly; serve with the sauce.

Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapenos packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.To oil a grill rack: Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.Find frozen, canned and dried sour cherries at King Orchards, (877) 937-5464, www.kingorchards.com, and The Cherry Stop, (800) 286-7209, www.cherrystop.net.Be sure to measure frozen cherries while still frozen, then thaw. (Drain juice before using.) To pit a cherry: Halve it with a paring knife then pry out the pit with the tip of the knife or use a cherry pitter, available from Williams-Sonoma at www.williams-sonoma.com, (877) 812-6235.A nonreactive pan--stainless steel, enamel-coated or glass--is necessary when cooking acidic foods, such as lemon, to prevent the food from reacting with the pan. Reactive pans, such as aluminum and cast-iron, can impart an off color and/or off flavor in acidic foods.

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