Grilled Chicken with Tarragon-Mustard Marinade

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 T chopped fresh tarragon
• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. minced garlic or garlic puree
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Trim away any visible fat and tendons from the chicken breasts. If you want the pieces to cook more evenly, neaten them into similar shapes and save any extra trimmings for stock.
2. Make shallow cuts across each chicken breast from end to end, taking care that the knife does not go too far into the meat.
3. Place the fresh tarragon in a mini-processor and mince it very finely. Add the mustard, lemon juice, garlic, Spike Seasoning and olive oil, then process briefly until the marinade comes together. If you are not using a food processor or mini-processor, mince the tarragon well with a large chef’s knife and whisk the marinade by hand.
4. Put the chicken in a Ziploc bag or a flat plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Pour the marinade over the chicken, seal it, and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
5. When you are ready to grill, coat a gas or charcoal grill with non-stick spray, then heat it to high. At that heat, you should only be able to hold your hand over the grill for a few seconds.
6. While the grill heats, take the chicken out so it can come to room temperature.
7. For crosshatched grill marks, place the chicken breasts diagonally across the grill grates. When the first marks begin to appear, lower the heat slightly below high.
8. After about 4 minutes, or once the grill marks are visible, turn each piece 90 degrees to make the second set of marks.
9. Cook for about 4 more minutes on the first side, until the second marks appear. Flip the chicken and cook for 6-8 minutes on the other side.
10. The chicken is ready when it is nicely browned and feels firm but not tough when pressed.
11. Grill timing will depend on how hot your grill runs, but the chicken shown cooked for 15 minutes with the heat at medium-high for most of the time.
12. Serve hot.