Instant Pot BBQ Chicken

This recipe uses an Instant Pot for quick easy meal and also great on cold days when it's dark too early. This dish is healthy combining the leanest part of the chicken, natural ingredients for flavoring, then a finish with your favorite BBQ saurce. You control, the salt, garlic, shallots, lemon, and salt....the recipe is versatile, easy, and you can't really messed it up.

I recommend using shallots as it has more sugar to carmelized the meat, but red onion can be substituted. Also if you don't have a mortar and pestle, you should invest in one. By pounding the fresh or dry ingredients, the natural oil and flavors are extracted unlike if a blender is used. Not to mention, cleaning mortar and pestle is a lot simpler than cleaning blender parts!!

Per Serving: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Instant Pot Setting: Manual 8 minutes, allow for natural pressure release another 8 minutes.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs Chicken breast

2 Shallots or 1/2 red onion

4-6 Garlic Cloves

2 teaspoon of Lemon zests

1 teaspoon of onion salt seasoning

2 teaspoon of BBQ seasoning

2 teaspoon of Lemon zests

Cooking Spray

Chicken Broth (optional)

Smoking Liquid (optional)

Step by Step Directions:

1. Use a mortar & pestle to mash shallots, garlic, lemon zest, and onion salt. It's really up to you how much of the fresh and dry ingredients you want to use for this. If you like garlic, add more...it's really up to you. The only thing to control here is the salt.

2. Nex, add the dry bbq seasoning to the paste, mix well. I got this dry rub from the local Sprouts supermarket. Then apply the paste onto the chicken. Where part of the chicken breast that is thick, simply cut a slit and tuck some paste in it.

3. Spray cooking spray in the surface of instant pot to save time on scrubbing later. :-) Place the steam rack inside the pot. The idea is we want to cook the chicken but not soak it in juice. Pour 1 cup of water or chicken broth into the pot. Add the optional 3 drops of liquid smoke. Carefully place chicken pieces so all pieces is set on top of the steaming rack. Tuck lemon slices in between the pieces. Follow you instant pot instruction, ensuring sealing rubber ring is secure, and steam release valve is in the correct position. Set to pressure cook for 8 minutes, when it beeps wait for another 8 minutes for natural release (essentially when the lid unlocks).

4. Carefully open the lid, take a piece out slice it in bite size portion and brush your favorite bbq sauce. When you take a bite, the meat will be lean but moist and most succulent salty & sweet pieces of meat. By brushing the meat, you control the amount of bbq sauce which has high sugar and calories. Now to think it was a lean piece of chicken breast we started with, no added oil, but still guiltless and yummy. All lean and healthy meat enhanced with seasonings and some fresh ingredients!!

5. Lean & Green: For a healthy portion, I measured out the chicken to 3.21 oz portion. It is plated with 1.5 cup of steamed brocolli and a side of healthy fat ~ avocado & flax seed. This plate is equavalent to the 1/2 portion of a Lean & Green when you are on the 5 &1 plan.

For growing kids, make an extra side of mac & cheese to go perfect with this meal.

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