WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Simple grilled chicken, which cooks up quickly with a nice, smoky char, makes a perfect taco filling, especially when accompanied by a piquant green tomatillo salsa. Since it would be paired with
other flavorful elements, we found that our chicken needed only a brief stint in a garlic-lime marinade before being grilled over a hot fire. A bit of salt and sugar in our marinade kept the chicken moist as it cooked and rounded out its flavor nicely. To complement the smoky, charred notes of the chicken, we decided to grill some of the salsa ingredients as well: sliced onion, a jalapeño chile, and half of the tomatillos cooked at the same rate as the chicken. We pulsed our grilled vegetables with additional raw tomatillos, which provided tart, citrusy notes, as well as fresh cilantro, lime juice, and garlic for freshness and bite. As a final touch, we grilled our tortillas briefly to warm and lightly char them. Serve with diced avocado and sliced radishes.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)
• 2 tablespoons water
• Sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1 onion, peeled and cut into ½-inch-thick rounds
• 1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, halved, and seeded
• 1 pound tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed well and dried
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk 3 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon lime juice, water, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and half of garlic together in medium bowl. Add chicken, cover, and refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes. Brush onion, jalapeño, and half of tomatillos with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt. Halve remaining tomatillos; set aside.
2. For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes. For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
3. Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken and oiled vegetables on grill. Cook (covered if using gas), turning as needed, until chicken registers 160 degrees and vegetables are lightly charred and soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken and vegetables to cutting board and tent with aluminum foil.
4. Working in batches, grill tortillas, turning as needed, until warm and soft, about 30 seconds; wrap tightly in foil to keep soft.
5. Chop grilled vegetables coarse, then pulse with remaining tomatillos, cilantro, remaining garlic, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and pinch sugar in food processor until slightly chunky, 16 to 18 pulses. Slice chicken thin on bias and serve with tortillas and tomatillo salsa. Serve with diced avocado and sliced radishes.