The only New York Times Cooking chicken recipe that you need

Chicken cutlets that cook through and brown in about four minutes, with deep chimichurri flavor enhanced by a post-grill drizzle of fresh sauce.

The mayo matters: Mayo-marinated chicken with chimichurri from Easy Weeknight Dinners by New York Times Cooking.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

2 min read

11:54AMNovember 19, 2024.

Updated 5:39AMNovember 20, 2024

The Weekend Australian Magazine

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The magic of mayo is that it helps your other marinade ingredients spread evenly across the surface of the meat, delivering more consistent flavor, while improving browning. (Don’t worry, the cooked meat doesn’t taste like mayo.) In this recipe, that means chicken cutlets that cook through and brown in about four minutes, with deep chimichurri flavor enhanced by a post-grill drizzle of fresh sauce. This recipe will work with nearly any marinade, exactly as written: you could use pesto, salsa verde, bottled barbecue sauce, jarred Thai curry paste, teriyaki sauce or mole, all with equal success.

Try too our other recipes: traybake salmon with sesame and ginger, and one-pot pasta with ricotta and lemon.

Easy and tasty: this chicken is a weeknight winner that involves minimal effort.

This is an extract from Easy Weeknight Dinners by New York Times Cooking

Mayo-marinated chicken with chimicurri

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast cutlets (about 150g each), pounded to ½ cm thick
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/3 cup store-bought or homemade mayonnaise
• 1 cup chimichurri

• Chimichurri
• ¼ cup dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
• ½ cup hot water
• Kosher salt
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 8 medium garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (it need not be extra-virgin, but it can be), plus more as needed
• ¼ cup fresh oregano leaves, finely minced
• 1 tightly packed cup fresh parsley leaves, finely minced
• Black pepper

Mthod

1. Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper and set aside. Whisk together the mayonnaise and ¼ cup chimichurri in a large bowl. Reserve remaining chimichurri. Add the chicken cutlets to the mixture and turn to coat. Cook immediately, or for better flavour transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.
2. Set your grill or barbecue to a high heat for 10 minutes. Cook the chicken cutlets directly over high heat, turning and flipping occasionally, until just cooked through and lightly charred all over, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Spoon some of the remaining chimichurri over the chicken and serve the rest in a small bowl on the side.
3. To cook in a pan: heat a large cast-iron or nonstick pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water immediately balls up and dances across the surface. Add the chicken cutlets in a single layer and cook, swirling them and flipping them occasionally until browned all over and just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Spoon some of the remaining chimichurri over the chicken and serve the rest in a small bowl on the side.

To make the chimchurri

1. Combine the dried oregano, paprika, red pepper flakes and cumin (if using) in a large bowl. Add the water and a big pinch of salt and stir with a fork. Add the vinegar and stir to combine. Smash the garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle to form a rough paste, then drizzle in about 2 tablespoons olive oil and work the garlic and oil around the mortar until it emulsifies and no loose oil remains. Scrape the garlic mixture into the bowl with the oregano mixture and stir to combine.
2. (Alternatively, smash the garlic cloves on a cutting board with the flat side of a chef’s knife. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt, then use the side of your knife to scrape the mixture back and forth until a paste forms. Drizzle a little olive oil over the paste and work it in with the side of the knife. Repeat until you’ve added about a tablespoon of olive oil, then scrape the mixture up and transfer it to the bowl with the oregano mixture, add the remaining olive oil, and stir to combine.)
3. Add the fresh oregano and parsley and stir to combine. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight, to allow the dried oregano to rehydrate and the flavours and texture to develop. Stir vigorously before tasting, then adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper.

Serves 2-4