PREP: Mise the recipe ahead of time.

1. Fabricate the chicken:

• If using a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, remove the bones, keeping the skin intact. (If necessary, refer to the photos in the cooking lesson section of this post.) Remove the tender and save it for another use. Trim away any connective tissue and fat. Reserve the bones for stock-making, or discard.
• Cut the breast in half, widthwise. (Keep in mind that one end is thicker than the other so, when viewed from the top, one half will have a smaller footprint than the other. Your goal is to have two portions of about the same weight.)
• Place the chicken breast pieces on the front side of a sheet of parchment paper, and fold the other side down over them. Use a meat mallet to gently flatten the thicker parts of the breast pieces to a thickness of about ¾ inch.
• OR—If using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trim away any connective tissue and fat.

2. Rub the chicken:

• Turn the chicken pieces over so that the skin sides are down. Sprinkle the non-skin sides of the chicken with half of the step 2 Cajun seasoning and rub the seasoning into the chicken.
• Place the chicken pieces in a container skin-side up and sprinkle the skin sides with the remaining Cajun seasoning.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Blanch, refresh, skin, de-seed, and dice the tomato:

• Bring about 3 c water to the boil in a small saucepan, and place a bowl in the sink
• Use a slotted spoon to lower the tomato into the boiling water and blanch for about 10 seconds, just long enough to loosen the skin but keep the tomato flesh raw.
• Transfer the tomato to the bowl and refresh under cold running water for about 1 minute.
• Core the tomato, slip off the skin, and cut it in half widthwise. Use your fingers to remove most of the seeds.
• Cut the tomato into rough dice a little larger than ¼ inch in size.
• If prepping ahead, place the diced tomatoes in a container with a folded paper towel underneath.

4. Shuck the corn and cut off the kernels:

• Grasp the tip of each corn ear with both hands and split the husks into two halves. Pull the husks apart and downward to expose the corn kernels. Break the partially-husked corn ear off of its base to completely remove the husk.
• Use your fingers and/or a vegetable brush to remove the silk clinging to the kernel rows.
• Stand each corn ear upright, large-end-down, in a bowl. Use a flexible boning knife to slice the kernels off of the cob.
• If prepping ahead, place the kernels in a plastic bag.

5. Fabricate the remaining vegetables:

• Cut the red bell pepper into rough dice a little less than ¼ inch in size.
• Remove the seeds from the chiles and dice fine.
• Medium-chop the onion.
• If prepping ahead, combine the bell pepper, chiles, and onion in a plastic bag.
• Mince the garlic and place it in a container.
• Trim the scallion, chop coarse, and place it in a container.

6. Assemble the remaining ingredients.

HOLD: Refrigerate all ingredients up to 3 days.

COOK! Finish and plate your dinner.

7. Set up a grilling station:

• Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to high heat. (If your charcoal grill doesn’t have a lid, preheat an oven to 350°F.)
• Have ready tongs, a sizzle pan or small sheet tray, a sheet of aluminum foil, and an instant-read thermometer.

8. Fabricate the herbs:

• Remove the leaves from the thyme and oregano sprigs, and medium-chop.
• Remove the leaves from the parsley sprig and chiffonnade (cut fine shreds).

9. Start cooking the maque choux:

• Melt half the bacon drippings or butter in a nonstick pan.
• Add the corn kernels with a pinch of salt, and use a plastic spatula to sauté them over medium heat until they brown slightly at the edges. Sucs (a film of browned starch/protein) will form on the surface of the pan; don’t allow then to scorch. Transfer the corn to a bowl.
• Add the remaining bacon drippings or butter to the pan, and then add the bell peppers, chiles, and onions. Sauté over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, scraping up the sucs, until the vegetables soften and begin to brown slightly. (If they brown too quickly before they soften, add a little water and cook until it evaporates away.)
• Stir in the garlic and Cajun seasoning.
• Stir in half the stock and simmer gently until it reduces into a glaze, while scraping and releasing the sucs.
• Return the corn kernels to the pan and stir to combine them with the vegetables.
• Stir in the flour, then stir in the remaining stock. Simmer until the stock reduces to about ¼ inch in the bottom of the pan.

10. Crisp the baguette:

• Place the baguette on one side of the grill grids and heat it, turning occasionally, until the crust becomes crisp. Transfer to the sizzle pan.

11. Grill-roast the chicken:

• Squeeze half of the oil onto the skin side of the chicken breast and then place it, skin-side-down, on the grill grids. Grill undisturbed for about 3 minutes until grid lines form and the skin browns enough to release from the grids.
• Squeeze the remaining oil onto the non-skin-side of the chicken breast and turn it over. Grill about 1 minute longer. Depending on the salt content of your Cajun seasoning, you may want to season the chicken with salt.
• Transfer the chicken breast, skin-side-up, to the warming rack above the grill grids. Close the lid and grill-roast the chicken for 7 to 10 minutes until the interior temperature reaches 160°F. (Carryover cooking will raise the internal temperature to the required 165°F.)Transfer the chicken breast to the sizzle pan and cover loosely with foil.Transfer the chicken breast to the sizzle pan and cover loosely with foil.
• OR - Oil and grill boneless, skinless chicken breasts for about 2 minutes on each side.

12. Finish the maque choux:

• Turn the heat under the maque choux to medium. Add the scallions and cream and stir to combine.
• Simmer the maque choux, stirring constantly, until the cream melds with the reduced stock to make a light sauce.
• Stir in the tomatoes and simmer until hot through.
• Evaluate the seasoning and balance the sweetness with lemon juice and salt, if needed.
• Stir in the thyme and oregano, along with any juices exuded from the chicken.

13. Plate:

• Mound a portion of maque choux in the center of each warmed shallow bowl or plate.
• Place a portion of chicken on the right side of the plate.
• Cut the baguette into slices and, in each bowl, fan 3 pieces at the back of the chicken.
• Garnish each plate with a stripe of chiffonnade parsley.