I tried this easy marinade for Yucatan chicken one week. I loved it so much, that the following week I used the same recipe for Yucatan shrimp! This recipe for Yucatan chicken is meant to be easy! So I will not complicate the post, but I did include plenty of photos and you will see how easy the recipe comes together.
I always keep plenty of achiote paste in my refrigerator. It’s essential for recipes like al pastor and cochinita pibil, so I don’t want to run out. But it’s great to have on hand for quick recipes like this Yucatan chicken and shrimp. The next time I prepare either one of these recipes, I am going to try wrapping them in banana leaves to impart more authentic Yucatan flavors.
Easy Yucatan Chicken (Shrimp Recipe Included)
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 TBS achiote paste
- Juice of 1 orange
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 habanero pepper stem ans seeds removed
- 4-5 TBS grapeseed or canola oil plus more for cooking
- Salt and Pepper to taste
You Will Also need
- 2 large boneless chicken breast butterfly and then slice to yield 4 pieces. Pound out lightly to even out.
- 16 jumbo shrimp cleaned and peeled
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tbsp unsalted buttter
- 1/3 cup Mexican beer
- lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
Directions
- For Marinade: In the blender, combine all of the ingredients for the marinade. Blend until smooth. Taste for salt and set aside.
- For Chicken: After you pound out the chicken, season it lightly with salt and pepper on both sides. Place into a large plastic storage bag and pour in the marinade. Place in refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour.
- When ready to cook chicken, remove from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before. Shake off excess marinade and place onto plate.
- Preheat stove stop grill pan at medium heat for 6-7 minutes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil like grapeseed or canola. Grill the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, tent and let rest for 5 minutes.
- For Shrimp: After cleaning shrimp, transfer to a bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour in the marinade and let sit for 20 minutes.
- Add 3 tablespoons oil oil to cast iron pan and preheat to medium for 4-5 minutes. Shake off excess marinade from shrimp as you place it into the cast iron pan. Reserve marinade.
- Cook the shrimp for 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan onto a clean plate. To the pan add the reserved used marinade , minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. As soon as butter melts, add in the beer. Stir well to combine and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour sauce over shrimp. Serve right away.
The best recipes, in my opinion, always begin with simple and fresh ingredients.
Achiote paste can be found in Mexican markets or online.
By combining the fresh orange and lime juice, I am trying to mimick the traditional flavors of the sour orange that is used in many popular Yucatan recipes.
It’s always a good idea to pound out you chicken to even it out before cooking.
It doesn’t take long for the marinade to add some tasty flavors to both the chicken and shrimp. If you like, you could prepare a little extra marinade for the chicken so you can baste it as you grill it.
On this day I had to grill indoors because of the rain, but I can only imagine how much more tasty it would be on an outdoor grill!
Beautiful spring onions from the farmers market is what I had on this night! They grill up fairly quickly. After grilling I like to squeeze on some fresh lime juice and season with salt.
Oh, and don’t forget a few fresh chiles like jalapeño ans serrano!!
Did I mention I had leftover Mexican rice? https://pinaenlacocina.com/simple-mexican-style-rice-arroz-estilo-mexicano/
And the following week it was Yucatan shrimp! With a simple guacamole, pickled red onions and fideo seco! Onions
Fideo https://pinaenlacocina.com/sopa-seca-de-fideomexican-style-pasta/
The shrimp recipe is perfect as an appetizer for 4 people or as a meal for 2 people.
It seems like every meals leads to tacos eventually! Not complaining!
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