Spicy Grilled Chicken! Who is ready for warmer weather and grilling? Me! When I look at this recipe for spicy grilled chicken I have flashbacks of last summer. Honestly, I had forgotten how much I enjoy grilling. How often do you grill? Are you one of those diehard grillers? Rain, wind, snow or sleet! Nothing will keep you from grilling. Been There! Lol!
I took a little vacation from grilling, but watch out!
I am going to make it my goal to prepare more recipes on the grill this summer. Although gas grills are more convenient, I still prefer grilling with charcoal. I dream of grilling with wood fire someday like my family used to in Mexico. Once you learn that you grill is like an oven with a hot side and a cold side, grilling chicken like this becomes a lot easier!
What exactly is Restaurant Style Salsa?
Good question! Now, I am only speaking from my experience here. During the years I lived in Texas, the Mexican food was different from what I grew up with in California. I enjoyed both, but in Texas you will encounter more Tex Mex dishes. The table salsa always looked the same. It was a tomato-based salsa, with jalapeño, onion, cilantro and maybe a hint of lime. Often, it was lacking heat, and I sometimes suspected that the tomatoes were from a can. In Texas, especially in San Antonio it was always delicious!
Out of necessity, I came up with my own Restaurant Style Salsa!
I was living in upstate N.Y., and I was cooking a Mexican lunch at the local kitchen store. It was the dead of winter, and the price of fresh Roma tomatoes were at an all-time high. How could I prepare a more affordable salsa in large quantities? Remember that trip to San Antonio? The tomatoes were definitely from a can, but the added fresh ingredients made it kind of addicting! The testing quickly began, and one thing led to another. My version of restaurant style salsa was born! You will never believe what happened when I entered a salsa contest?
There is no rhyme or reason when it comes to preparing a marinade!
For me, there are certain flavors I crave when it comes to preparing a marinade. I want to taste salt, acid and some heat. Then comes the other flavors like garlic, onion and pepper. You can customize it with a wide variety of spices. Herbs, especially fresh herbs add another level of flavor. Choose citrus, such as limes, lemons and oranges over too much vinegar. A splash of vinegar is good, but you don’t want it to overpower all of the other ingredients. Choose canned pineapple because the fresh juice can cause the meat to become mealy. Not a good texture!
Take your grilled meats to the next level!
Have you tried adding some previously soaked wood chips on one side of the HOT charcoals to add some delicious smoke flavor to grilled meats? Don’t go overboard with the wood chips though. Too much smoke can give off a nasty bitter flavor if left on the grill too long. Many departments store and supermarkets carry an assortment of wood chips like apple, cherry, mesquite and more.
Spicy Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsps. whole peppercorns
- 1 ½ tbsps. coarse sea salt
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsps. dried chile piquin
- 2 tsps. dried onion flakes
- 2 tsps. oregano
- 1 tbsp. of ground achiote paprika or mild chili powder
- Zest and juice of 2 limes
- ¾ c olive oil
- 2 ½ lbs boneless chicken thighs excess fat trimmed
Instructions
- Process and grind all the spices in the molcajete until finely ground. If no molcajete, you can use the blender or use ground spices.
- Mix in the lime zest, juice and the oil. Stir well to combine. Pour marinade all over the chicken. With gloves on your hands, work the marinade all over chicken, making sure it’s evenly coated. Cover and chill for 6 hours.
- When ready to grill pull the chicken out 35 minutes before you light the grill. Start a fire one side of the grill. Ideal temperature is 375-400 degrees. You will be cooking the chicken with indirect heat. One side hot and one side cold. Take half of an onion and rub it on the grates of the cold side of the grill. Place the chicken evenly on the indirect side. Close the lid. Grill the chicken for 30 minutes with the lid closed.
- After that, open the lid and rotate the chicken. Close the lid and cook for another 15 minutes. Begin turning the chicken several times and rotating the chicken around the grill. Chicken is ready when the internal temperature reads 165 degrees F. You can quickly sear the chicken for 30 seconds on each side on the hot side if you desire. Transfer cooked chicken to a covered dish and let it sit for 10 minutes. Slice for tacos. Serve with warm tortillas, salsa, avocado, cilantro and lime.
Notes
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