Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken – The Café Sucre Farine

[ad_1]

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.

No worries about dry chicken! This Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken stays moist, tender and full of fabulous Southwest-inspired flavor!

If you enjoy Southwestern flavors, you’re going to LOVE this Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken. It’s delicious on its own, but it’s also wonderful in quesadillas, sandwiches, wraps, salads or pizzas. So make plenty, as the leftovers will be the inspiration for lots of other meal ideas!

Never too old to learn

Don’t let them tell you that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. It just isn’t true! I’ve always been quite partial to chicken breasts, either bone-in or boneless. Every now and then, I would purchase a whole chicken and roast it for a special dinner. But thighs or legs? Definitely not. In fact, I never even give them a second glance at the market. Well, that was true until a few years ago. Thankfully, this Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken is here today because this “dog” did learn a new trick!

Photo of Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken

Lots of delicious experiments

I decided to give chicken thighs a go, and have been experimenting with lots of different recipes. Enough recipes to have gone LOTS of Costco-size packages of thighs. The results have been wonderful! First, there was the Indonesian-inspired recipe with ginger, lemongrass and soy (if you haven’t tried it, it’s fabulous!), then a delicious Asian-inspired chicken. Nexgt thing I knew I was on a chicken thigh roll. You can check out lots of the recipes here, but don’t miss this flavorful Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken.

I love that you can sauté or sear thighs till they’re a beautiful golden brown, (even a bit charred) and the meat doesn’t even begin to dry out. And honestly, to my surprise, the flavor of the thighs is mild and delicious.

I think you’ll love this south-of-the-border version as much as we do. The recipe can be prepared on the grill or the stovetop, making it perfect for year-round enjoyment.

Before cooking, the chicken is marinated for a stint in a delicious concoction of olive oil, fresh lime juice, honey, cumin, oregano and a bit of fresh ginger. Ginger? Yes, although ginger is much more common in Asian recipes, it’s also known to be used in the internationally-inspired cuisine of Mexico.

Just a small portion of the marinade is combined with the raw chicken. The rest is reduced on the stovetop for a few minutes and is transformed into a wonderful basting sauce to brush on the chicken as it cooks.

This Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken is wonderful served with rice and salsa and works well for sandwiches and wraps. It also makes a spectacular Mexican-inspired salad. Check it out!

You’re probably way ahead of me on these magical chicken thighs and throw them in your shopping cart quite regularly. But if not, trust me, you’ve been missing out on something amazing. I’m here to tell you – you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Café Tips for making this Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken

  • If you’re in a hurry, you can marinate the chicken for just 30 minutes with great results, but I’ve also let it sit much longer in the marinade for an even deeper, richer flavor.
  • It’s important to allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes after removing it from the grill so the delicious juices can be redistributed and not pour out onto the serving platter.
  • This Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken is fantastic paired with Cilantro Rice (Arroz Verde).
  • For a delicious variation, use this Spicy Cilantro Honey-Lime Dressing as a drizzling sauce for this chicken.
  • Make a quesadilla with the leftovers. Just slice the chicken thinly then pile it into a flour tortilla with a handful of shredded Colby Jack cheese. Pan grill until golden then serve with this Best Ever, Super Easy Salsa. Delish!
  • Okay, if you’re a died-in-the-wool chicken breast lover, this recipe can be made with breasts. Be sure to pound the breasts to an even thickness and don’t marinate them for more than 30 minutes. Use an instant thermometer and take them off the grill when the thickest part of the breast reaches 160˚F.

Thought for the day:

Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6

What we’re listening to for inspiration:

He Will Hold Me Fast

 

If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.

Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken

Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken – don’t worry about this chicken drying out, it stays moist, tender and full of fabulous Southwest-inspired flavor!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Servings: 6

Calories: 305 kcal

Ingredients

  • 3
    pounds
    boneless
    skinless chicken thighs (trim off most of the fat)

For the marinade/basting sauce:

  • 2
    tablespoons
    extra virgin olive oil
  • 3
    tablespoons
    honey
  • ¼
    cup
    fresh lime juice
  • 1
    teaspoon
    finely grated fresh ginger
  • 1
    teaspoon
    cumin
  • 1
    teaspoon
    coriander
  • 1
    teaspoon
    dry oregano
  • 3
    medium cloves garlic
    finely minced
  • 1
    teaspoon
    kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a saucepan and stir well.

  2. Transfer 3 tablespoons of marinade to a zippered bag and add chicken. Massage bag well to coat all chicken pieces. Marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.

  3. Heat remaining marinade over medium heat till mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook (watch carefully so that mixture does not overflow pan) until syrupy and reduced to one-half original volume, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

  4. If cooking on an outside grill, preheat the grill to medium-high. When hot, add chicken and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  5. Cook for about 12-15 minutes, turning frequently and basting with the reduced sauce until golden, slightly charred in places and internal temperature reaches 160˚.

  6. To cook inside, heat oil in a large saute pan till almost smoking. Add chicken and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  7. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning frequently, until golden, slightly charred in places and internal temperature reaches 160˚. Brush frequently with the reduced sauce while cooking. (Don’t over-crowd the thighs in the pan or they will simmer instead of sautéing. Make in 2 batches if necessary.)

  8. Tent chicken with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Calories 305kcal

Fat 13g

Saturated fat 3g

Cholesterol 180mg

Sodium 557mg

Potassium 487mg

Carbohydrates 10g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 9g

Protein 37g

Vitamin A 45%

Vitamin C 3%

Calcium 28%

Iron 2%

Mexican Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken

[ad_2]

Source link

Next Post

San Francisco family-run Italian dining institution Villa D'Este is

[ad_1] Sad news for Italian meals lovers who loved dining at a modest but beloved restaurant around the Stonestown Mall in the Lakeside Village community. Right after 44 many years, Villa D’Este at 2623 Ocean Avenue will be closing its doorways for fantastic. The announcement was a short while ago […]

You May Like