Grilling meat it’s a big part of my family and a huge tradition in my home town, Monterrey. There is not a Saturday without a busy grill and my Tíos are masters of it. They never use store bought seasoning, they each add their own touch to the meat because each one has a different way to season it. Now, in my opinion a good steak doesn’t need anything other than a good amount of salt and pepper, but chicken, well, the bird needs a little help, maybe a lot of help. I never asked anybody for their recipe on how to marinate chicken, maybe because all I care about was eating it. Now that I am far away from home and I don’t have my uncles around to grill delicious meats, I had to come up with my own recipe. I must say, I did pretty good. In Mexico you have a food stand every couple blocks and one of the most popular is the pollo asado stand. You could smell that chicken from blocks away! It is always fresh, juicy, tasty, everything you would want and more. Well, this chicken tastes just like it. My husband loves it, my girls love it. We use it to make quesadillas, burritos, tacos, tortas. It is very versatile. So, rolled up your sleeves and let’s get grilling!
This is what you will need.
Oil, chili powder, black pepper, ground comino, garlc powder, dry oregano, lime and salt. For the chicken, (sorry! I forgot to include it in the picture) I’m using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. It is my favorite piece of chicken to grill. It is juicy, tender and it cooks very fast compare to chicken drumsticks or chicken breast.
You can add all the ingredients in a measuring cup and mix until you get a uniform mixture, then transfer to a zip top bag. Or…you can dump everything in a zip top bag, zip it, and mix it with your hands. I don’t like doing dishes so, I went for option number two.
It should look like this! Now add all the chicken in the bag, zip it and work with your hands to coat all the chicken with the marinate. Give it a little massage.
Here it is! I always put the bag of chicken in a bowl before I put it in the fridge, I highly recommend it. Let it marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.
Heat your grill on medium high. Grill the chicken until just cook through, about 5 minutes each side. The internal temperature should be 165 degrees.
So, so good!!! I hope you enjoy this recipe. Keep reading!
Ingredients
- 2 Lb. bonless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp dry oregano
- 2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp crushed pepper
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the marinate in a small measuring cup and add it to a zip top bag.
- Place the chicken in the bag, zip it, and work with your hand to coat all the chicken with the marinate.
- Put the bag of chicken in a big bowl and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Heat your grill to medium high and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side. Internal temperature should be 165.
- Let the chicken rest for five minutes. Enjoy!
Marisol, I have needed new recipes for chicken for a while. This sounds delicious and thank you for giving me options. We are in a rut.
Thanks Kim! Let me know how you like it.