Chipotle Lime Marinated Chicken

Lime Chipotle Chicken

I traditionally do not like chicken legs or chicken thighs to eat. I have always been a chicken breast type of girl. Recently though, I have had a change of heart. It started when my friend made me some very tasty basalmic grilled chicken legs while staying with her on vacation. They were very moist and had that crispy grilled skin that just made you want to eat ten of them.

So my local grocer had chicken thighs and chicken legs on sale this week for only .84 cents a pound. I could not pass this up and went on a search for a good marinade. I have found it and let me tell you the chicken was good. It was the perfect complement to my Scalloped Potatoes. I found the recipe at a blog called Guilty Kitchen.

Here is the recipe from the blog:

Chipotle Lime Marinated Chicken

This makes about enough marinade for 1 1/2 lbs. of chicken

8 small chicken thighs, bone-in skin on
3 small chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce) (This sauce is spicy! Reduce peppers if you’re a wimp)
Juice of 2 limes
1 clove garlic, grated
2 Tbsp cilantro, minced
1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix all together in small bowl.
2. Place chicken in plastic bags or small plastic container with a lid.
3. Pour marinade over, mix around to cover completely, refrigerate.
4. Allow to marinade for at least an hour, but longer would be better.
5. When ready to grill, preheat BBQ to medium high for about 5-10 minutes.
6. I like to begin grilling skin side down, which allows the chicken to get some nice grill marks.
7. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes per side, then flip (using tongs, never a fork!), cook for another 5 minutes, flip again and repeat once.
8. Bone in thighs should take 20-25 minutes on a BBQ at medium high heat. Full legs (thigh and drumstick) take much longer, as would bone in breasts. Boneless breasts will take 15-20 minutes.
9. If you are going to be using the oven instead, simply reduce cooking time based on the cut you use.
10. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before cutting in, as the juices need time to settle. If you cut into them while they are piping hot, all the nice juice will run out.

Serve with a green salad or even pasta salad, if you really want to prolong summer.