I am really blessed & truly grateful to live in an area where we have warm, sunny weather throughout most of the year. Although our summers are quite hot & also very humid, we do manage to do plenty of grilling. I just love eating grilled food, especially in the summertime. The two just seem to go hand-in-hand together & are basically synonymous in my house.

My Sweet & Spicy Grilled Chicken is simple to prepare, delicious to eat & best of all, healthy too. Serve it along with a healthy salad & some fresh seasonal fruit for a delicious summertime meal! Better yet, enjoy it while sitting down in your garden, at a picnic, poolside or just about anywhere outdoors. Somehow food always tastes better when eaten outdoors along with family & good friends ☺.

Feel free to make this dish as spicy (or as sweet) as you like. If you prefer less spicy, add less Thai chilies or simply omit them altogether if you wish. You can also add less red chili powder – especially a good idea if serving this to little children ☺.


SWEET & SPICY GRILLED CHICKEN

Ingredients:

1½ to 2 lbs of skinless, bone-in chicken pieces (chicken thighs & legs work best)
2-3 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1” piece of ginger, peeled & roughly chopped
2-4 small green Thai chilies, roughly chopped (to taste)
¼ tsp ground cumin powder
½ tsp ground coriander powder
½ tsp red chili powder (to taste)
pinch of smoked Spanish paprika
salt & pepper, to taste
¼ cup orange blossom honey (or any runny honey will do)
2 tbsp mango jam (or you can use peach or apricot jam, orange marmalade works well too)
juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice (or mango juice)
2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or olive)
freshly chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
fresh lime (or lemon) wedges for garnish

METHOD:

Grind together the garlic cloves, along with the ginger & Thai green chilies into a fine paste using a little water as needed. Set aside until needed.

In a large mixing bowl (or in a large plastic food storage bag), combine the garlic-ginger-chili paste together the spices (ground cumin powder, ground coriander powder, red chili powder, smoked Spanish paprika, salt & pepper), orange blossom honey, mango jam, lime juice & orange juice. Whisk well to combine all of the ingredients together & then drizzle in the oil while still whisking to make the marinade/basting sauce.

Now add the chicken pieces to the marinade & mix well to combine – making sure all of the chicken pieces are evenly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 2-4 hours, the longer the better!

Grill the chicken on medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes per side or until the internal temperature registers about 160-165 degrees F on an instant-read meat thermometer. During the last few minutes of grilling, baste the chicken pieces with any leftover marinade. Let the chicken pieces rest under a foil tent for about 5-10 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves & lime wedges before serving.