GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS
Now that it’s grill season, it’s time to spice things up a bit. Here’s a simple marinade for grilled chicken thighs. I like to use bone-in pieces because it takes longer to cook and allows the chicken to absorb more of the smokey flavor.
INGREDIENTS
MARINADE
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons molasses
3 chipotle pepper plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
GRILLED CHICKEN
8 Bone-in Chicken thighs
Salt & Pepper to taste
½ cup BBQ sauce for basting, ½ cup for serving*
PREPARATION
In a medium sized bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients together. Place inside a large Ziploc bag. Add the chicken pieces and seal tightly. Massage the marinade around the chicken pieces and place in the refrigerator at least 4 hours before you intend to grill it, but it’s best to marinate overnight.
OPTIONAL : If you have a smoker pan, soak some wood chips about an hour before you plan to grill.
When you’re ready to grill, take the chicken out of the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Place the chicken pieces on a platter, discard the Ziploc bag and remaining marinade.
Pre-heat your grill to 375 degrees. (Optional: Drain the water from the smoker chips and place the chips in the smoker pan and light as per directions for your grill.)
Place the chicken on indirect heat, close the lid and cook for 20 minutes. Flip the pieces and cook for another 20 minutes. (Cook times depend on how evenly your grill cooks. 40 minutes is approximate. Dark meat chicken is done when internal temperature of the chicken is at 165 degrees.)
To finish, brush some BBQ sauce on top and close lid for 3 minutes. Flip pieces, brush some BBQ sauce on other side and close lid for 3 minutes.
Serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side.
*NOTE: I used STUBBS Original BBQ Sauce, but feel free to use your favorite.