Every once in a while, you have to change up the game and make a sweet, sour, and spicy chicken unlike no other! I'm not talking about a spinoff of the classic Chinese dish or some just home from the bar at 3am hammered drunk dump and forget marinade, but a legit delicious chicken perfect for the grill and any meal. Today's recipe, Jalapeno Agave Lime Chicken, is more than a tweak on the Mexican classic but a whole new level of umami goodness! Using some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and a quick, simple marinade, anyone can step up their grilling game and produce this magic chicken sure to put a smile on everyone's face...Let's Get Cooking!
This Jalapeno Agave Lime Chicken recipe is super simple and quick so here are the down and dirty instructions. Begin by creating the marinade. You can choose to either use a blender or show off those mad knife skills, but finely mince the jalapeno and garlic. Combine those with the olive oil, lime juice, and agave and stir everything together. Give it a quick taste and see what is going on, then drop in a pinch or two of salt to finish up the marinade. As always, place the marinade in a ziplock bag or sealable container and simply add the boneless, skinless, chicken thighs to start soaking up those delicious flavors! You can probably get away with letting it marinate during the day while you're at work, but overnight is best.
Once the chicken has had ample time to absorb those bright, sweet, and tangy flavors, drain off the excess marinade and fire up the grill to Medium or Medium-High heat. There is plenty of olive oil in the marinade itself so you don't really have to worry about the chicken sticking too much, especially if you start out with super hot grates before adding the chicken. Nonetheless, arrange your marinated chicken thighs on your hot grill grates and cook on each side 8-10 minutes or so, until the overall internal temperature reaches about 170 degrees. Again, while white meat chicken is perfect at 165 degrees, dark meat has enough fat and texture to withstand a few more degrees till perfection. There will be some carryover cooking so be sure to pull the chicken from the grill before that temperature exceeds much more than 172 or 173 degrees to hit a final 175 degrees. Every grill is different with hot and cool spots so just stick around and watch it while it cooks. These boneless, skinless thighs are usually fairly thin so they can cook quite fast and burn if you walk away for long.
After only a couple minutes of prep work and a little marination time, this Jalapeno Agave Lime Chicken is cooked and ready to devour within 20 minutes making it a perfect weeknight family dinner or meal prep option. I like to garnish mine with some extra cilantro, which you should always keep in your kitchen, to make it not only look nice but add the final kiss of flavor. That is, unless you are one of the freaks that thinks cilantro tastes like soap, then I suggest using some finely sliced green onion or something bright and green to show off "all that hard work" your friends and family think you put forth for this mega simple chicken recipe!
No matter how you choose to show off your Jalapeno Agave Lime Chicken, feel free to serve it with just about any sides. Cilantro Lime Rice is an obvious choice, but it will pair with mashed potatoes, grilled fresh veggies, or even toss a thigh on a bun and enjoy it as a sandwich. The options are literally quite endless with this super simple recipe so make it at home and tag me on Instagram at @GrubbOnGrub and let everyone know how you served up your final dish and what you thought about the recipe in general....Just Keep Cooking!
JALAPENO AGAVE LIME CHICKEN
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