Chipotle Grilled Chicken

Hubs has been on a ‘chipotle’ kick lately. When he is in town – I try to make dinners extra special and cater to his preferences. I found this recipe on AllRecipes – they give you the option to type in any ingredients you want – any ingredients you don’t want and even use ‘key’ words. I searched ‘chipotle’ ‘chicken’ and used the key word ‘grilled’ and I ffound this at the top of the list.

I used this exact recipe for 2 bs chicken breasts. On the other 2 bscb – I did this recipe except that I left the chipotle out (was worried that it may be too spicy for the kiddos). I tried both with and without chipotle. Without was okay – the kids liked it. With Chipotle was very good. The chipotle didn’t add any heat (I hate when the heat/spice overpowers all the other ingredients) what it did was add another layer of flavor – I kept commenting on that. So even if you don’t like spicy food – try this – and just don’t baste the chicken while grilling.

Chipotle Grilled Chicken
Marinade:
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I actually used Tabasco brand Chipotle sauce – a few good dabs will do ya)
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
kosher salt to taste

Chicken (original recipe calls for drumsticks – but as I said – I used bscb)

Place the chipotle peppers, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, cumin, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, honey, vinegar, and olive oil into a blender. Puree until no pieces of garlic remain. Pour 1/4 of the marinade into a small dish and set aside. Rub a pinch of kosher salt into each chicken drumstick and place into a resealable plastic bag. Pour in the marinade, shake, and seal. Marinade at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate. Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade.
Cook the chicken legs on the preheated grill until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 8 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Once the legs are completely cooked, baste well with the remaining marinade, cover the grill, and cook and additional 2 minutes per side to glaze.

*I used this strictly as a marinade – we didn’t use it to baste the chicken while grilling.