Grilled Peruvian Chicken
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Full of fresh flavors and smoky flavors, this grilled Peruvian chicken is a must try for your summer grilling repertoire. Smoked paprika, soy sauce, lime juice all combine for some truly incredible grilled flavors.
Dish Count :: 1 Ziploc Bag, 1 Grill
I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do in the summer is heat up my house unnecessarily, so the grilling has been a big win for Ben and I in the new house. We have AC now (Praise!), but I am still in no mood to stand over a hot stove or oven if I don’t have to. Something about being nearly 7 months pregnant will do that to a girl. Bring on the grilled chicken, and this Peruvian grilled chicken is one to beat!
Also can we talk about just how much sweat one person can produce by doing literally NOTHING?! Its obscene.
And we are now in the throws of determining the optimal temperature for keeping the AC in the house. My preference is to keep it one step above a meat locker. Ben, totally comfortable keeping it at a balmy 77 degrees inside. Because “at least it’s cooler than outside!”.
If anyone wants to know where I hid his body – it’s with Jimmy Hoffa and the Lindbergh Baby.
Me wrapping myself back into a blanket because I’m cold is completely irrelevant to the conversation. Sorry Ben, pregnant wife wins.
My main goal is just to not sweat through every article of clothing I wear, so I’ll pay for it later when that electric bill comes, but for now – peace is required. And me not crying at random intervals because I’ve got a tiny space heater attached to my middle is a pretty big deal right now.
Who by the way, is kicking up a storm. Kicks I have finally been able to see. I’m living “Alien” right now.
So a tiny, moving and grooving space heater attached to my middle, the AC wars continue, and I’m all for just grilling outside and returning to my meat locker temperature living room to chow down on this grilled Peruvian chicken.
Anyone with me?! here here!
Oh, and don’t worry. To combat the heat, the ice cream cravings have also kicked in. So you’ll be getting some ice cream recipes soon. Like Wednesday. Because life is all about balance.
Ingredients for Grilled Peruvian Chicken
- Soy Sauce
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Garlic
- Ground Cumin
- Smoked Paprika
- Dried Oregano
- Vegetable Oil
- Chicken Legs
- Bone In Skin On Chicken Thighs
- Lime Wedges
Where’s the Salt?
Okay, so for this recipe the low sodium soy sauce provides all you need for salt content in the marinade. If you want to include ground pepper you totally can.
Can I use other cuts of chicken for this recipe?
Yes. While this is made for chicken thighs specifically – they don’t lose their luscious juicy texture on the high heat grill, you can definitely use chicken breasts as well. Just be more mindful that they can overcook easily. If you are feeling fiesty, you can break down a whole chicken into pieces and use this marinade.
What Kind of Grill Is Best?
Truly I have both charcoal and gas grill. For most weeknight grilling I lean toward my gas grill just becuase I can turn it on and off and not worry about coals. But it’s up to you! I preheat my grill over medium-high heat and then lower it down to medium low to cook the chicken.
What is a good side dish for this Peruvian chicken recipe?
For this chicken, rice is amazing! And then top it with avocado. Just saying. Oh, oh! And don’t forget the minced cilantro (fresh coriander) on top for that extra punch of freshness. Dang my cravings are hitting hard again!
If you have marinade that you have set aside to be used as a finishing sauce, it will soak into the rice and give it amazing flavor. Mix the ingredients in a small bowl or blend together in a food processor or blender if desired.
More Chicken Recipes
Chipotle Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chicken Enchiladas
Print
Grilled Peruvian Chicken
- Prep Time: 20 MInutes
- Marinade Time: 8 Hours
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Peruvian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Full of fresh flavors and smoky flavors, this grilled Peruvian chicken is a must try for your summer grilling repertoire. Smoked paprika, soy sauce, lime juice all combine for some truly incredible grilled flavors.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 5 Chicken Legs
- 4–5 Bone In Skin On Chicken Thighs
- lime wedges
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, dried oregano, and vegetable oil.
- Pour it into a zip top back and add in all of the chicken pieces. Seal the bag and marinade chicken for 8 hours or overnight.
- At least one hour prior to grilling, remove the chicken from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature – to take the chill off the bone and promote better cooking. Recipe slightly adapted from Epicurious Peruvian Grilled Chicken. (I added more marinade to account for my larger servings)
- Preheat the grill (we used gas), over high heat, and then reduce to medium for cooking. Place the chicken skin side down and grill for about 10 minutes, and then flip to other side.
- Rotate chicken to other areas of the grill if you find some pieces getting done too quickly. Continue to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken registers at 165 degrees with an instant read thermometer. Be sure to not hit the bone when taking the temperature or you will get a false reading.
- Let the chicken rest at least 5 minutes prior to serving. Serve with additional lime wedges for spritzing when serving.
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from Epicurious Peruvian Grilled Chicken. (I added more marinade to account for my larger servings)
HARDY- HAR- HAR Megan! You crack me up and yes, Ben……..pregnant wife wins!
Those kicks you can see – – – – LOVE them!!!!!! Great chicken, please pass that platter!
Gotta get to grilling this, sounds amazing!
I’ve been avoiding the oven as much as possible and just grilling everything (things just taste better when they’re grilled). This chicken and that beautiful kale salad. What more could one want?
The flavors of this chicken sound SO BOMB! I always need new chicken ideas, and this sounds DELISH!
This looks sooo good. Pregnant preferences ALWAYS win, make sure your husband reads this 🙂 🙂
this looks awesome. . . and is that salad a recipe on your site? It looks amazing.
The salad isn’t on the site – it was a bagged salad mix AH! But it is one I want to try and remake from scratch. It was a cranberry almond chop salad mix if you can find one. It went great with the spicy chicken!
OMG! This is awesome! I was looking for something other than the regular barbeque chicken etc…I came upon this, absolutely wonderful. Making again for company this weekend. Can’t stop thinking about the wonderful flavors…my mouth is still watering hours later. Thanks for sharing this recipeE
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Is it best to leave the skin on for the chicken or can I take it off? My wife is not a fan of chicken skin. Would it affect the quality of the chicken after grilling?
I would take the skin off after grilling. It will act as an insulator to the meat and help baste it as it cooks.
I tried removing some of the chicken skin before grilling and ended up with a dry texture. Then I tried your advice, It was moist and tasty. Thank you Megan! Gonna try some of your recipes.
Thanks for the follow up Richard! I hope they continue to be a favorite and you find a cooking method that suits your needs!
Thanks Megan. I shared it to my colleagues and they were all into it. Happy cooking!
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Meagan,
The Peruvian Grilled Chicken Recipe sounds great
\BUT
the directions tell me to add lime juice to the premixture and does not give me the aamount to integate into that mixture.
The directions also have limme wedges as a ;ast splsh and I assume you don’t mean thjat lime.
Can you help?
Oh, Sorry Len!! It’s 3 Tablespoons of lime juice to the marinade mixture, and reserve some slices for spritzing after it’s cooked, just before serving. Thanks for catching that!
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Needed an new idea for grilling. These did not disappoint and will be making them again! 5 stars!