A few of you know that I spent yesterday over the grill. You might think I'm nuts to do this in the winter, but here in West Texas, the weather changes quicker than a woman changes her mind. The local lore is "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes!" And their not joking! A couple weeks ago it went from a full blown blizzard (that's about an inch in 4 hours here) that lasted 5 hours to not a speck of snow 15 minutes after the snow stopped. Yep, that's my home. And yesterday was a nice, spring day, sun shinning, not a cloud in the sky and about 66 degrees! You bet I was out grilling!
In my family, we like to grill up as much meat as possible at once. In the long run it saves time and gas. I've mentioned before how expensive things are out here, propane isn't any better. So we hit a sale on chicken and sausage and went to town on several different types of flavors. Below you will find three different marinades that have a party in your mouth with every bite!
(The sun wasn't working with the camera, so sorry)
This first one I found on a web search and was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it was. The ladies who posted this one on About.com did a wonderful job. Click the recipe name to see how it was originally.
2 pounds boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs (pargiot in Hebrew)
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Mustard
1 tbsp Parsley, fresh and chopped
2 tsp Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1) In a bowl, mix all marinade ingredients.
2) Rinse under cold water and pat dry the chicken. Place the chicken on a zip lock bag and pour in marinade. Place in refrigerator over night.
3) Preheat grill (medium) to 325°F (170°C).
4) Remove chicken thighs from marinade, but don't discard marinade. Grill over medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over, brush them with marinade, and grill until they test done (about another 3-6 minutes).
The next one I found again on About.com (they have some really good cooks on this site!) and fell in love. Well, if you know me, you know how much I LOVE Asian foods! Give the name a click to check them out!
1 1/2 pounds Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless
4 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
4 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Garlic, minced
2 Scallions (green onions, spring onions), finely chopped
2 tsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper, or to taste
1) Rinse the chicken thighs under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Whisk in the ginger, garlic, scallions, brown sugar and crushed red pepper.
3) Place the chicken thighs in 1 large resealable plastic bag and place in a bowl. Add the marinade, reseal the bag and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator over night, turning occasionally. (If needed, use 2 small resealable bags and divide the chicken and marinade between them).
4) Preheat grill (medium) to 325°F (170°C). Remove the chicken thighs from the bag, reserving the marinade. Lay flat on the cooking surface and grill for 5-8 minutes then flip over and baste. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the thighs are cooked through and the juices run clear.
If you remember my Dilly of a Lemon Chicken dish a while back (and loved it) then you might recognize this marinade. I used the main flavors from it to create this following marinade. A light, dilled flavor to tickle the taste buds!
6 Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tsp Dill, dried
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1) In large bowl whisk together marinade.
2) Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry. Place in a zip lock bag and pour in marinade. Let sit over night.
3) Preheat grill (medium) to 325°F (170°C). Remove the chicken thighs from the bag, reserving the marinade. Lay flat on the cooking surface and grill for 5-8 minutes then flip over and baste. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the thighs are cooked through and the juices run clear.