Chicken Recipes: Grilled Chicken, San Diego Style

During the summer, it’s really difficult for me to do any cooking indoors. Who wants to be stuck inside using the stovetop or the oven, heating up the kitchen on a sunny, warm day? Not me. Of course, on rainy days it’s necessary to return to the kitchen, because despite my fondness of outdoor grilling, I have an aversion to grilling food outdoors while holding an umbrella—and I never risk pushing the grill into the garage or up next the house under the overhang of the roof.

Yesterday was one of those days that really wasn’t suitable for outdoor grilling, but since I was invited to a friend’s house for dinner, it made no difference to me. They did serve grilled chicken, but they cooked it indoors on their built-in grill. They called the chicken dish, “San Diego Chicken,” and it was fantastic. The recipe features honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, lime juice, ginger, pureed mango, and ground toasted pecans that are used as a marinade for the chicken prior to grilling.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ to 2 lbs. of chicken pieces
• 1 ripe mango
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ cup pecans, toasted
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Put the toasted pecans into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Set aside.
• Cut up the fruit of a mango; then put it into a blender or food processor and liquefy.
• Pour the pureed fruit into a large saucepan. Add the honey, brown sugar, lime juice, cinnamon, and ginger. Cook on low heat for 8 to 12 minutes until thickened. Stir often. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels.
• Place the chicken into a large zip-locking bag; then add the marinade mixture and the toasted pecans. Make sure all of the chicken is covered with the sauce.
• Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for 2 to 4 hours.
• Remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade.
• Grill the chicken until it reaches the proper doneness (170º F. on a meat thermometer.).

My friends made extra marinade to use as a basting sauce for the chicken during grilling. (You should never reuse a marinade for any purpose once it has been in contact with the raw chicken, which is why they made extra.) The sauce made the crispy grilled chicken skin irresistible. You’re going to love this great chicken recipe.

 

Chicken Recipes: Thai Chicken Burgers with Mango Mint Topping

This is a grilled chicken recipe that I found on BetterRecipes.com that is actually called “Thai Turkey Burgers with Mango Mint Topping.” Of course, I decided to use chicken instead. I don’t have anything against turkey; in fact, I like it occasionally, but I just don’t like it as well as chicken. And, I rarely ever have a reason to have it on hand, except maybe on Thanksgiving, but I always have plenty of chicken ready to pull from the freezer and use for dinner the next day. Anyway, I’m sure that using chicken in this recipe didn’t hurt anything.

This delicious burger recipe, submitted by “roxiechan,” combines ground chicken (or turkey) with several tasty ingredients to make a patty bursting with Asian flavor and appealing aromas. And, the mango mint topping is a great complement to the grilled chicken burger.

Ingredients:

• Chicken burger:
  • 1 ½ pounds ground raw chicken
  • ¼ cup plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons minced green onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced gingerroot
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon curry past
     
• Mango mint topping:
  • 1 cup peeled mango, cut in a small dice
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • ½ tsp grated lime zest
  • 2 tablespoons snipped mint
     
• When ready to serve:
  • 6 sesame-seeded rolls, split
  • 6 lettuce leaves

Directions:

• Combine the ground chicken (or turkey) and the next 6 ingredients and mix well.
• Form the mixture into 6 patties.
• Grill over high heat for 5 to 7 minutes per side or until the patties are cooked through.
• While the burgers are grilling, combine the ingredients for the mango mint topping until well blended.
• During the last minute of grilling, add the roll halves to the grill rack, cut side down, to lightly toast.
• To serve the burgers, place a lettuce leaf on the bun bottoms, add the grilled chicken burgers, cover the burger with the mango mint topping, and add the bun top.

These chicken burgers are so much better than those plain old grilled hamburgers that some of us get so tired of during the summer. (I know I’m probably in the minority on that one.) This great burger recipe is really something different, so I urge you to give it a try. Thanks “roxiechan” for this wonderful recipe.