Southwestern Grilled Chicken with Lime Butter

Happyyyy Thursday y’all!! Every time it gets close to the weekend I think about grilling recipes. I’m not sure why since we haven’t fired up the grill yet this summer, but it just seems like the thing to be doing on summer weekends. I  know J wants to, he’s mentioned it a few times, but it just hasn’t worked out so far. I really wish we could’ve made these on the grill, but J wasn’t home and I didn’t feel like venturing out to tackle the grill on my own.

It took a little longer in the grill pan and oven than it would have on the grill outside, I imagine, but either way it was so, so good. J isn’t a big fan of the skin on chicken – but I couldn’t pass up trying this recipe. And while most of the flavor is on the skin, I think the lime butter really gets to all of the chicken so even if you were to pull of the skin (gasp!), it still has really great flavor. I’d really like to try it on the grill next time, to get that authentic grilled flavor. You know what I’m talking about. You should try it this weekend and let me know how it is.

This week has been a strange one so far, and as I mentioned earlier in the week, I am not looking forward to Friday and saying goodbye to my dear friend. Even thinking about it makes me tear up. Being a grown up really stinks sometimes, ya know? We took a fun picture together at work yesterday…me, her and another co-worker. We all wore the same shirt (so high school, right??) and put on these silly straw hats that we had at the office from some event. it was pretty comical and we all had a good laugh. Just another fun memory for us to have when she’s gone. I guess I could share it with you all so you can have a good laugh, too.

That’s me on the left, my friend that is leaving in the middle, and our other friend on the right. Adorbs, right? Haha!

• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 
3½ lbs bone-in chicken parts
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 serrano chile, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• zest of 1 lime
• pinch coarse black pepper

1. Mix the chili powder, cinnamon, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar together in a small bowl until well blended.
2. Use a basting brush to spread the mixture over the tops of the chicken pieces.
3. Preheat your grill or grill pan over medium heat, and cook the chicken for about 30-45 minutes, or until cooked through, flipping about half-way through.**
4. When the chicken is done, combine the cilantro, butter, serrano, onion, lime juice, and pepper in a small bowl. Spoon over the chicken before serving. And omgah! Amazing!

**Note: I cooked mine in a grill pan and the side with the paste on it needs to be watched closely as the paste mixture will burn if left too long. Cook longer on the bottom side than the top to avoid burning and/or move to a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. It took me about 45 minutes total between the grill pan and oven to cook the chicken through.