This photo shows boneless, skinless chicken pieces sizzling on a grill pan. They're studded with turmeric and spices and garlic and cilantro.

Im-peck-ably Spiced Chicken

This photo shows boneless, skinless chicken pieces sizzling on a grill pan. They're studded with turmeric and spices and garlic and cilantro.

Aw, cluck it! I know the majority of my dinners start and end with chicken, but for cluck’s sake, if I wasn’t meant to make chicken for my family nearly every night of the week, why does it taste so cluckin’ good?

During a typical weeknight, we eat chicken at least two days a week, so on the weekends, I try to make something not so fowl, but I’m usually tired and out of ideas. I want to go out to a restaurant and be served, which we can do now and again, but not every weekend. Still, I want a vacation from chicken.

This chicken dish, though, is like vacation chicken. Because it’s done on the grill, with lots of spices and time for all the ingredients to mingle.

In short, I was feeling peckish for this “Im-peck-ably Spiced Chicken” recipe:

Ingredients:

–Any kind of chicken pieces parts, really. You can use wings or thigh meat, but we chose boneless, skinless chicken breasts—about 4-5 cut thin, but not too thin.

–1/4 cup of olive oil

–2 teaspoons of ground cumin

–1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (optional)

–3 large cloves of garlic, chopped

–1 ½ tablespoons of minced fresh ginger

–1 teaspoon of paprika

–1/4 teaspoon of turmeric

–1/3 cup of roughly chopped cilantro

–2 tablespoons of lemon juice

–A good smattering of ground black pepper

–Sea salt to taste

Mix the olive oil and spices in one bowl. Place the chicken into a large freezer bag. Pour the mixture on top, and really squish the outside of the bag, rubbing those chicken pieces around into the sauce—getting all the pieces coated. Refrigerate in the bag for 2-6 hours—or overnight.

Fire up the grill—oh, hold on…we were out of fuel, so it was an in-house grill-pan stove-top night. Either way, it takes about ten minutes on each side, or until the juices run clear.

Results: The flavor really gets into all the pieces parts of the chicken. It’s light, slightly spicy, and flavorful. Bonus points if you can grill outdoors with mesquite because it can’t be beat. But if you need to go indoors, the flavors are still on point.

Serve this chicken with:

  • The first rays of summer in the backyard
  • A salad made of green things and the whispers of fireflies
  • Slippers brimming with pink champagne
  • Bread and butterflies
  • Pea shoots and jellyfish sandwiches
  • A pack of E-I-E-I-O’s
  • Whatever oranges dream about

Your Turn: What meals do you typically make more than once in a week?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

26 thoughts on “Im-peck-ably Spiced Chicken”

  1. Yep. Sames. We eat a lot of chicken too. Probably because it’s the cheapest meat. And I too get a little tired of the same old same old. I may give this a try. Also, this: Whatever oranges dream about is the most unique “serve with” ever!

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