Description
This grilled Peruvian chicken with green sauce is a juicy marinated chicken thigh topped with a creamy green cilantro sauce that packs a bit of a kick.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 skin on, boneless chicken thighs (about 3 pounds) Make friends with the meat department and ask them or remove the bones or you can easily do it yourself.
Marinade
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari sauce
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons aji amarillo paste (Peruvian yellow chili paste)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 lime, zested and juiced (1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon lime zest)
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde)
- 1–1/2 tablespoons aji amarillo paste
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (other half of lime used in the marinade and zest of half a lime about 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro, wash, trim end of stems, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup of leaves and stems)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup green onions, both white and green parts, roughly chopped into 1” pieces (about 3)
- 1 teaspoon honey, or more to taste
Instructions
- Trim chicken thighs.
- In a zip-close bag, combine the marinade ingredients and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken thighs and make sure the meat is well coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- In a blender or food processor, make the Green Sauce. Combine the aji amarillo paste, mustard, lime juice and zest, cumin and mayonnaise in the container first. Then layer the chopped jalapeño, cilantro and green onion on top. Finish with 1 teaspoon of honey and process until smooth.
- Taste and add a touch more honey if desired as well as salt and pepper to taste.
- Set aside until ready to serve. (I usually make the Green sauce at the same time as I make the marinade and store it in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium high heat.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and pat the meat well on all sides to remove the surface moisture.
- Lightly oil the grates and preheat the grill or grill pan to medium-high heat (375°F)
- Arrange the chicken thighs on grill and cook for 5-7 minutes (rotate each thigh 90° after 4 minutes to get the cross hatch grill mark.
- Flip the chicken thighs over and continue cooking for another 10 minutes on the other side.
- Reduce the grill temperature to medium low and continue to cook until the internal temperature of each chop reaches 165°F,. Depending on the thickness of the meat and the grill conditions this could take anywhere between 5-10 more minutes). If using a grill pan, once you achieve grill marks, move the grill pan into a preheated 325°F oven and cook until the chicken thighs reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove the chicken from the grill or grill pan and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Check the consistency of the Green Sauce and add 1-2 tablespoon of water to the sauce if needed to thin it to the proper consistency.
- Garnish the chicken thighs with cilantro and lime wedges and sprinkle with crumbled cojita cheese.
- Pass the green sauce so everyone can drizzle plenty of creamy goodness on their chicken.