Winner, winner, chicken dinner! On the hunt for a fresh, new take on grilled chicken? I was. My husband and I are trying to avoid extra oil and sugar, but are missing the saucy side of BBQ chicken. Then I ran across this recipe in the June/July 2020 issue of All Recipes magazine (which I do not recall ever ordering, but hey, whatev) and thought the ingredient list looked like it’d make for a flavor-packed piece of poultry. And boy, did it ever! We’ve made this twice this week already, serving first some friends, and then my parents in socially-distanced dinners on the deck. It was well worth taking our masks off to munch on this meat, as well as the side dish we served with it, Mexican Bean & Rice salad (also from the June/July of All Recipes magazine). Note that we DID use the—gasp!!!—dark meat, not the often-preferred white chicken breast, and it was essential to the success of this dish. Another essential? Having a husband who will slow roast it over coals on his Big Green Egg. (Although I’m sure it would be delish on a gas grill, too…) I did make a couple of adjustments to the recipe, and those are reflected below.

Serves 4

Juice of one whole large orange
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons minced green onion (aka: scallions)
2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons lime juice, plus zest of lime
1 Tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (this is 1 package of Costco meat)

Place gallon-size Ziplock bag in a large bowl to hold it upright. Combine orange juice, soy sauce, green onion, ginger, lime juice and zest, jalapeno, garlic, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves in bag. Seal and shake until mixed well. Add chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 4-8 hours, turning once or twice during marination time.

Preheat outdoor grill to medium heat, about 325 degrees. Transfer chicken to grill, reserving marinade. Grill covered, turning halfway through, 12 to 15 minutes.

While meat is grilling, bring reserved marinade to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced by a third and slightly thickened, and for at least five minutes. Brush cooked marinade over finished meat while on grill. Serve.