Chicken Thighs; 2 Ways

KiterTodd

There’s been a little talk ‘bout chicken thighs lately so I picked up some boneless skinless and decided to grill them tonight.  Since the family had already eaten by the time I got home, it was a good night to experiment.

Went with a green marinade and a red marinade.   I mixed them real thick so they were more like wet rubs….

The GREEN thighs got Hot Green Chili Powder, Cilantro, Chives & Lime.
The RED thighs got crushed red pepper, ground smoked chipolte pepper, aleppo pepper, hot red chili powder and some diced onion.
And they both got olive oil, garlic, fresh ground pepper, kosher salt and a splash of white wine.



I have been dying to use this hot green chili powder in a cook so I went very heavy on it.  In my mind I was reconstituting New Mexico Green Chilis…in my mind, anyway.  I'd probably do this a little differently if I was shopping for it, but I went with what I had on hand.  (thus the dried cilantro)

Here is the GREEN paste and the RED paste, and below they are all rubbed on and sitting.   They’ll probably sit 45 minutes or so before they hit the grill.  I’m going for 350, raised direct, for as long as it takes.  (20 minutes?)

Grillin_beers

Good looking start! 

KiterTodd

All done and hands down the best thighs I ever recall grilling.   And I do like to grill some thighs, but not as often as I should.

The green rubbed ones had a perfect balance to their flavor.  That kind of flavor where you can't totally identify a particular spice, it's just good.  I think the lime brightened it up a bit and while it didn't taste like green chili, it had a nice background vegetable taste.  I dunno, it was good and I wouldn't shy away from using even more of that green powder next time. 
This was mild and everyone in my family would like it.

The red rubbed ones popped!  Totally different flavor.  A nice spicy kick but not overpowering.   A little bit of a tandoori chicken taste, but not.  The smoke flavor came through a little more (I had a chunk of cherry and a chunk of pecan in there).

I liked them equally, but since the green one tasted less like something I'd usually make, that was my favorite.

On to the pics....

On the grill;


After the first flip;


Here they are just shy of 20 minutes.  They probed between 159 and 169 and I know I could have tented them and served them....but I like a little char on my meat.  They just don't have that grill taste to me without some black...


So I cranked the egg up to 500ish, got some flame going, and threw them on for 60-90 seconds per side.   That also let my peppers & onion finish.  They were just crawling along at 350 raised....



And, as served.




So yup, I'd repeat this.  They were tender and delicious.
Thing is, I'll forget it.  I better bookmark my own post! 

I think the two stage cook was unnecessary to get the grill marks.  Thighs can take the heat.  Next time I'll cook them shorter at a higher temp or not raised.  What do you think would work better?

Scottborasjr

I have no suggestions except to give me a heads up next time. Nicely done!!! I really need to remember thighs as a boneless skinless option but they are hard to find around here for reasonable prices .

Hawg Fan

Thighs are one of my favorites and yours look terrific.  Yeah, chicken thigh are real forgiving and can take a lot of heat.

KiterTodd

Yeah, @Scottborasjr, with skinless breasts I'm always looking for that balance between cooked enough and not dried out.  With thighs...much easier and I think much better flavor.

A lot of folks (like, SWMBO'd) seem to overlook thighs because they reach for the white meat and also thighs look less appealing raw.  Just not the case after you cook them though.  Good stuff.  Next!  Buffalo Thighs?  Hmmmm...

Legume

Killer cook there, I love the idea of the two rubs.

KiterTodd

Legume said:

Killer cook there, I love the idea of the two rubs.

Thanks.  Yup, I like doing that for parties also.  Divide the meat in two and have a spicy version and a mild version.  Keeps everybody sort of happy and it's more fun for the cook! 

DieselkW

Karma - tonight's dinner thighs (with skin and bone) are in the brine right now. I have the rest of the afternoon to investigate marinades and see if I have what I need to totally rip off your (great) idea.

Fire: Cumin, Red Pepper, Chili Powder, Oregano, Garlic, all mixed into juice of 1/2 lemon. I have a habanero I'll chop up and add to this.

Ice: Italian Dressing dry mix plus the other half of the lemon

KiterTodd

Fire & Ice!   Awesome. 

Great sounding marinades.