Hi!
I’m so excited about this new recipe. It’s a good one! I feel like everyone is looking for ways to spice up chicken. In the summer I’m all about a good meal cooked on the grill, and instead of just doing simple grilled chicken this is a fun twist: Grilled Korean Barbecue Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa
It starts off with the marinade for the chicken which couldn’t be easier! I just mixed together store bought barbecue sauce, Korean gochujang paste, orange juice, lime juice, and sesame oil
I reserve some of the sauce to brush on the chicken when grilling, and mix the rest with the raw chicken to marinade. You can really use any cut of the chicken you prefer. I did a mix of breasts and drumsticks. Thighs would be delicious too!
Right before I start grilling the chicken I made the mango avocado salsa. Here is a mango cutting hack (or maybe just a method lol since it’s still a bit tricky!) : slice off both of the sides around the core with the skin still on. Then, take a pairing knife and slice to the skin lengthwise and then across to make cubes. Then take the mango and push the mango meat outwards and use a pairing knife again to slice the cubes off.
I will mention that this method works best with a ripe mango! But you wouldn’t want to eat an unripe mango anyways. Alright, enough about cutting mangoes.
Then I mixed together the mango with avocado, lime juice, honey, parsley, red onion, a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Time to grill the chicken. When I take the chicken out of the marinade I let the excess marinade drip off. You can either use a pastry brush and brush the chicken itself with some canola oil or you can just make sure your grill is thoroughly greased. How I grease my grill is I soak an old kitchen towel with canola oil and then use a tong to slide the towel up and down the grill. Maju taught me this trick and it works well. Anytime you are grilling an item that has been in a marinade it is important to make sure your grill is nice and greased so the items don’t stick too much.
I grill the chicken for 4 minutes on one side, flip it over, and grill it for another 5-6 minutes on the second side. I use the reserve marinade to brush the chicken while it’s still on the grill. I do this a couple times, closing the lid of the grill in between to let the chicken cook through. To make sure the bottom of the chicken doesn’t burn make sure your grill is on medium heat and keep moving the chicken pieces slightly without flipping them over.
Once the chicken is cooked through, I allow the pieces to rest for a couple minutes. Garnish with some sesame seeds and scallions and that’s it! This is so delicious you guys! Super flavorful. Say goodbye to boring grilled chicken!
Grilled Korean Barbecue Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
- 3 pounds of chicken (can be boneless chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks, legs, whichever you prefer)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups barbecue sauce
- ½ cup gojuchang paste*
- ⅓ cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 2 juicy oranges)
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 juice limes)
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- For garnish: chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds
For the Mango Avocado Salsa:
- 1 large mango (or 2 small) chopped
- 2 avocados, chopped
- ¼ of a red onion, minced
- 3 tbsp cilantro (or parsley) minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp honey
- Juice of 2 limes (or to taste)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Rinse the chicken pieces off and dry them with a paper towel. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Mix together the marinade: whisk together the barbecue sauce, gojuchang paste, orange juice, lime juice, and sesame oil. Reserve ½ cup of the sauce for later.
- Take the remaining sauce and coat it with the raw chicken. Cover and marinade for 2-6 hours. (I do this in a large ziplock bag, but in a bowl covered with plastic wrap also works)
- Preheat the grill to medium heat.
- Make the salsa: combine all ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. Make sure the excess marinade is off of the chicken. Make sure you’re grill is greased before grilling, or lightly brush the chicken pieces with canola oil before grilling.
- Grill the chicken for about 4 minutes on one side. Flip the chicken over and with a brush coat the chicken pieces with the remaining barbecue gojuchang sauce. Move the chicken pieces slightly (but don’t flip them again) so they don’t burn, and brush the chicken with more sauce, then close the grill for 2 minutes. Repeat this process about 2 more times until the chicken is done. Allow the chicken to rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds and serve with the mango avocado salsa. Serve immediately or even at room temperature.
Notes:
- Gochujang can be found in most international food aisles. It is a Korean hot red chili paste. It is delicious in stir fry’s. Try mixing a bit with a little mayo for a dipping sauce!
- Depending on the cuts of chicken you buy, the cooking time on the grill will vary. If you have a thermometer, you want the thickest part of the chicken to reach 155 degrees F before taking it off the grill. The chicken will carry over as it rests to 160-162 which is what you want.
This chicken is so flavorful and is definitely a crowd pleaser! We had a small group of friends over for dinner the other night and I made a bit of a feast.
These toasts I made as an appetizer were so delicious: Pimento Cheese Grilled Peach Toasts. Homemade pimento cheese (that had bacon in it so I mean, you can’t go wrong) with grilled sweet peaches and spicy radishes. I could have eaten a dozen of these! You can find the recipe here!
I also grilled some zucchini (a lot from my Mom’s garden!), and made this brown butter corn orzo salad from half baked harvest. The meal was a delicious combination of flavors.
I hope you give this recipe a try!
Happy Wednesday everyone 🙂
xx Chelcie
