Grilled Mojito Chicken

A few months ago I bookmarked a recipe I saw on the blog Proceed with Caution - it was for mojito chicken and looked like something I wanted to try! She mentioned in her blog that she wanted to try grilling it next time, and since Jon was in the mood to grill, we did just that.

The original recipe is by Guy Fieri (love him!!)and can be found here. Since I used boneless breasts and a grilling method instead of cooking it on the stove top and in the oven as the original recipe noted, I am listing my own directions below.

Ingredients

• 1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) chicken (I used 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Marinade Ingredients

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
• 1/4 cup dark rum
  

Mojito Glaze Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

Directions -

• Heat the grill to 400
• Combine all the dry spices and rub chicken with spice mixture
• In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients for the marinade, then add chicken to marinade and refrigerate for several hours
• Remove chicken from marinade and shake off excess marinade and add chicken to the grill. Cook until nicely browned on each side or until chicken has internal temperature of 165 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer.
• In the meantime - make the glaze (these are Guy's directions): In medium sauce pot, place rum, chicken broth and brown sugar. Reduce by 1/3 over high heat. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch. When rum mixture is reduced, add cornstarch mixture slowly to simmering liquid and whisk for 3 minutes, until 50 percent thicker. Keep in mind that you might not need all of it. When glaze is at desired thickness, add mint leaves and transfer to small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Brush both sides of the chicken with the Mojito Glaze and let it cook for another few minutes.

This chicken had a very nice, subtle flavor. Finishing the chicken under the broiler with the glaze would have given it a nicer, crispier finish, but we still got the slightly caramelized finish we were hoping for.

The next day I turned the third chicken breast into chicken salad - now that was delicious! I used onion, red pepper, and mayonnaise - so simple but with the flavor from the chicken, simpler was better.