Marinated Cuban Chicken Thighs
Marinated Cuban Chicken! This is just awesome! Marinated for 24 hours in citrus juices, seasoned and grilled to perfection, this will have your mouth watering just from the thought of it! Whether you’re doing Keto, Paleo, or just love good food, this is a must try!
Cuban Food Galore
Living in Florida there’s no shortage of Cuban food. Some of these little ‘Mom-and-Pop’ places are amazing! Some however . . . not so much. It’s not difficult to learn a few of the secrets to making really good Cuban food. There’s lots of yummy pork dishes, picadillo, plantains, and the ever delicious Cuban sandwich!
We love going to this restaurant called Pollo Tropical. It has amazing food and sauces! Of course, I just had to do my best to try to do better – Challenge Accepted! I present my Marinated Cuban Chicken!
What Ingredients Are Used in Marinated Cuban Chicken Thighs?
- Chicken Thighs
- Water
- Oranges
- Lemons
- Limes
- Orange Juice
- Sugar
- Ground Cumin
- Ground Coriander
- Fresh Cilantro
- Dried Cilantro
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
Marinating the Chicken
The first secret to making mouth-water delicious chicken of any cuisine is to brine it or marinate it. I do both!
First, pat dry the chicken thighs. You can rinse them first in a bowl of water, but try to avoid running water over them. Even if you’re really careful, the splatter could cause cross contamination. So, put them in a bowl, swish them around a bit, take them out, and pat them dry with paper towels.
I add a lot of fresh citrus fruit and seasoning. By adding the rinds of the fruits, you add so much wonderful flavor! The salt and sugar not only penetrate the meat, but they help release the natural flavors from the oranges, lemons, and limes.
Pour a gallon of warm water into a stock pot. I use an 8 quart stock pot. Add the orange juice, sugar, salt, cumin, & coriander, and mix well. I usually use Kosher salt for cooking, but in this application plain old table salt works best. Add the thighs, fruit rinds, and about 10 stalks of fresh cilantro, stems and all. (I forgot the cilantro until after the photos. Oops! I guess I’ll just have to make this again!)
Allow this to marinate at least 12 hour, but it’s better to wait as close to 24 hours as possible.
Grilling the Chicken
Once you’re ready to grill, take the chicken out of the marinade and set aside. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature. The chicken will cook quicker and more evenly when it’s at room temperature. Don’t worry about letting it sit out. Chicken can be left out at room temperature for up to 2 hours, so you’ll be OK. It only takes about 20 minutes for it to warm up.
While they’re coming to room temperature, mix your spices. Be liberal with your use of them. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the spices and put them into the chicken to help them stick better.
When grilling chicken, I like to start skin-side down. To me, there are 2 benefits. First, the skin gets crispier. Second, the fat renders off the chicken in a way that prevents flare ups. Most of the fat is on the underside of the thighs, so when you put that side down first, the flames melt it away quickly. It then lands on the heat plates or the charcoal and you get flare ups. By cooking the chicken skin side down first, the fat melts slower.
There is a misconception that you’re only supposed to turn the meat once when grilling. That’s simply not true. I cook both sides twice for about 10 minutes each side. So it will go something like this – skin down, skin up, skin down, skin up, remove. I do this with all my chicken. I find it comes out cooked evenly and so much juicier!
Testing the Temperature
When testing the temperature of anything with a bone, be sure to test near the bone itself. This area takes the longest to cook. This is extremely important with chicken since there is always a great risk of salmonella from uncooked, or under-cooked, chicken. Using a meat thermometer, insert the probe near the bone of each thigh. Make sure it reads at least 165º F.
What Variations or Substitutions Would You Recommend?
The possibilities with this Marinated Cuban Chicken are many! You can do this with:
- a whole chicken
- Cornish hens
- split breast
- leg quarters
- . . . whatever!
I’d suggest to look for whatever chicken is on sale and go with that. You’ll need to adjust the cooking time a bit, but this will work with just about any cut of chicken (I haven’t tried chicken breast yet, but I’m sure it will be just as amazing!)
Pro Recommendations
I use my Anolon cookware everyday. They are not a sponsor, but I absolutely love their cookware! If I can’t grill outside for some reason, I grab this Anolon Griddle Pan. It works amazingly! One of my favorite things about Anolon is it has nonstick coating on the outside as well for easy cleanup. You gotta try these!
Other Amazing Recipes That You’ll Love!
Caribbean Grilled Chicken Breast
Marinated Cuban Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 6-8 Chicken Thighs, trimmed
Marinade
- 1 gallon Water
- 2 Oranges, juiced
- 2 Lemons, juiced
- 2 Limes, juiced
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Cilantro
Grilled Chicken
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- Fresh Cilantro, chopped for garnish
Instructions
Marinade
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Add 1 gallon of water to a stock pot. Next, add the orange juice, sugar, salt, ground cumin, ground coriander, and cilantro. Juice the oranges, lemons, and limes into the stock pot and mix thoroughly. Be sure to keep the fruit rinds.
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Pat the chicken thighs dry and trim off the excess fat & skin. Place them in a stock pot. Toss the orange, lemon, and lime rinds in as well.
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Cover and place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
Grilled Chicken
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Heat the grill to 400-425° using medium heat.
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In a small bowl, combine the ground cumin, ground coriander, dried cilantro, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
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Take the chicken out of the marinade. Liberally season both sides of each chicken thigh with the seasoning mix.
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Place the chicken thighs on the grill skin-side down. Turn after 10 minutes to skin-side up. Turn it 2 more times after 10 minutes of cooking on each side, for a total of 40 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to test the chicken. Be sure to test close to the bone as this area takes the longest to cook. The temperature needs to be 165°.
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Serve with rice and beans. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
