Oven Roasted Mexican Chicken
One thing that I miss about Arizona is being able to grill! We live on the top level of our apartment building, so we don't have anywhere to store a grill. There's nothing like being able to grill in the summer; it keeps your house cool, it allows you to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air, and it makes clean-up a breeze! If you've got a grill, use it, you never know when it'll be ripped away from you! I can't wait until we can move to a building where we might be able to have a grill. A girl can dream, right?
So, here I am, grill-less and deeply saddened. That's not going to stop me from making my favorite summer staples, though, like corn and simply marinated chicken. As long as I wait until it's starting to get dark, my apartment doesn't get too warm while I have the oven on, especially if it's only on for 30 minutes or so, which is the case with this chicken. I made a quick and delicious marinade of lime juice, chili powder, ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, hot sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil, marinated my chicken for an hour, baked it until the skin was lightly crispy and golden, and in no time I had a zesty Mexican chicken that Kramer and I happily ate along with some sweet summer corn. The chicken was wonderfully moist and the skin was so flavorful and well roasted! I especially liked the little bit of heat that the hot sauce gave to the chicken, as well as the acidity of the lime juice and the bold flavor of the Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire sauce goes surprisingly well with Mexican inspired dishes, just so you know. I use it for far more than just dishes with red meat. It adds a depth of flavor that no other sauce can really provide, as well as just a bit of sweetness, surprisingly enough, which the lime juice really brings out in the sauce. This Mexican chicken is truly bursting with flavor and I hope you'll give it a try the next time you need a quick, family friendly meal. Kramer even went back for seconds, and that says something! Recipe after the cut or on my blog at The Crepes of Wrath.
The simple ingredients.
Combine your marinade ingredients in a sealable bag and add the chicken. Make sure that the chicken is completely covered in the marinade and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
Bake on a wire rack placed on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through.
Serve with some nice summer veggies (like sweet corn) and enjoy!
Oven Roasted Mexican Chicken
3 chicken breasts or legs (the drumstick + thigh attached), fat trimmed
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (I used 1/2 teaspoon and I didn't think it was too spicy)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
1. Combine all of the ingredients, except the chicken, in a small bowl and whisk together. Place the chicken in a sealable container or bag, then pour the marinade over the chicken. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and place the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet (preferably covered in tin foil to prevent the juices from burning to your baking sheet). Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through and the juices of the chicken run clear. Cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving with some fresh summer veggies.
*My suggestion is to serve this with vegetables, which you can easily roast along with the chicken by creating a pouch out of tinfoil and placing cleaned veggies into the pouch with a bit of salt, pepper, and olive oil or butter. I did that with the corn and cooked it for the same time that I cooked the chicken. This can also easily be grilled, but I don't have a grill so I am forced to bake my summer meals in the oven!
from The Crepes of Wrath