Secret Recipe Club: Grilled Ginger Lime Chicken Thighs

 It's the first Monday of the month, and that means it's Secret Recipe Club reveal day.   The Secret Recipe Club is a group of food bloggers who secretly make one of someone else's dishes and post them all on the same day at the same time.  It's really fun, choosing a recipe to make, making the recipe, then reading about everyone else's recipes.  It's a great way to "meet" other bloggers and check out some great blogs that you never knew about before.

Again, this month I was assigned a blog that was new to me, A Fit and Spicy Life.  It is written by Mellissa, who describes herself as being a "30 something, food loving, wine drinking, weight lifting, traveling, yogi blogger and FitFluential Ambassador living in Minneapolis. A true Mid-Western girl."  She started her blog as a way to document a trip to Italy in 2009, then found that she loved blogging so much that she wanted to continue.  Her blog isn't just about food though; it is filled with posts about fitness, travel, and wine as well.  

Mellissa has a great collection of recipes on her blog.  She lives a very healthy lifestyle, and her recipes reflect that.  However, they are anything but bland and boring.  I saw several dishes that caught my eye. I recently bought a panini press and am totally obsessed with paninis right now, so her Grilled Ham, Prosciutto, and Pear Sandwiches got my attention.  I also liked the looks of her Cilantro Pesto with Lemon Pepper Pasta, and her Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas.  But I ended up with a recipe that included one of my favorite things to eat in the summertime: chicken thighs.  Mellissa has a great recipe for Broiled Ginger Lime Chicken Thighs that sounded amazing.  I decided to adapt it for the grill.  I love grilling chicken thighs because they don't dry out and the skin gets crispy and delicious.  Here's my adaptation of Mellissa's recipe.

Grilled Ginger Lime Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

1 lime

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1 large clove garlic, grated

1 large shallot, minced

1 tsp salt

6-8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 

Directions:

Zest lime and set zest aside for garnish later (if desired).  Juice lime and put juice in a small bowl.  Add ginger, garlic, shallot, and salt and mix well.

Divide ginger mixture evenly among chicken thighs and stuff it underneath the skin.  

Grill thighs over medium heat, 10-15 minutes per side.  Cook until internal temperature reaches 160°.  Remove from grill and garnish with lime zest, if desired.

Makes 3-4 servings.

It's such a simple recipe, but man, it packs a flavor punch!  Mellissa used green onions instead of the shallots, but I just love the flavor of shallots and ginger together, and I don't like how green onions get wilty-looking after being cooked.  I also threw some garlic in there for good measure. :)  Mellissa also put some curry powder in the mix, but I was afraid it would overpower the other flavors, so I left it out.  

I served this chicken over gingered brown rice with carrots on the side and it made the perfect summertime meal.  These thighs work really well on the grill, but I might have to use Mellissa's broiler method when I'm craving them this winter.

Thanks for a great recipe, Mellissa!