Chipotle Bourbon Grilled Chicken

by Elizabeth

Sadly I’ve let one of our Vows to be Classic in 2012 completely slip – entertaining at home. Somehow it’s already May and we just hosted our first cookout of the year last weekend. Which is particularly frustrating since I’m pretty sure we’ve now missed all of the pleasant patio-sitting weather…but regardless, it felt good to host a little neighborhood get-together, drink some white wine spritzers and snack on cheese-loaded carbs on the patio, and laugh and chit chat late into the night.

It was nothing fancy, just a thrown together meal that took remarkably little effort. (It would have been even easier had I actually already had the chicken in the freezer that I thought I did and didn’t have to add a last minute grocery run to the schedule, but whatevs…) We had this Chipotle Bourbon Grilled Chicken, venison sausages, olive cheese bread, fresh cantaloupe, and macaroni & cheese, tortilla roll ups, and Nutella pound cake kindly brought by my girlfriends. We still don’t have proper patio furniture so we ate on a too-small table crowded with mismatched chairs, the fire didn’t get hot enough leading to a 9 pm dinner, I used paper plates to lessen the dish-washing load and I’m pretty sure we ran out of forks – but none of it mattered. Entertaining doesn’t have to “perfect” to make for perfect evening.

Chipotle Bourbon Grilled Chicken, adapted from Always Order Dessert

1 8-oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 1/2 cups orange marmalade
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups bourbon or whiskey (substitute orange juice or chicken broth for a non-alcoholic version)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
12 pieces of chicken, we used drumsticks

Combine all ingredients except chicken in the food processor, blend until a smooth purée forms. Place chicken in a large bowl or dish and pour marinade all over it. Marinate for several hours, 6-8 or even overnight is ideal. You can toss it once or twice to make sure all parts of the chicken are covered.

When you’re ready to cook, either grill outdoors or place in a baking dish (or two) and bake at 400˙ for 45-55 minutes. Test internal temperature of chicken, it should register about 165˙ to 170˙ at the thickest part of the meat.