I’m a busy lady, but I like REAL food. I like to feed my family a wholesome dinner every night. It’s the only time of day that we all actually sit down with each other and connect. Even if it is only for 15 minutes, it mean a lot to me. That being said, I have to stay organized as far as meals go. I find that if I have a rhythm and a plan, I have less stress around meal times. That brings me to today’s recipe: Cilantro Lime Chicken.
I cook a whole chicken EVERY week. I will either roast it in the oven (during cool weather) or BBQ it on the grill. I provides 2 solid meals for our family with a bit of leftover for snacking on or lunches. The first night, we just eat the chicken with steamed veggies of some sort. What’s left of the chicken gets turned into either chicken soup (with homemade bone broth) or chicken tacos.
Buying a whole chicken is much more economical than buying already cut up chicken at the store. Plus, I’m a dark meat girl while my sweetie prefers the breast meat. I also like to get organic, pasture-raised chickens from a local source, and they are sold as whole chickens. Organic chickens allowed to graze in their natural environment make for a much healthier and delicious choice. Finding a local farmer who practices organic and humane ways of raising poultry will help you to avoid harmful antibiotics, GMO feeds, or cruel slaughtering practices.
The first thing to learn in this recipe is how to cut a whole chicken in half. By cutting the chicken in half, it will make it easier to marinade and will speed up the cooking process. It is also easier to handle that trying to manage the entire chicken on the BBQ. See this easy 1 minute tutorial on halving a whole chicken. My favorite part is when she tells you to save the backbone for broth. YES!!!
Now on to the recipe. Your family is going to love this zesty, flavorful chicken…..
To Make Cilantro Lime Chicken:
Once you have your chicken cut in half, make your marinade, and place marinaded chicken in fridge for at least 6-8 hours. I just do this the night before and am ready to go the next day when it’s time to cook. The longer it marinades, the better it will be.
To BBQ the chicken, it takes me a little over 1 1/2 hours. I flip the chicken a few times to ensure that it’s cooked properly and to prevent burning or charring.
Print
PinIngredients
- 1 whole chicken, cut in half
FOR MARINADE:
Instructions
- After cutting chicken in half. Make the marinade.
- To make marinade: Place all ingredients in a blender and process until well combined like salad dressing
- Place halved chicken in a large glass baking dish and pour marinade on top. Turn chicken over a few times to make sure completely coated.
- Cover with lid or parchment paper and place in fridge for at least 6-8 hours.
To BBQ chicken:
- Preheat BBQ on medium/high heat
- Once hot, place chicken halves onto grill skin side down (do not discard leftover marinade in bottom of pan. We will use it in a minute)
- Turn grill down to medium heat and allow to cook for 10 minutes with grill open
- Flip chicken over, pour leftover marinade over the skin side, close grill, and turn heat down to low (I set mine to almost the lowest setting but not quite.) Let cook for 30 minutes.
- Flip chicken again, close lid, and allow to cook for another 30 minutes (be sure grill is still pretty low.)
- Flip chicken halves on last time, close grill, and allow to cook for another 20-30 minutes until completely cooked. (if not sure, use meat thermometer to make sure it is at least 165’F)
- Transfer to serving plate, and ENJOY!!!
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Heather H. says
June 7, 2013 at 6:57 pmHow long do you roast the chicken in the oven for, if you you cook it that way?
Katja says
June 7, 2013 at 9:13 pmHeather,
depends on the size of your chicken. In general, the whole chickens I use are between 3-4 LBS. I roast them at 350′ for around 1 hr and 45 minutes…. basting it every 20-30 minutes. Since this chicken is cut in half, it will probably take less time. Start with an hour and then check every 15-20 minutes. Meat should run clear when cut into. Safe chicken temp is around 165’F. Please let me know how it goes. I haven’t roasted this recipe in the oven yet.
jean norris says
June 7, 2013 at 9:09 pmis there another method of cooking other then the bbq
Katja says
June 9, 2013 at 3:32 pmYou could roast it in the oven. I haven’t done that yet with this recipe. I described how I would do it in the comment above. Please let me know if you try it. I use our BBQ to do this, especially in the summer months. Thanks for coming by.
Miz Helen says
June 11, 2013 at 2:23 pmHope you are having a great week and thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
★★★★★
Melissa says
June 14, 2013 at 12:53 pmThanks sharing your recipe! This is the first time I grilled a whole chicken and it turned out FANTASTIC! My husband and I couldn’t stop saying how good it was.
★★★★★
Katja says
June 15, 2013 at 3:35 amEasy, right?? Glad you guys enjoyed it.
Miz Helen says
June 17, 2013 at 3:52 pmCongratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you have a fabulous week and enjoy your new Red Plate.
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen
★★★★★
Sarah says
April 25, 2014 at 3:32 pmCan’t wait to try this! I think I will roast in oven with this marinade. Sounds amazing!
Katja says
April 26, 2014 at 8:21 pmI make it in the oven sometimes as well. Enjoy!
Kim says
May 29, 2014 at 6:45 amOne question…for the cilantro, what do you mean by 1/4? A quarter cup?
Katja says
June 1, 2014 at 9:00 amYES! 1/4 CUP. I fixed it. Thanks!
anna groth says
June 1, 2014 at 6:18 pmJust made this tonight! Absolutely delicious, the chicken was very moist, and the lime and kick of pepper made this recipe a real keeper. It was very simple and I learned how to cut a chicken in half too! Thank you for a great recipe, we will be making this a lot.
★★★★★
Katja says
June 1, 2014 at 9:41 pmYay! I am so glad that you liked it. I love this recipe. I think I need to make it this week. Love to you all!
Melody says
July 4, 2014 at 1:28 pmI’m going to try this but will cook in NuWave oven. I usually do all my chicken this way and doesn’t heat up the kitchen during summer. Looks delicious!