Green Chicken
My chef sister, Fiona, is my go-to source for hands-on cooking advice and one of my biggest culinary heroes and influences. But even more important? Fiona came up with an umami-packed, Thai-inspired chicken recipe that immediately became a family favorite.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 1/4 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup fish sauce, like Red Boat
- 3 peeled garlic cloves
- Finely grated zest of 1 medium lime
- Plenty ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- 2 tablespoons apple juice (or 1 teaspoon maple syrup if you’re not on a Whole30)
- Kosher salt
- 3 pounds chicken drumsticks or thighs
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Make the marinade by combining the onion, cilantro, basil, mint, fish sauce, garlic, lime zest, black pepper, Aleppo pepper, and apple juice in a blender. Purée until smooth.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Since I use this as a marinade, I'm more heavy-handed with the salt than I normally would be if it was a sauce.
- Place the chicken in a gallon-sized zip-top bag and pour the marinade over it. Seal and marinate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day in the refrigerator.
- The next day, take the chicken out of the fridge 1 hour before you're ready to grill it. (See Recipe Notes for oven-baked method.) Set a gas grill to high and after placing the chicken on the grates, immediately decrease the temperature to low.
- Grill the chicken for approximately 25 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F) turning every 5 to 7 minutes. But be patient: Don't go and flip the bird (legs, that is) before they naturally release from the grill surface — otherwise, you'll leave a lot of tasty, crispy, marinated skin stuck on the grates!
- Serve the drumsticks with lime wedges.