These chicken skewers are a must-make for any barbecue lover! This recipe, from New York chef Chris Santos, is packed with savory and sweet flavor, from mustard and molasses to orange and spicy sriracha. We love grilling up chicken thighs as they stay tender and juicy and are full of flavor. Don't be deterred by the long list of ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand. They're worth it!
Jägermeister-Kissed Chicken Skewers with Blood Orange Aioli
Courtesy of Chris Santos, Executive Chef at Beauty & Essex and The Stanton Social
8 lbs. chicken thighs
30 flour tortillas
For the Chicken Brine:
1 cup sugar
½ cup salt
½ cup orange juice
2 cups hot water
2 cups cold water
For the Marinade:
½ cup mustard
½ cup molasses
½ cup Jägermeister
2 tb. parsley (leaves only)
2 tb. thyme, chopped
2 lemon, zest only
2 orange, zest only
6 garlic cloves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tb. red pepper flakes
For the Blood Orange Aioli:
2 oz. roasted garlic
1 bottle kewpie mayo (34 oz. bottle)
2 tb. dijon mustard
2 tb. sriracha
2 blood orange, zest only
2 tb. blood orange juice
Instructions:
Trim your chicken thighs of excess fat and skin. Cut into 1 ½ inch cubes.
For the brine: Dissolve the salt and sugar in the hot water. Add the cold water and brine the chicken thighs for 2 hours. Rinse after brining.
For the marinade: Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together. Allow the chicken to marinade for up to 24 hours.
For the aioli: Place roasted garlic in a bowl and mash well with a plastic spatula. Fold in the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, orange zest, orange juice and sriracha. Season with salt and pepper.
Soak wooden skewers in wood until well-absorbed. Skewer your chicken – about 4 chunks of chicken per skewer. Grill the skewers over medium-high heat.
Use the grill to warm your tortillas. Slather each tortilla with the blood orange aioli and wrap each skewer in a finished tortilla.
