MACON, Ga. — It’s officially summer, and for many, that means it's grill season.
You may be looking for new recipes to try out on the grill this summer, and if so, take a look at Helms Culinary Instructor and Chef Lynae Radke’s recipe for Peruvian chicken skewers with an aji verde sauce.
This recipe fields eight individual skewers. The ingredients list is below:
For it the chicken, you’ll need:
2 ½ pounds of chicken thighs
8 wooden skewers
For the chicken marinade, you’ll need:
1 ½ tablespoons of minced garlic cloves
⅓ cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
½ dried oregano
Just a pinch of black pepper
For the sauce, you’ll need:
Three stemmed and seeded jalapenos
1 cup of cilantro
2 green onions
2 garlic cloves
½ cup of mayonnaise
¼ cup of sour cream
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
To match Chef Radke’s plating, you’ll need:
Crumbled feta
Arugula
Radke first states to soak your wooden skewers in hot water for at least one hour.
While your skewers soak, cut your chicken thighs in one inch cubes. Then, she said you’ll want to make the marinade.
She said to combine all marinade ingredients together in a blender. Afterwards, place the marinade in a bowl and place your recently cut up chicken thighs in with the marinade. Radke said you’ll want to keep the chicken in the marinade for four to eight hours to help fully develop the flavor.
As your chicken marinades, you can work on your aji verde sauce.
“It’s a running joke with me and my students and at the restaurant that we would dip a flip flop in it because it’s that good,” Radke said.
Radke says to combine all aji verde ingredients together in a blender.
She notes that you'll want to adjust the lime juice and salt to taste, so add those last and adjust to what's best for you. She said it’s very important since the ingredients are so fresh.
After your skewers have finished their soak and your chicken has finished marinating, Radke says to skewer the chicken onto the skewers. You can place as many pieces of chicken on as you’d like.
You’ll want to preheat your grill to let it get nice and hot to develop a fantastic sear on that chicken.
She notes to turn and flip the chicken every so often so you can develop a nice, even sear.
Once the thickest part of the grilled chicken reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, remove from the grill.
To match Radke's plating, place a long cutting board or plate down and lay down a bed of your arugula on it. After that, place your skewers atop the bed of greens.
Top your chicken with as much aji verde sauce as you'd like and a little crumbled feta cheese and enjoy.