This Chipotle Coffee Chicken recipe is one of my favorites. I strive to find ways to cook flavorful food with minimal calories. It’s what I do. Often this requires me to work outside of the culinary box (anyone can add in a stick of butter and make something delicious). Recently, I’ve been experimenting with coffee; full flavor, low guilt. Even more recently, I tried some of the best coffee I’ve ever had here in town at Black Owl cafe. The coffee, supplied by the aptly named Kalamazoo Coffee Company, had remarkable depth and flavor, lending the sort of experience one would have at a wine tasting, not from a cup of coffee. So, naturally, I immediately went home and made barbecue sauce. With full honesty, this Chipotle Coffee Chicken recipe is now in my top 5, and I promise it will be in yours too.
Chipotle Coffee Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken breast cut in half
- 1/2 cup light roast coffee I used Kalamazoo Coffee Co Bam-Bean-Oh
- 1/2 cup Lager
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 limes juiced
- 2 chipotles chopped
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons corn starch loosened with a splash of water
Instructions
- Combine coffee, lager, sugar, lime juice, chipotles, adobo sauce, salt, and pepper. Reserve half of the marinade for future use, and use the remainder to marinade the chicken for 4 hours.
- Heat grill on high. Pat chicken dry and grill for 6-7 minutes a side until 165 deg F.
- As chicken grills, set small saucepot on medium-low heat (great time to use the side burner on your grill). Whisk in the loosened cornstarch and cook until just thickened.
- Once chicken is cooked, let rest for 3 minutes until slicing, topped with the sauce. Served paired with grilled peppers and onions as shown.
