The coming of warm weather kicks off the traditional start of backyard grilling and barbecue season. Yes, die-hard grilling gurus tend to fire up their grills and barbecue smokers year-round -even in the snow. For many, the urge to light some charcoal, fire up the gas grill, or get the off-set smoker going is just starting to kick in! Get going with this easy recipe for grilled orange chili chicken.

What’s great about this recipe is that you can adapt it for use with direct heat grilling or with zone-grilling, known as off-set heat grilling, as well as on a low and slow smoker. The latter is perfect for whole chicken or turkey. The other perk is that the ingredients are simple and you may already have them in your kitchen. No need to run out and buy expensive “specialty” spices.

Why this Recipe Works

Aside from being amazingly simple, the reason this recipe works is that the citrus flavor is a perfect match to the warmth of the chili spices and the natural flavor of grilled chicken. Like I said above and have mentioned in several of my cookbooks alongside versions of this recipe, the dish is a versatile one.

You can grill, offset grill, or even bake in the kitchen. Plus, it works with every cut of chicken or whole birds. It’s a great starter for a surprising approach to traditional fried chicken. Here’s the basic recipe – change things to your liking and make this dish your own. For this recipe, I’m going with chicken thighs which are packed with flavor, affordable, and hard to mess up – even for the novice grilling guru in training.

Grilled Orange Chili Chicken Thighs

4-6 chicken thighs
1 cup of orange juice
1/3 cup favorite barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or large zip-close bag and evenly coat the thighs. Chill in the fridge for about an hour, maybe two.  Move the thighs around to make sure they are evenly coated. Remove from the marinade before grilling. Grill, turn as needed, baste with additional barbecue sauce as needed. One Note: avoid grilling over too high of a heat source to avoid burning. The sugar in the sauce, as well as the brown sugar in the marinade, can burn and become bitter of chared. Don’t rush things, and enjoy this dish with your family and friends.