These Cuban Mojo Chicken Thighs might be my favorite thing to come out of my kitchen this month. I am straight up obsessed and don’t be shocked if the Mojo marinade starts showing up on other recipes in the near future.
A traditional Mojo sauce can include any number of seasonings and aromatics, but it’s largely based on Orange Juice! Today we’re spicing it up with tons of garlic, some shallot, cumin, oregano, and some salt and pepper. The result is a perfectly balanced marinade that infuses flavor into the chicken thighs and also gets reduced as a drizzling sauce.
Rather than juice your own citrus (who has time for that as we near the end of summer and need to soak up every possible moment outside) we’re using Florida’s Natural®, my fav No-Pulp Orange Juice on the market!! Florida’s Natural is committed to supporting Florida farmers and you know that supporting the people that bring our food to market is always A HUGE priority for me! And besides that, it’s an all-around delicious ingredient to use in all of your summer recipes.
The orange juice is the perfect base to this recipe and if you happen to have any leftovers, you know there’s a plentiful selection of WGC recipes you can use to use up the rest of the carton!
What you’ll need:
Cuban Mojo Chicken
Ingredients
Mojo Marinade
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 medium shallot roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 lime zested (approx. 2 teaspoons grated lime zest)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup Florida’s Natural® No-Pulp Orange Juice
- â…“ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- â…“ cup extra virgin olive oil
Chicken
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- In a high-powered blender, combine all the marinade ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour â…“ cup of marinade into a small bowl and reserve it for the dipping sauce.
- Toss the chicken with the remaining 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and add the remaining marinade. Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour and up to a day.
- Prepare a grill for medium high heat, and lightly oil the grill grates. Place the chicken on the grates. Let the chicken char for 30-60 seconds and then immediately decrease the heat to medium low. Grill the chicken for approximately 10-15 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F for thighs and 150°F to 155°F for breasts), turning every 5-7 minutes.
- Transfer the reserved sauce to a non-stick skillet and reduce over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes until thickened. Drizzle over the grilled chicken and serve.
Love your recipes! Do you think this could work in the oven (our grill is being repaired). Or would the oven be a bad idea with this kind of marinade? If you think it would work, any guesses on oven temp/time? Thanks!
would totally work! I'd use a meat thermometer to determine when it's done as I havent tested in the oven and cant say for sure
I made this using the broiler in my oven and it came out AMAZING - will definitely do it on the grill once it's warmer 🙂
I was marinating this recipe in the fridge overnight when hubby invited steak loving friends for dinner. Served the grilled mojo chicken alongside the grilled tenderloins. Cooked marinate down and drizzled it over chicken. Guests loved the chicken just as much as the beef! Will be making it again for sure!
WOW this was good. Served with rice, avocado and a quick slaw made with some of the sauce. Cannot wait to make this again.
So delicious. The sauce is everything!! And we made it with beans and rice like you suggested. Can’t wait to make this again!
These chicken thighs are so delicious. I really like chicken thighs over breasts. I love how you do many recipes with chicken thighs. Thanks Gaby! So good!!
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The marinade was easy to make and the end result was extremely flavorful. If you make it in a skillet make sure to scrape up the browned parts - they were amazing!
Could this be baked in the oven?
I made this last evening, and everyone of all ages loved it! It's so delicious and I'm eager to try the marinade with other meats....I think it would be delicious with steak and salmon!
This sounds delicious. What kind of side dish do you recommend pairing this with ?? Can’t wait to try it!
i'd do a side of steamed rice and a pot of black beans and some mango salsa
We had oven roasted sweet potato slices, salad and corn on the cob! It was a great meal!
Always looking for new ways to be creative with chicken! Yum!