Hot Honey Grilled Chicken Skewers
These Hot Honey Grilled Chicken skewers are marinated with smoky adobo, fresh garlic, lime, and smoked paprika, then grilled and finished with homemade chipotle hot honey for a sticky sweet-and-smoky glaze.
Servings: 6 people
Equipment
Ingredients
Chipotle Hot Honey
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1-3 chipotle peppers in adobo depending on desired heat
Chicken & Marinade
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 12 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers in adobo
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice about 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon prepared chipotle hot honey
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Instructions
- Make the chipotle hot honey. Add the honey and 1–3 chipotle peppers to a food processor and blend until smooth. Use 1 pepper for mild, 2 for medium, or 3 for hot. Divide most of the hot honey into separate portions for basting and finishing, leaving 1 tablespoon in the food processor.
- Make the marinade. Add the garlic, adobo sauce, lime juice, olive oil, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper to the food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Marinate the chicken. Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs and toss until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for 1–4 hours.
- Thread the skewers and preheat the grill. Thread the marinated chicken onto metal skewers. Chicken thigh pieces will be flatter and more irregular than cubes, so fold thinner or longer pieces in half as needed when threading. Preheat the grill on high, clean and lightly oil the grates, then reduce the heat to low or medium-low, around 275–300°F.
- Grill, flip, and glaze. Grill the skewers for 30–40 minutes total. Let the chicken cook undisturbed until it naturally loosens from the grates, usually around halfway through, then flip. Brush the cooked side with the hot honey reserved for basting and continue grilling until browned, lightly charred, and the thickest pieces reach at least 165°F. Remove from the grill and finish with the separate clean reserved hot honey before serving.
Notes
- Chicken thighs: I tested this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The pieces will be flatter and more irregular than cubes; fold thinner pieces in half as needed when threading.
- Heat level: Use 1 chipotle pepper for mild, 2 for medium, or 3 for hot. The marinade always uses 3 tablespoons of adobo sauce.
- Keep the marinade low in sugar: Only 1 tablespoon of hot honey goes into the marinade. Adding more can make the chicken more prone to sticking or burning.
- Grill low and slow: Preheat on high, then reduce to low or medium-low, around 275–300°F. Grill for 30–40 minutes total.
- Flip, then baste: Let the chicken cook until it naturally releases from the grates, usually around halfway through. Flip, then brush the cooked side with the hot honey reserved for basting. Cook until the thickest pieces reach at least 165°F.
- Keep the finishing honey clean: Separate the basting and finishing portions before grilling so the honey drizzled over the cooked chicken never contacts raw chicken or contaminated utensils.
Nutrition
Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 180mg | Sodium: 1714mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g