I want to be on a tropical island, an island in the Caribbean to be exact. I want yummy food and an ice cold drink like a pina colada or margarita at my side. Alas, that dream is not coming true in the near future. If you’re in the same boat as I am, then make these chicken shish kebabs so you can at least have a better time pretending you’re on that island while sweating in your backyard. Pineapple, mango, curry, ginger, and scotch bonnet pepper sauce transform the ordinary grilled chicken on a stick into a Caribbean vacation on a stick. Once you let the chicken marinate for at least an hour to soak up all of the sunshiny flavor goodness, prepping the kebabs and cooking them are quick and easy. So if you are tired of the usual suspects of burgers and franks, try these spicy ‘n’ sweet kebabs for the Memorial Day holiday and ENJOY!
P.S. This marinade is great with shrimp too (of course) but it doesn’t need to marinate or cook as long as the chicken. Cook shrimp kebabs for about 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are an opaque pink color.
Total Time: 1 hr. 37 mins.
Marinade: 1 hour
Prep: 25 mins.
Cook: 12 mins.
Yields: 25-28 kebabs
Ingredients:
For The Marinade:
- 1- 12 oz. bottle od Badia brand Mojo Marinade (or make your own mixture of orange and grapefruit juices, vinegar, herbs and spices)
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 Tbs. fresh grated ginger root
- 1/2 cup of mango juice or the pureed pulp from 1 ripe mango
- 1 Tbs. hot pepper sauce (scotch bonnet if available)
- 1 Tbs. curry powder
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tspn. fresh rosemary leaves
- 4 leaves fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 1 Tbs. cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 Tbs. ground black pepper
For the Kebabs:
- 4 to 4.25 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
- 1 medium to large pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 mangoes (ripe but firm enough to hold up on grill), peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 5 bell peppers (preferably in assorted colors), seeds and ribs removed, and cut into 1 inch pieces. Grape tomatoes are also a great addition or alternative.
Method:
- Add chicken to a shallow dish. Combine all of the marinade ingredients to the chicken and stir to ensure all chicken pieces are covered. Cover dish and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 15 minutes to prevent them from burning on the grill.
- Heat grill. Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade, and thread onto skewers alternating with pineapple, mango, and pepper pieces. I fit 3 pieces of chicken on each skewer with 2 pieces of fruit and veggies between each piece. Leave some room between each piece of chicken so that it will cook properly.
- Grill chicken kebabs for about 5 minutes on each side, about 10-12 minutes.
