Mexican Smoked Chile Marinade

acid.'s Note:

Great hot and smokey marinade for anything

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 cup

• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 5 canned chipotle chiles , minced plus
• 1 tablespoon juice (see note)
• 4 cloves garlic , minced (4 tsp)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Combine the orange juice and lime juice in a saucepan and boil until only 1/2 cup liquid remains.
2. Place this and the remaining ingredients in a blender and purée to a smooth paste.
3. Spread this paste on the food to be marinated.
4. Marinate seafood for 2 hours, poultry for 4 hours, and meat overnight, turning once or twice.
5. Marinated food may be sautéed on the stove top, broiled on a charcoal grille, or roasted or broiled in the oven.
6. Makes 1 cup of marinade, enough for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of seafood, poultry or meat.

Reviews

[Kleyt]

This is fabulous on chicken. I cut the recipe in half since I'm only cooking for two. I only used 2 chipotle chilis as I was concerned with how spicy they were out of the can. I was quite suprised by how much they mellowed out after cooking. The dish could actually have been spicier. If I cut this in half again, I'll use 2.5-3 chipotles instead of only two. Thank you for posting.

[Muffin Goddess]

I used this marinade for just under 2 pounds of boneless chicken breast - had to marinade it for 24 hours because I work nights and DH is hopeless in the kitchen. I grilled the chicken on my indoor grill this morning, and it came out so juicy and flavorful! I basted the chicken with a kosher salt brine halfway through cooking because I tend to like my grilled meats a bit saltier than the marinade made it, but that's just my personal preference. The sweetness of the citrus juices offset the heat of the chipotles nicely so the finished product had a decent kick to it, but wasn't unbearably spicy (which I was quite impressed with, since 5 chipotles plus 1 tbs of adobo seemed like a lot to me). Served it with some Mexican rice, smashed pintos, corn niblets, and fresh corn tortillas. Nice one, Mean Chef!

[Abby Girl]

I found this recipe many years ago off the internet. I loved the orange/lime juice combination with the chipotle and spices. This is a "bold, in your face" marinade!!!