My Lime Salt BBQ Chicken recipe is easy and delicious. And, its my favorite recipe to “cook too much of” just to have leftovers. Just some good quality chicken breasts, lime juice, olive oil and some good quality pink Himalayan sea salt. Cook and serve. Okay, maybe it’s a bit more than just that.
Quick Nutrition Guide (per 6oz of chicken):
217 Calories with the following breakdown.
- 33g Protein (55% of the calories from protein)
- 9g Carbohydrates (15% of the calories from carbohydrates)
- 8g Fats (30% of the calories from fat)
Ingredients
Four simple ingredients on for Lime Salt BBQ Chicken. Very simple and that’s part of what makes this recipe so fun (and delicious).
- Chicken Breasts – We buy the organic chicken breasts from Costco but frankly any good quality chicken breasts will do. About 6 good sized ones but you can make more or less ….. YOUR CALL!
- Olive Oil – I use between a quarter cup and a third of a cup. Most of it cooks off but it does help keep the chicken from sticking to the grill.
- Pink Himalayan Salt – I just love the way it looks and tastes and because it has a better micronutrient profile that your standard NaCl (salt, salt to the lay person).
- Limes – I think 2 good sized limes will work great for this amount of chicken. But, add more or less depending on your taste preference. Note: These (see photo below) are ALL limes. Even the yellow ones, they are just a bit over-ripe.
Time to Prepare:
You have two options depending on how strong you want that citrus flavor on the chicken.
- Option 1 “I’m in a hurry” (About 40 minutes). This includes 15 minutes of PREP and 25 minutes of cooking time.
- Option 2 “I have time” (Still about 40 minutes TOTAL but I do the PREP several hours before cooking) – Same process as option 1 but in this option I return the bowl to the fridge and let sit for 1-2 hours before I cook it (see below). Basically PREP, then WAIT, then COOK. Option 2 has a WAIT step, Option 1 doesn’t. Also, more marinade time will make the lime flavor more pronounced.
Directions:
Step 1: Open, clean and drain the chicken. I like to rinse everything off and then place the rinsed chicken in a large bowl. Once complete, this is a good time to do a “decontamination” process and throw all the chicken containers away.
Step 2: Prepare the marinade. Mix the 1/2 or 1/3 cup of oil, approximately half a tablespoon of sea salt and the juice of the two limes into a small mixing container. Whisk until mixed and then poor over the chicken.
Step 3: Using tongs or another appropriate kitchen device, carefully flip the chicken in the bowl so that the oil/salt/lime juice covers every part of each piece of chicken.
Option 1 / Option 2 Break – This is the time to go start the BBQ and ‘get it done’ or cover the chicken and throw it in the fridge to sit for a while. Your choice!
Step 4: Heat the grill to 375 (or so) degrees. I find chicken cooks best on the cooler side of the spectrum. And, I like to cook it for a bit longer. The opposite of how I cook most red meat which is a hotter grill and for a shorter duration. Don’t forget to give it a good cleaning too!
Step 5: On your newly cleaned and hot grill, lay the pieces of chicken out so they are CLOSE but not touching. I like the heat to hit every side of the chicken. Keeping things too close means under or unevenly cooked chicken.
Step 6: Expect to cook the chicken on each side for ABOUT 10 minutes per side or 20 minutes total. I like to flip the chicken three times. So, I lay the chicken on side A. Cook for about 3 minutes and flip. Cook the chicken on side B for another 3 minutes and then flip again for 7 minutes. Then finally, one last flip and cook for 7 minutes and DONE.
DON’T OVERCOOK! Check regularly and you could even go another step and use a meat thermometer and cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Step 7: (optional) Baste with extra lime, salt and oil. If you want, you can leave a small amount in the mixing bowl and apply midway through the cooking process. Because, WHY NOT.
Step 8: (optional) Once cooked, I always slice it very thin as soon as I get it off the grill. Just how my family likes it. And, I find that it gets eaten faster this way too.
Enjoy!
I have been fortunate to have this chicken when visiting and it is delicious!! Can’t wait to make it!
Awesome, let me know how it turns out!!