Green Chicken

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 25 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

My chef sister, Fiona, is my go-to source for hands-on cooking advice and one of my biggest culinary heroes and influences. But even more important? Fiona came up with an umami-packed, Thai-inspired chicken recipe that immediately became a family favorite.

Ingredients

1 medium sweet onion, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves and stems
1 1/4 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fish sauce, like Red Boat
3 peeled garlic cloves
Finely grated zest of 1 medium lime
Plenty ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
2 tablespoons apple juice (or 1 teaspoon maple syrup if you’re not on a Whole30)
Kosher salt
3 pounds chicken drumsticks or thighs
Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

Make the marinade by combining the onion, cilantro, basil, mint, fish sauce, garlic, lime zest, black pepper, Aleppo pepper, and apple juice in a blender. Purée until smooth.
Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Since I use this as a marinade, I'm more heavy-handed with the salt than I normally would be if it was a sauce.
Place the chicken in a gallon-sized zip-top bag and pour the marinade over it. Seal and marinate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day in the refrigerator.
The next day, take the chicken out of the fridge 1 hour before you're ready to grill it. (See Recipe Notes for oven-baked method.) Set a gas grill to high and after placing the chicken on the grates, immediately decrease the temperature to low.
Grill the chicken for approximately 25 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F) turning every 5 to 7 minutes. But be patient: Don't go and flip the bird (legs, that is) before they naturally release from the grill surface — otherwise, you'll leave a lot of tasty, crispy, marinated skin stuck on the grates!
Serve the drumsticks with lime wedges.