Peruvian Chicken Drumsticks with Spicy Green Sauce
Shake things up on gameday, spice up your next barbecue with friends or make family dinner something to remember. These charred Peruvian inspired drumsticks are perfect on their own but absolutely explode with flavour when coated with the spicy, creamy green sauce.Move over ranch, dill, and blue cheese… we have a new sauce in town, and it is freaking delicious! So good that we double the recipe, then serve it with fresh vegetable and/or plain chips!
Ingredients
- 12 to 16 chicken drumsticks
Chicken Marinade
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice freshly squeezed
- 4 large garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tablespoon crushed hot chili peppers in oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 teaspoons honey
Green Sauce
- 2 jalapeños charred, skin removed, then roughly chopped (seeds optional)
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ avocado chopped
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Garnish, optional
- lime zest
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
Prepare the Marinade
- Add all the chicken marinade ingredients into a food processor, then blend until smooth.
- Pat the drumsticks dry with paper towels, then place in a resealable bag (or bowl). Pour over the marinade and toss to ensure the chicken is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours.
Prepare the Green Sauce
- While the chicken marinates, prepare the Green Sauce. Combine all the green sauce ingredients (except for the olive oil) in a food processor and blend until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the motor still running, then transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Grill the Chicken
- Preheat the grill on medium heat (approximately 400F).
- Remove the drumsticks from the marinade and place on the top rack of the preheated grill, close the lid and cook for 20 minutes (I use the top rack to limit flare-ups. If a top rack is not available, turn off a burner to create an indirect cooking zone and place the drumsticks in that area).
- When the 20 minutes have elapsed, flip the drumsticks (exchanging the positions of the drumsticks with one another for more even cooking). Close the lid and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Move the drumsticks to the lower rack, directly above the heat source burner and cook over medium heat until the chicken has a nice char and is cooked through. Approximately 15 minutes, flipping every 3-4 minutes. The internal temperature should be at least 165F.
Garnish and Serve
- Remove the drumsticks to a platter and serve with the green sauce. Garnish with chopped cilantro and lime zest, optional.
- To experience the whole flavour of this dish, dip the chicken in the green sauce or spoon it over the chicken and enjoy.
Video
Notes
Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Creamy Green Sauce
- 1 x 3 ½ to 4-pound chicken
- Fingerling potatoes, onions and roasting vegetables of your choice
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!