Nancy E. McIntyre, Ph.D.

Ancho-glazed BBQ chicken (adapted from Savor the Southwest)

Ingredients for the marinade:

7 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded

½ c white vinegar

2 c water

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 c minced onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

2.5 tsp salt

Make the marinade:

  1. In a large saucepan over med-hi heat, toast the anchos until soft and fragrant, turning often, 2-3 minutes. Add the vinegar and 1 cup of the water. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Transfer chiles and liquid to a blender and puree until a smooth paste forms.
  2. Heat the oil in a saucepan (I just use the same one from step 1) over med-hi heat; sauté the onion until golden brown, 8-10 min. Stir in the garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt; cook for another minute. Stir to make sure the garlic does not burn. Add the chile paste from step 1 and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. (It will spatter a lot! A spatter screen will help.) Add the remaining cup of water, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove half of this sauce and place into a zip-top bag; this will be the marinade for the chicken. The sauce remaining in the pan will be used in the next step.

Ingredients for the ancho glaze:

Sauce in pan from step 3

2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed

¼ cup orange juice concentrate

3 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp tomato paste

Make the ancho glaze:

  1. Add the brown sugar, OJ concentrate, lemon juice, and tomato paste to the remaining sauce in the pan from step 3. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes.

Ingredients for the BBQ chicken:

6-8 chicken pieces (preferably skinless but bone-in; I use thighs because they are a nice portion size and don’t dry out like breast meat does)

Marinade from step 3

  1. Place the chicken into the zip-top bag with the marinade. Let marinate at least 2 hours or overnight.
  2. Preheat a broiler pan on low. Place the chicken pieces onto the broiler pan under the broiler; sear for about 1 min per side.
  3. After searing, brush each piece with the glaze
  4. Turn off the broiler and preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the chicken for another 15-20 min or until the juices run clear, turning frequently and brushing with additional glaze. Serve immediately.