Lemon Lime Grilled Chicken

Have you jumped on the flavored seltzer water bandwagon yet?  We have jumped on and ridden that wagon all the way to the farm.  (Is that a saying?) 🤷🏻‍♀️ I find myself loading up my grocery cart with cases of fruity flavored sparkling waters at the supermarket, every time I go.  They're my newest addiction but they're basically guilt free.  Zero calories, no caffeine, no sugar and no artificial sweeteners and for a girl who doesn't enjoy plain water - they're pretty much a nectar sent from heaven.  I actually consume a lot more water throughout the day since I discovered fruit flavored seltzer water.  

I don't want you to think that I'm "anti-soda."  Did you know that you can pour Sprite over fresh apple slices to keep them from turning brown? 🍎 Soda is great for recipes like Grilled Flank Steak or the emergency rum and coke.  🍸 Believe it or not, it's also perfect as a marinade for grilled chicken.  

If you know me at all, you know that I'm a girl who's obsessed with grilled chicken.  I think I could eat grilled chicken every single day and never get tired of it.  I am so excited to be adding a new sweet and sour recipe to my grilled chicken repertoire that I could just burst.  

Lemon Lime Grilled Chicken
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup soy sauce
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup lemon lime soda
3 pounds bone in, skin on chicken breasts
​1 Tablespoon lime juice

Process vinegar, ketchup, soy, sugar, garlic, bay, peppercorns and salt in blender.

Pour into a bowl and add soda.  Reserve 1/4 cup sauce.

Cut 2-3 slashes in chicken breasts.  Add to marinade and refrigerate 1-2 hours.

Place chicken on a hot grill and cook 20 minutes. 

Pour reserveved marinade into saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer 20 minutes.    

Brush chicken with remaining basting sauce.  Brown.  Flip.  Stir in lime juice and brush over chicken.   Cook to 160.

Remove chicken from grill and let rest.

Serve chicken with remaining sauce. 

I'm a stickler when it comes to preventing cross contamination among raw meats.  I preach safe practices to my family when they prepare raw meat and chicken.  I wash all surfaces that raw meat has been in contact with before I reuse it for cooked meat.  I also discard marinades that I've used to soak raw food.  Reserving marinade to add to the chicken at the end of the cooking is always a good habit to get into.  Trust me - your stomach with thank me. 

​Ciao!

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