Chicken Thighs with Mango Jalapeño Salsa

Chicken Thighs with Mango Jalapeño Salsa

Chicken thighs get a little kick from jalapeños in a sweet-hot mango salsa. Temper the jalapeños by roasting them first, if desired, but either way, the salsa is the perfect accompaniment to the ginger, garlic and lime marinated chicken.

This was the very first time I've ever had mango salsa and I fell head-over-heels in love with it! I now make it often to have with different dishes like pork or grilled flank steak. It's delicious no matter how you serve it. The kids like it with traditional corn tortillas.

Not all of my children are fans of chicken thighs (and the man doesn't like chicken at all!) so substituting with another cut is just fine. Make sure to cook the chicken according to the cut and all will be well.

Chicken Thighs with Mango Jalapeño Salsa

Printable Recipe 
Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 9 hours and 15 minutes including marinating time
Yield: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

Thighs and marinade:

3 pounds chicken thighs - about 12 small, 8 medium or 6 large
one inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 large cloves garlic - minced
Zest and juice of one lime
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Salsa:

1 large *ripe mango - diced, about 2 cups
2 large or 4 small **roasted jalapeños - chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 lime - juiced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Trim excess fat from thighs and set aside.
2. Combine garlic, ginger, lime juice, zest and salt and stir into a paste.
3. Rub thighs with paste, making sure to rub some under the skin.
4. Put into a plastic zippered bag and seal well, removing air. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
6. Arrange thighs on a rack over a baking pan and bake for 60 minutes.
7. While thighs are cooking, make the salsa.
8. Toss all salsa ingredients together and refrigerate until thighs are cooked.
9. Remove thighs from oven (check with a thermometer that they are at 170 degrees internally) and serve with salsa.

*Use a Tablespoon of honey in the salsa if your mangoes are not very ripe or sweet.

**Roasting jalapeños : Roast jalapeños  under the broiler until blackened. Turn several times during cooking so each side is done well. Remove from broiler and wrap immediately in plastic. Let stand 15 minutes and the skin will easily slip off the peppers. Remove seeds and chop.