Sharlana Chenelle

Lean Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

If you are looking for a simple and tasty main dish for your next summer get together, but also are watching your figure, check out these super easy and lean chicken breast kabobs.

These juicy and delicious Hawaiian pineapple and chicken kabobs are the PERFECT dish for your next summer barbeque! This recipe is great because not only is it absolutely amazing, but it is lower in fat and calories due to swapping higher calorie ingredients with lower ones, so you can enjoy a tasty meal guilt free! You can also replace some of the low-calorie sweeteners with more natural sweeteners as well if the artificial sweeteners aren’t your thing (see notes). Either way they are sure to be a hit!

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The BEST Home-made Birria Tacos!

This classic Mexican dish is bursting with flavor!
Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes
Servings 16 Servings
Author Sharlana Johnson

Equipment

  • High Speed Blender
  • Bowl
  • small pot (for boiling water for dates)
  • 16 0z. mason jar

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs 5 lbs chuck pot roast (can also use goat or even oxtail, it will just be more fatty)
  • 2 lbs short ribs
  • 1 head garlic plus 8 cloves
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • 2 tsp Onion powder
  • 2 tsp Garlic powder
  • 2 tsp Adobo
  • 1- 2 tsp Chicken bouillon
  • 1-2 T Coconut aminos
  • 1-2 whole carrots (optional)
  • 1 T brown sugar (optional)
  • Salt to taste

For Adobo Sauce

  • 20-22 guajillo Chile pods
  • 3 Pasilla Chile pods
  • 5 Chile de árbol
  • 8 bay (leaves; divided )
  • 6-8 whole cloves
  • 1 inch Ginger
  • 1 small whole Cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp whole black pepper (peppercorn)
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 2 tsp whole cumin
  • 2 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 cup white or apple cider vinegar

For Assembling Tacos

  • 1-2 T Oil (preferably a neutral oil like canola)
  • Corn tortillas
  • Oaxaca Queso
  • 2-3 bunches cilantro (chopped)
  • 1 white onion (diced or chopped)

Instructions

  • 1- start by dry briningyour chuck roast. Generously salt each side and let sit for atleast an hour.
  • 2- lightly sauté a wholewhite Onion and two roma tomatoes and add to a large caldero (atleast 8 quarts)along with your brined chuck, ribs, 4 bay leaves. Chop the top  Of thehead of garlic and add to the pot.Step
  • 3- Add enough water to cover all of the top of the pot. Then add your garlic powder, onion powder, adobo, chicken bouillon, and coconut aminos to the water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about an hour and a half.
  • 4- Clean your guajillo pods, Pasillas pods, and Chile dè arbol chili's very well and remove the seeds. If you want your tacos to be a bit spicy you can opt to leave a little bit of seeds in but they are very hot. CAUTION!  Be careful not to touch your eyes or mouth when cleaning and Be aware that the chili's are very hot and if you are not used to it it might cause you to cough, so be careful.
  • 5 - Add guajillo and pasilla pods, along with the Chile dè arbol to a pot of water and bring to a boil.
  • 6- Toast your sesame seeds until lightly toasted and golden in color and add to a high-speed blender along with the boiled pods and chiles.
  • Step 7- Lightly toast your Mexican oregano, black peppercorns, thyme, whole cumin, remainder bay leaves and cinnamon stick (broken up) in a pan until fragrant and add to the blender with the other ingredients.
  • Step 8-  Add Some of thewater from the pot with your meat into the blender and remove the head ofgarlic and onion from the pot. ( You can also add half of the boiled onion if you want to add a bit more flavor but is is not needed). WARNING! Be VERY careful when blending hot liquids To make sure that too much pressure is not added in the blender and the blender explodes, you can even add a bit of ice to cool it down or wait a little bit until cooler.
  • 9- Blend all  Of the ingredients that you added to the blender along with the vinegar and knob of ginger to the blender and blend until smooth. Add to your simmering pot of meat and  Let simmer for another hour and a half to 2 hours.  You can add your carrots at this point or weight halfway through and then add them.
  • 10-  Towards the endof the cooking process taste to make sure it is season to your liking, Add saltif necessary or any other seasonings you feel is needed.
  • 11- Remove your meat from the pot and chop or shred And then add back into the pot into a bowl with some of the consumè.
  • 12-  Add a bit ofoil to a skillet and dip your tortillas in the consumè sauté on one side and then flip.
  • 13- spread your cheese all over the tortilla and add  You're threaded me to half of the tortilla. Add your chopped onion and cilantro on top of the meat and then fold the tortilla over to finish cooking on both sides.
  • Step 14- Plate your tacos,then take a small bowl and add some consumè from the pot into the bowl andgarnish with Chopped onion and cilantro.Step
  • 15- Enjoy!

Tools Needed

  • Outdoor Grill                            or

Ingredients for Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

  • Pasture-raised Chicken Breasts: You can use any chicken you like, but I highly suggest using pasture-raised chicken as it provides a much cleaner taste than factory farmed, plus it is a lot healthier too. If you cannot find pasture-raised then I would choose free-range as my next option, pasture-raised would be optimal as chickens that are pasture-raised are fed the most natural diet. You can also use chicken thighs instead, but I cannot vouch for this as I haven’t used thighs for this recipe.

  • Unsweetened KetchupChoose unsweetened ketchup for a lower calorie and leaner meal. You can also opt for regular ketchup (just leave out the extra honey unless you want everything to be a bit sweeter) or even homemade ketchup, which I prefer, but will stick to storebought unsweetened ketchup for the sake of simplicity for this recipe.

  • Coconut AminosYou can also use Tamari, although it is a little harder to find. Both offer a great alternative to soy sauce because both contain less sodium, are fermented and are gluten free. You can not taste coconut at all in the coconut aminos and tamari has a smoother and less vinegary taste. Both still taste a lot like soy sauce, just healthier.

  • Pineapple JuiceYou can substitute with water if you want to reduce the sugar and sweetness even more, but I recommend the pineapple juice as this will also help tenderize the meat. Freshly squeezed orange juice can also be used instead but If using I do recommend fresh oranges.

  • Olive OilGrapeseed oil can be substituted, or you can omit altogether if you just prefer not to consume oils although, this help to also tenderize the meat and helps everything adhere to the chicken and meld the flavors together.

  • Garlic:

    I always opt for freshly minced garlic, but I am aware, like my mother, some people prefer to use minced garlic in a jar or garlic paste. However, I cannot recommend it as I haven’t tried this, but I am sure substituting with either would be fine.

How To Make Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

  1. Place cleaned and cubed chicken breasts into a bowl and coat with all marinade ingredients.

  2. Mix very well and place not a zip lock bag

  3. Let marinate for about an hour in fridge. Do not marinade for more than a few hours so your chicken doesn’t become mushy when cooked due to the acids in the ingredients.

  4. ) Chop your veggies and lightly coat with half the oil and season with salt and pepper

  5. Cut pineapple into nice sized chunks if not pre-cut.
  6. Assemble skewers.
  7. Place on an outdoor or indoor smokeless grill on medium high heat. Cook evenly on each side, rotating and being sure to cook chicken thoroughly, and 25-30 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

Serve With a delicious summer salad and or a fruit salad or fruit kabobs to make an extra healthy meal and presentation.

Tips

  1. Soak wooden skewers if using an open flame to avoid skewers from burning.
  2. Do not over marinate chicken as this can change its texture.
  3. Be sure to cook chicken thoroughly Or finish in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit

 

Print

The BEST Home-made Birria Tacos!

This classic Mexican dish is bursting with flavor!
Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes
Servings 16 Servings
Author Sharlana Johnson

Equipment

  • High Speed Blender
  • Bowl
  • small pot (for boiling water for dates)
  • 16 0z. mason jar

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs 5 lbs chuck pot roast (can also use goat or even oxtail, it will just be more fatty)
  • 2 lbs short ribs
  • 1 head garlic plus 8 cloves
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • 2 tsp Onion powder
  • 2 tsp Garlic powder
  • 2 tsp Adobo
  • 1- 2 tsp Chicken bouillon
  • 1-2 T Coconut aminos
  • 1-2 whole carrots (optional)
  • 1 T brown sugar (optional)
  • Salt to taste

For Adobo Sauce

  • 20-22 guajillo Chile pods
  • 3 Pasilla Chile pods
  • 5 Chile de árbol
  • 8 bay (leaves; divided )
  • 6-8 whole cloves
  • 1 inch Ginger
  • 1 small whole Cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp whole black pepper (peppercorn)
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 2 tsp whole cumin
  • 2 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 cup white or apple cider vinegar

For Assembling Tacos

  • 1-2 T Oil (preferably a neutral oil like canola)
  • Corn tortillas
  • Oaxaca Queso
  • 2-3 bunches cilantro (chopped)
  • 1 white onion (diced or chopped)

Instructions

  • 1- start by dry briningyour chuck roast. Generously salt each side and let sit for atleast an hour.
  • 2- lightly sauté a wholewhite Onion and two roma tomatoes and add to a large caldero (atleast 8 quarts)along with your brined chuck, ribs, 4 bay leaves. Chop the top  Of thehead of garlic and add to the pot.Step
  • 3- Add enough water to cover all of the top of the pot. Then add your garlic powder, onion powder, adobo, chicken bouillon, and coconut aminos to the water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about an hour and a half.
  • 4- Clean your guajillo pods, Pasillas pods, and Chile dè arbol chili's very well and remove the seeds. If you want your tacos to be a bit spicy you can opt to leave a little bit of seeds in but they are very hot. CAUTION!  Be careful not to touch your eyes or mouth when cleaning and Be aware that the chili's are very hot and if you are not used to it it might cause you to cough, so be careful.
  • 5 - Add guajillo and pasilla pods, along with the Chile dè arbol to a pot of water and bring to a boil.
  • 6- Toast your sesame seeds until lightly toasted and golden in color and add to a high-speed blender along with the boiled pods and chiles.
  • Step 7- Lightly toast your Mexican oregano, black peppercorns, thyme, whole cumin, remainder bay leaves and cinnamon stick (broken up) in a pan until fragrant and add to the blender with the other ingredients.
  • Step 8-  Add Some of thewater from the pot with your meat into the blender and remove the head ofgarlic and onion from the pot. ( You can also add half of the boiled onion if you want to add a bit more flavor but is is not needed). WARNING! Be VERY careful when blending hot liquids To make sure that too much pressure is not added in the blender and the blender explodes, you can even add a bit of ice to cool it down or wait a little bit until cooler.
  • 9- Blend all  Of the ingredients that you added to the blender along with the vinegar and knob of ginger to the blender and blend until smooth. Add to your simmering pot of meat and  Let simmer for another hour and a half to 2 hours.  You can add your carrots at this point or weight halfway through and then add them.
  • 10-  Towards the endof the cooking process taste to make sure it is season to your liking, Add saltif necessary or any other seasonings you feel is needed.
  • 11- Remove your meat from the pot and chop or shred And then add back into the pot into a bowl with some of the consumè.
  • 12-  Add a bit ofoil to a skillet and dip your tortillas in the consumè sauté on one side and then flip.
  • 13- spread your cheese all over the tortilla and add  You're threaded me to half of the tortilla. Add your chopped onion and cilantro on top of the meat and then fold the tortilla over to finish cooking on both sides.
  • Step 14- Plate your tacos,then take a small bowl and add some consumè from the pot into the bowl andgarnish with Chopped onion and cilantro.Step
  • 15- Enjoy!

Enjoy your delicious Hawaiian Chicken kabobs!

Step by step with pictures

Step 1 &2

Clean your chicken breasts with cold water, limes and vinegar. Chop into about 1-inch cubes and place into a clean glass bowl and add all ingredients except peppers, pineapple, onion, half of the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Mix well.

Step 3&4

mix very well and place into a zip lock bag to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

Step 5&6

Chop all peppers, and onion into about 1-inch cubes and season with the remainder olive oil and salt and pepper. Cube pineapple into 1-inch slices if chopping yourself.

Step 7&8

Begin placing your ingredients onto the skewer. You can Use any order, but I did…red pepper; green pepper; red onion, pineapple; chicken. Place onto an outdoor or indoor grill on medium high heat and rotate every 10 minutes or so making sure each chicken breast piece is cooked thoroughly.

Step 9

Enjoy! 

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Disclosure:  There are some affiliate links above and I may receive a small commission for purchases made through links in this post at no extra cost to you, I will only suggest products I highly recommend. I will never put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.

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