Smokey Tequila-Lime Marinade

Great marinade! I used minced garlic vs. garlic powder and used this for chicken kabobs. I let this marinate for 8 hours and skewered some red and green peppers, onion, and cherry tomatoes. I grilled this over charcoal and it came out great. I served this with "Lime Cilantro Rice" from this site.

I made this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It was very easy to make and was delicious. I also marinated overnight.

This is a great base marinade; for chicken wings, I did change it up a little bit. Into a large plastic bag, I minced 5 garlic cloves and a small fresh onion from the garden. Added 1 teaspoon of salt and fresh-cracked black pepper; no cayenne. Added 2 TEASPOONS of liquid smoke, juice from a large lime, 1/4 cup of Patron Tequila, 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, included the cilantro, and a tablespoon of honey. My dozen chicken wings were whole (with all three parts). Washed, dried & slashed interior to the bone so marinade could get into meat. Added them to the bag, massaging into the wings a few times over 6 hours in the frig. Then I skewered the wings so they were spread out along the metal skewer. Grilled over medium-high heat on a mesquite wood fire, turning now and then for a total of 15 minutes. The wings will tend to flame, due to the oil, so be ready to knock the fire down so skin won't burn. Basted them with the remaining marinade, but NOT the last 5 minutes, as the raw chicken was in that marinade after all. But that last 5 minutes, I sprinkled garlic and onion powder on them. My husband likes things to be hot, so I provided him with a little dish of cayenne and he dipped wings into that, took a bite of wing, then a bite of fresh raw onion. He said this recipe is a keeper! I do believe that high-quality fresh ingredients are the secret to making recipes their very best. Thanks to Dale for submitting this and all the reviewers for your input!

I wasn't going to be grilling my chicken, so I didn't use the liquid smoke, but other than that followed exactly; I marinaded the chicken overnight then used it to make jalapeno chicken. Awesome!

I didn't have any onion powder and used less garlic powder, cayenne pepper and no liquid smoke. I marinated the chicken breasts overnight and they turned out really well! We could taste all of the flavor components except the cilantro, which I'll probably leave out next time. And there will be a next time! Thanks!

All we could taste was the smoke. Next time I think I will add real garlic and real onion and leave the smoke out.

What a great marinade! I used a Mesquite flavored liquid smoke, and cut the lime down a little, as I'm not a huge fan. Also omitted the cilantro for the same reason. We used it for both beef and chicken for a fajita bar - then added a little cornstarch to make a sort of spicy gravy for those that wanted it. YUMMY!

I made this minus the liquid smoke as I did not have any and used fresh garlic vs. the powder. I used it on a pork tenderloin and it was very good. Thank you for the recipe!

I made this last night as a marinade for chicken wings. I took some of the reviewer's comments and used fresh onion and garlic instead of the powders. I also decreased the liquid smoke to 2tsp instead of 2T because I was afraid it would be too smoky and that we wouldn't like it. At first taste of the marinade alone, I didn't like it at all. All I could taste was the tequila. I was afraid to move forward with my dish, but I did anyway. I was pleasantly surprised while grilling them that they looked and smelled amazing. One bite and I was hooked! I will continue to make this and try it with other meats as well. I'm so glad I didn't go with my first impression of the marinade. The alcohol just needed to burn off and what's left is dang good! :-)

great marinade. great with bone in chicken especially. i've been adding some lime zest as well as the juice. easy to adjust the amount of heat with the cayenne.

I used this to marinade chicken breast for chicken tacos and they were delicious. I use real garlic instead of powder and used alittle bit more liquid smoke than what the recipe called for and will definitely be using this again.

This was very good. I would definitly make this agian. I love cilantro, so next time I am going to use a tad bit more of that.

Great grilling marinade! Used on chicken breast, marinated for about 6 hours. Love the mixture of the smoke with the tequila. Thank you!

We put shrimp AND chicken in this marinade for 24 hours, then grilled it for a fajita fiesta at our house. We received numerous compliments and definitely will be making again. Perfect summertime recipe!

We really liked this marinade. I skipped the liquid smoke and added a little bit of cumin. Like others, I used fresh garlic and about half of a small onion. I let the wings marinate about 8 hours then grilled them. Delicious!

I made this with london broil for fajitas and it was very good! The meat came out very tender. Maybe a little too much lime juice for our tastes so will go a little lighter next time. Thanks for sharing!

I made for a Cards tailgate as tacos. Served with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo and other salsas. Light and fresh tasting.Easy for tailgating.Big Hit!

My family absolutely LOVED this chicken, it did not even need to be in a taco!!

Loved it. Next time will try fresh minced garlic and onion in place of powder. Still excellent as written though.

I normally edit recipes that I find online with what I have around the house, or based on momentary whims, or brain cramps (did I put that in already? should I do it again?). Didn't change much on this one - easy peasy! This recipe is easy to do, straightforward, handy. Haven't really varied it much. The husband loves to grill and this was just the right recipe when we needed it.

This was good, but not quite the punch of flavor I was looking for. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

a nice marrinade. I didn't have enough cilantro and I missed that part, but the tequilla left a distinct little taste even after grilling.

My family loves this

Used red pepper flakes rather than black pepper and also added chunks of bell peppers and red onion to marinaded chicken. Yum yum. Cooked on cookie sheet under broiler for 11 minutes and it was perfect!

Tasty - went lightly on the liquid smoke.

This is a nice marinade!! I thought the liquid smoke would be over powering so I cut it back a tad, but I think the whole amount would have been just fine. Used this for chicken kabobs. Delicious!

My family absolutely LOVED this chicken, it did not even need to be in a taco!!

I tried this recipe as it is...I thought it was OK but didn't really taste like I wanted. It was way too smokey and light on the lime, tequila and cilantro. I increased the lime juice to around 1/3 to 1/2 cup lime juice, added a TSP of dijon mustard to form an emulsion and did not add salt at all. Hit it with garlic salt just before the grill. I left out the liquid smoke completely. Results of my changes were MUCH better IMO

I wasn't able to marinate the chicken for the full time suggested, but as it grilled I kept brushing more marinade over it. I served it with spicy guacamole smeared on top and everyone loved it!!!

This recipe is awesome as written * I think it's important to try the recipe how it was intended to be made before reviewing. I have used the marinated on chicken, then smoked it in the smoker for a large party. AMAZING. I have also used it 5+ times on flank steak, for burrito bowls and fajitas ! Love this one

This was FANTASTIC. Served it with a mango-avocado salsa (had another side dish in mind, but my kids' bedtime made more cooking...challenging). The salsa turned out to be a great pairing, along with a glass or two of chilled Riesling.

really good marinade. everyone loved the pork.