Skip to main content

Greek-Style Grilled Chicken With Garlic and Lemon

A whole chicken gets the Greek treatment with a simple marinade of olive oil and lemon along with plenty of garlic and oregano. Is the key to the juiciest meat and crispest skin? Butterflying the chicken and cooking it low and slow before finishing with a sear to crisp up the skin.

Greek-Style Grilled Chicken With Garlic and Lemon
Greek-Style Grilled Chicken With Garlic and Lemon

A lemon and oregano vinaigrette gives flavor before and after grilling. Butterflying the chicken before grilling allows you to cook both the breasts and the legs evenly while maximizing crispy skin. Starting the chicken low and slow over indirect heat and finishing over the hotter side of the grill gives you the juiciest results.

The key to perfectly grilled chicken is to start by butterflying the bird, which ensures that the legs cook slightly faster than the more delicate breasts so that the white meat stays at a nice juicy 150°F even as the dark meat cooks to a full 165 to 170°F. And of course, butterflying also puts all of the skin on top of the bird, giving it a better chance to render excess fat and crisp up.
 

Ingredients

  • 3 whole lemons
  • 5 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons; 20g)
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 whole chicken, 3 1/2 to 4 pounds (1.6 to 1.8kg)


Directions

  1. Grate 2 teaspoons zest from 1 lemon into a large bowl using a lemon zester or Microplane grater. Split that lemon and 1 more lemon in half and squeeze 3 tablespoons juice into bowl. Add garlic and oregano. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in olive oil to form an emulsified vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and place chicken, breast side down, on a large cutting board. Using sharp kitchen shears, remove backbone by cutting along either side of it. Turn chicken over and lay out flat. Press firmly on breast to flatten chicken. For added stability, run a metal or wooden skewer horizontally through chicken, entering through one thigh, going through both breast halves, and exiting through the other thigh. Tuck wing tips behind back. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Using your hands, rub half of vinaigrette evenly all over surface of chicken, working it into every nook and cranny.
  4. Light 1 chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.
  5. Place chicken, skin side up, on cooler side of grill with legs facing toward hotter side. Cover grill with vents on lid open and aligned over chicken. Open bottom vents of grill if using a charcoal grill. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 120°F (49°C), about 30 to 45 minutes.
  6. Carefully flip chicken and place on hotter side of grill, skin side down, with breasts pointed toward cooler side. If using a gas grill, reduce heat to medium-low. Press down firmly with a wide, stiff spatula to ensure good contact between bird and grill grates. Cover and cook until skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 145 to 150°F (63 to 66°C), about 10 minutes longer. If chicken threatens to burn before temperature is achieved, carefully slide to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until done. Do not leave the lid off for longer than it takes to check temperature.
  7. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, split remaining lemon in half and place on hotter side of grill, cut side down. Grill until well browned, about 5 minutes. Carve chicken, drizzle with remaining vinaigrette, and serve immediately with grilled lemon halves.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Springtime Asparagus and Peanut Chicken Fried Rice

Craving takeout? you'll be able to have this healthy deep-fried rice with chicken and asparagus on the dining table in half-hour, regarding identical quantity of your time you’d watch for delivery. This instruction swaps fiber-rich rice for polished rice, that helps keep you full and keeps blood glucose steady. Springtime Asparagus and Peanut Chicken Fried Rice Ingredient Variations and Substitutions If you’re sometimes not an exponent of the heavier flavor of rice, you'll be shocked to seek out you wish it during this dish. The nutty flavor of rice is brought out by a fast fry in oil. However, if you’re still not oversubscribed, you may attempt a mixture of white and rice or build this with polished rice. Think of this fast and straightforward instruction as a templet for creating grain and vegetable stir fries. Look on the far side rice and check out completely different whole grains. Quinoa is full of macromolecule and has identical downlike texture. Millet ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Avocado Corn Sаlаd

Avocado Corn Sаlаd  Thіѕ Avосаdо Cоrn Salad іѕ a bright аnd fееl good ѕаlаd thаt’ѕ loaded with grilled соrn, сrеаmу avocado, cherry tоmаtоеѕ and the dressing gives it аmаzіng frеѕh flаvоr. Thіѕ іѕ a сrоwd рlеаѕіng frеѕh соrn ѕаlаd that аlwауѕ dissapears fаѕt! Pеrfесt fоr summer раrtіеѕ аnd BBQ’ѕ! I hаvе to wаrn you though – thе vіdео bеlоw mау elicit mаjоr cravings. Ingrеdіеntѕ  1 lb сhеrrу tоmаtоеѕ hаlvеd оr quartered  3 еаrѕ оf corn cooked, shucked аnd сut off thе соb  2 avocados рееlеd, pitted аnd ѕlісеd  1/2 rеd onion (mеdіum) thіnlу sliced  1/4 сuр сіlаntrо сhорреd (1/2 ѕmаll bunсh)  2 Tbsp еxtrа virgin оlіvе oil  2 tо 3 Tbѕр lіmе juісе frоm 1 to 2 limes  2 garlic сlоvеѕ pressed оr fіnеlу minced  1 tѕр ѕеа ѕаlt or 3/4 tѕр tаblе salt  1/8 tѕр blасk рерреr  Inѕtruсtіоnѕ  In a lаrgе ѕаlаd bоwl, соmbіnе sliced tomatoes, соrn kеrnеlѕ, sliced аvосаdо, thіnlу sliced rеd оnіоn, 1/4 сuр chopped c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chicken and Vegetable Soup Recipe

This is a basic chicken soup formula. you'll add heaps additional vegetables—whatever you have got within the refrigerator—though it is often nice to incorporate one thing orange (like carrots) in addition as a number of cut  leafy greens. This chicken soup formula is very versatile as way as herbs and spices go, too—it is delicious with a touch spicy undertone (thus the salsa). you'll add additional condiment and a few cilantro to form it into a kind of Mexican flapjack soup (minus the tortillas, however). Chicken and Vegetable Soup Recipe This soup (or any meat-based soup) is best created with do-it-yourself or purchased stock (also known as bone broth), though you'll definitely use prepackaged broth or a base like higher than broth (which this formula suggests exploitation in conjunction with the stock). stock is formed with the bones of the chicken, and infrequently some vegetables, that square measure then strained out when boiling. many of us, together with sev...
Post a Comment
Read more