Rosemary Lemon Grilled Chicken

Continuing on the theme of my favorite summertime cooking method - grilling(!!), here's another tasty recipe. This is one my favorite, quick and easy, weeknight meals.  It literally takes about 6 minutes to put together and the payoff is it tastes like it took all day to prepare.  It's reminiscent of the chicken you might find in a really fabulous Chicken Gyro, but better.  In my opinion.  And of course I'm biased.  But my husband agrees and that's good enough for me.  So on to the deliciousness!

 

Rosemary Lemon Grilled Chicken

Prep time 6-8 minutes, Marinate time 20 minutes to overnight.

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, trimmed

1 c. Olive Oil

2-3 Lemons, for zesting & juicing

2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary (1 Tbsp. dried)

2 tsp. dried Oregano

2 tsp. Salt

4-5 Cloves Garlic, finely minced

Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp. Honey

1.  This is a 'chop and drop' kind of recipe, and can be made all in one cup.  The less dishes the better!  Pour Olive Oil into a measuring cup. 

2.  Zest two entire lemons into cup.  Cut and juice your lemons. Tip: Roll your lemons on the counter with some pressure.  This breaks up the pulp and makes juicing them easier.  If your lemons are a little past their prime and dry, you can microwave a whole lemon for 5-10 seconds to get the juices flowing again.  (I like lemon zest.  I use it a lot and always have fresh lemons on hand.  If you don't have fresh lemons, you can very easily skip the zest and use lemon juice from a bottle, about 1/4 c.)

3.  Add your chopped garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.  Then pull your rosemary from its stem, chop it as finely as possible and add to the mix.  

 

4.  Give it a good mix and taste it.  This is your chance to adjust the taste to your liking.  It should taste strong, and kind of sour, but we'll fix that sourness later.  

 

 

 

5.  Trim your chicken if you need to, add it to a gallon size zip-top bag, and add half the marinade. Reserve the other half of the marinade, adding the honey and refrigerate. The honey cuts the sour taste and helps develop really nice caramelizationwhen you grill it.  You can marinate the chicken anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight, but I wouldn't let it go for more than 18 hours. 

 

 

6.  Now you're ready to grill!  Preheat your grill on medium heat.  Remove chicken from the bag to the grill.  Grill on both sides for approx. 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.  Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°. No thermometer?  Pierce the thickest part of breast, when juices run clear, it's done.

 

8.  Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.  I grilled some fresh ears of corn from the farmer's market on the top rack of my grill while I was grilling the chicken.  I rolled it in melted butter and salt and peppered it.  

 

Now serve it and feel like a rock star when when everyone tells you how delicious it is!  It's the perfect summertime meal!

xoxo Kristen