Greek chicken

I modified this lemony, garlicky, herby chicken recipe from allrecipes.com for an easy dinner for 30 and was tickled by the raves it received. Definitely a keeper.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (about two lemons)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
• 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 1 whole chicken in pieces)
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

1. Rinse and dry chicken. If using boneless breasts, flatten each breast to even thickness. One at a time, place chicken breast smooth side up between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap on a large cutting board. Using small heavy skillet or saucepan, firmly hit center of meat 2-3 times to flatten it to even thickness.
2. Season pieces all over with salt and pepper. Place in large ziploc bag.
3. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs. Pour into ziploc bag and squeeze out air before sealing. Massage chicken in bag to distribute marinade throughout. Refrigerate until ready to cook (overnight is great if you have time).
4. Chicken breasts cook quickly (about 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness) on grill or stovetop. If you’re concerned about when it’s done, poke gently at the underside of the breast (the not-smooth side) and look closely at the juice. If it’s pink, let the chicken cook on low for a minute more on the less-cooked side. Don’t overcook it – the heat will continue to make its way to the center even after you remove it from the pan.
5. Let it rest, loosely covered, for a few minutes for the meat to reabsorb its juices.

Notes

• For a large batch, broiling the chicken the oven is convenient. Just watch carefully and flip when browned.
• Bone-in chicken will take longer on grill, up to 15 minutes per side for large pieces. If baking bone-in chicken, sear on stovetop and finish in 350 degree F oven.

Here’s a link back to the post and pictures.