Refreshing summertime chicken. Lemon and chicken pair very well together, and my love of garlic knows no bounds. Put them together and you have a light and refreshing chicken with the taste of Q.
This recipe calls for a marinade, and we all know that I’m highly against them and very skeptical of marinades simply because I don’t like the stigma around them. However, this marinade has merit… Lemons.
Lemon juice, specifically the citric acid, acts as an excellent tenderizer because the acid does acid things and breaks down the protein structure (ie. the meat). Leave a piece of meat in lemon juice for too long and you will be left with something you’d need a spoon to eat.
Chemistry is cool, no matter what the cool kids tell you.
We are going to go the long way with this one. Most restaurant’s chicken, especially for chicken salads, is always dry or over spiced. Here is how you can make your own for significantly cheaper, and significantly tastier.
On with the cook!
First thing we are going to do is trim the chicken of any flappy pieces or bits of stuff. We want a clean looking chicken breast.
Next we are going to throw all of the ingredients in a heavy duty gallon bag; Chicken, lemon juice, pepper, minced garlic, chopped parsley, and olive oil. Mush/stir it all around to mix it up and coat it all over.
Put in your fridge for 24 hrs. Phew, is this a tough recipe or what? Who knew good food could be so simple.
Now, you may be asking, “But Tucker, where is the salt?”. Good question. You can dry brine the chicken before hand and add a few hours to the resting time of this recipe, or you can add some kosher salt at the time of cook.
Remember, salt is not soluble in oil. So the salt would sit in your marinade, suspended in the oil, doing nothing to penetrate and work it’s lovely magic on the meat. But you already knew that, because you read the Q’ Basics.
Now, throw those delicious boobies on the grill or smoker, cook to 160 degrees F internal with a good reliable thermometer, and let rest for 5 min before slicing/presentation.
If you are doing this on the grill, I do recommend a smoking tube of some kind to impart a bit of fruitwod into the cook. It is excellent!
Let me know what you think or if you think you have discovered an awesome improvement to this. I’m always trying to learn and improve.
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken breast (Boneless, skinless)
- ¼ cup Olive oil
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice (From bottle or squeezed)
- ⅓ cup Parsley Chopped
- 1 whole Lemon Sliced
- ½ tsp Ground Pepper
- 5 cloves Garlic Minced
Instructions
Marinate for 24 hrs
- Trim chicken breasts as required.
- Mix all the ingredients in a gallon bag. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Cook on the Grill
- Heat up your grill to high direct heat.
- Place chicken breasts directly on the grate. Depending on how thick, 5-8 mins per side. Do not move them, do not peek until time is up… you want the grill marks, right?
- Continue cooking until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F.
Cook on the Smoker
- Heat smoker, to 375 degrees, indirect heat.
- Place chicken breasts directly on the grate. Cook until internal temperature is 160 degrees F.
