Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Grilled Chicken with Lemon, Garlic, and Oregano

A simple crowd pleaser (although I let mine sit in the oven too long and I think it dried it out).

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
12 whole chicken legs (7 lb)
8 chicken breast halves with skin and bones (8 lb)
5 lemons, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices

Make it:
Whisk together lemon juice, oregano, garlic, 1/2 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and add oil in a slow stream, whisking.

Discard excess fat from chicken and season with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper.

To cook chicken using a gas grill:
Preheat all burners on high, then adjust heat to moderately high. Turn off 1 burner and arrange chicken legs on lightly oiled rack above it. Cook, covered with lid, turning legs once, until cooked through, about 40 minutes total. Transfer legs to bowl with lemon dressing and turn to coat, then transfer to a serving platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil, while cooking breasts.

Cook chicken breasts on rack above unlit burner, covered with lid, turning once, until just cooked through (the meat next to the tender, when opened slightly, will be moist but no longer pink), about 30 minutes total. Transfer breasts to bowl with lemon dressing and turn to coat, then transfer to platter with legs.

Grill lemon slices on rack over flames, uncovered, until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes on each side, and transfer to platter with chicken.

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