Friday, March 17, 2017

Grilled Greek Chicken – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Erin go what? On the surface, this may seem like an inappropriate St. Patrick’s Day recipe post, but I’ve always considered this holiday one of the official signs of spring, and since that means it’s grilling season, then maybe this is appropriate after all? Yes, I went a long way for that.

As I mentioned in the video, the secret to this simple chicken is a very powerful marinade. This is one of those rare recipes where, when in doubt, we add a little more. Above and beyond that, the only way to ruin this would be to singe the skin/marinade with too high, direct heat.

We really want to sort of roast these pieces on the grill. So, don’t build a huge fire, and wait for it to turn ashy, before using semi-indirect heat to slowly cook the meat through. This way we get a tender inside, as well as and a gorgeous, caramelized exterior.

This is so flavorful that you really don’t need a sauce, but some fresh lemon is nice, as is a spicy yogurt. Just squeeze a little lemon into some nice thick, Greek yogurt, spike it with hot sauce, and you have a perfect condiment. And speaking of St. Patrick’s Day, this stuff pairs wonderfully with beer. I really hope you give this grilled Greek chicken recipe a try soon. Enjoy!


For enough marinade for 6 chicken thigh/leg sections:
6 to 8 cloves garlic, totally crushed or very finely minced
2 tablespoons dried oregano and/or marjoram
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 generous teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
1/4 olive oil
about 1 tablespoon kosher salt to season chicken

40 comments:

Miles said...

This looks great!

Sadly, I don't have access to a charcoal or gas grill in my tiny SF apartment.

Is there a prescribed temperature and time for doing this in the oven or broiler?

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Love it! The chicken looks beautiful. I can't wait to try the spicy yogurt. Thank youCJ.

Unknown said...

This looks absolutely amazing. Could you use a oven instead if it's still a little cold to start grilling?

Michelle Lynn said...

Hi Chef John,

What are the ingredients for the spicy yogurt?

I absolutely love this recipe btw.

Thanks!

Josh said...

I'm going to make this as a side dish to my beer, lol. Seriously though, it looks delicious! Nice job.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Looks absolutely delicious! Do you think you could try making a yummy vegan recipe? :)

Ji said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ji said...

Aw, no spicy yogurt recipe?

Unknown said...

where is the yogurt sauce recipe?

Unknown said...

where is the yogurt sauce recipe?

Azi said...

I assume it's 1/4 cup olive oil?

Unknown said...

Hi Chef!
Interesting recipe, will definitely give it a try (I love using bags to marinade, but that's just me), however I would like to make a: "Food Wish". Could you do a recipe of how to de-bone and stuff chicken thighs? There are plenty of others on YouTube, but I'd love to see your take on it sometime.
Cheers!

Unknown said...

I don't have a grill and I live in a major city. Is there a way to make this on your stove or in an oven and not on the grill?

Unknown said...

I saw this recipe last night and it looked so good so I just had to have it. So...i just made it and it was very good! I made it in the oven because the weateher is too bad for the BBQ. About an hour on 190C, then 15 minutes on 220C to crustify even more. The meat fell off the bone, just by drooling at it and the skin was nice and crisp.
I though the vinegar was a bit too much acidity but that's just me.

Thanks Chef! looking forward to the next great idea

Chef John said...

Dear people asking how to make the yogurt sauce... Unfortunately, you're actually going to have to read the blog post this time! ;)

arwiv said...

lol....people really dont listen too well sometimes.

Ben said...

I'd like to humbly suggest simultaneously upping the authenticity and flavor of the marinade by adding sumac and replacing the white vinegar with red wine vinegar.

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John! Thanks so much for the recipe - looks delicious! Was wondering what you'd recommend if someone were to bake it in the oven, or maybe pan sear it? (cook time and temp) - unfortunately no grill is available currently. Thank you!

Stacy said...

For me, this is an appropriate St. Patrick’s Day recipe post, because I am Greek and Irish.

Greenman Archery said...

I've made this twice in the last few days. First on the grill and then in the oven due to weather and time.
Both were wonderful but the grill was hands down the best. The dipping sauce is an absolutely perfect and necessary accompaniment.

Thank you very much for letting this recipe out, it's a real winner.

Now, a vegetarian version of this... easy, just dip bread in the marinade!

Spuddy said...

1/4 olive oil? 1/4 of what?

Janet Pressley-Barr said...

Greetings Chef John ! I notice that many recipes using a marinade say something like, "Marinate 4 to 8 hours or even overnight !" ... but who could possibly be getting up in the morning to start grilling or roasting their marinated dinner ? Overnight and 24 hours are obviously two different things. I know I have seen other recipes that refer to "overnight" in this same odd way but I can't think of any of them at the moment.
Anyway, I digress from the real intent of this note, which is to say that your videos and blog are just excellent. I have enjoyed making several of your recipes which turned out great and I use them with my son for homeschool. He is in 8th grade, which of course means his brain has turned off while his body shoots up, but he also loves your videos and has made several of your recipes. For a person who did not open an online cooking school, you really are teaching millions of people to cook ... and that's amazing.

Redcaddy said...

Love, love, love this. I have a suggestion for those of you who. like me, have an issue with twisting a pepper grinder a million times to get a teaspoon of pepper. I take a tablespoon or so of peppercorns and grind them in my spice grinder. I put the ground pepper in a small air tight container. It'll stay "fresh" for days! Good for several days of "freshly ground black pepper" without hours of twisting!

Danger said...

Another great one. I've made the Greek Chicken a potatoes a bunch so I loved this one too.

Chef, could you do a video on blackening? My dad used to make blackened scallops with some rub and some sherry, I think it was sherry, but I can't find a good blackening recipe on the web. Would love to see a technique video featuring it!

Unknown said...

Spicy yogurt recipe just squeeze a little lemon into some nice thick, Greek yogurt, spike it with hot sauce, and you have a perfect condiment. - from Chef John's Blog regarding his Grilled Greek Chicken recipe

John Lee said...

Wow I love the texture of the Grilled Chicken.Chicken and Chicken has zinc which helps to maintain a healthy appetite. I will try to cook this recipe for my cousins weeding. Thank you for the idea. :)

SAP Philippines

Alex in Shanghai said...

This stole the show at my neighbor's BBQ last night. I only had time to marinate it 3 hours, and still had super big flavors. Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe, Chef John!

Jeff said...

Very few posts from CJ. I see lots of people asking how to do this in the oven. This Foodwishes recipe has become a staple in our home. http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2015/04/greek-lemon-chicken-and-potatoes-both.html Check it out. This is how you do it in the oven -- with the added surprise of amazing potatoes.

...would have to make a standalone version of the potatoes with the current recipe. Gotta have those!!!!

ROS said...

I know this is supposed to be all about the bird, its deliciosity and superiority over the fowl fowl of mere mortals, but I made the recipe as dictated and just felt like something was lacking. Sure, it was succulent and flavorful, moist and meaty enough to satisfy even a velociraptor, but it was incomplete.


And then it hit me: The fork at 6:15- I had no triton-like cutlery with which to savage my supper. Please, Chef John, could you tell me where I might find such noble and fitting flatware? I feel I must obtain such fine culinary accoutrements to accompany my meal. I would be forever grateful.

Unknown said...

Oh my... this is so mouth-watering. I'll grab your recipe and let my family try it, they're gonna love it for sure. By the way, when cleaning grills, there is still some things to consider like the brush you're using. You can check this out if you want to be safe.

Unknown said...

Great recipe. I actually really appreciate this amazing recipe. I will make it for my family. Thanks!

Unknown said...

I've made this recipe twice, and I'm currently making it after I leave this comment...LOVE IT!! Thanks for sharing!


Unknown said...

I've made this recipe twice, and I'm currently making it after I leave this comment...LOVE IT!! Thanks for sharing!


Osa said...

Stumbled on this recipe at around 4pm in the afternoon. After realizing I had everything in the fridge/pantry (ingredients are pretty common items), I used it on some frozen bone-in chicken thighs. Simply put the marinade in a ziploc bag with the chicken, and stuck it in my sous vide for 1 hour and 5 minutes. Then I stuck it on the grill for about 20 minutes to get the charred crust. The flavor was amazing. Penetrated through the chicken. Will definitely add to my go-to list of recipes.

Juice said...

I made this recipe and it was fantastic! My husband requested that I definitely add it to the roster. Done.

GBsVsSheepsies said...

This is my grilled chicken recipe. Years ago we'd had to move to Kauai from our home on Oahu for 18 months, re a job my husband had to run there. On the beach in a small "plantation style" house, w/a tin roof that made that charming little house go crazy hot by 1pm daily! I mean hot! So; grilling. Not having grilled much prior, I just chose lemon juice, olive oil, tons of fresh mashed garlic, and thyme and oregano both and yes, even the red pepper flakes. We ate this alll the time, so easy but so tender and savory. I've seldom made it since, but seeing this has caused me to thaw some very good chicken breasts and tomorrow - in the pouring rains of the Pac NW, I'm grilling this chicken again. I'd always figured it was very Greek tasting. ;-) Thanks for the reminder. Nummm. I can't wait now. It's a fantastic summertime get together recipe. Everyone loves it.
So glad you're still doing this. I like your style.

Unknown said...

Yummo...
This is something I really gotta try..
Thanks for the recipe.

LAWELL said...

Excellent recipe... I only marinated for 2 hours and it was still fantastic. I served it with those vegetables and they were perfect with it. I also made Greek rice and potatoes. Everything was gone at the end, the family chomped all of it up!

Unknown said...

Finger licking good recipe. Currently have a batch marinating. It will be the 2nd time. First time instead of grilling i baked it at 400 for 50 minutes. Wanted to add that when i made it for the first time i failed to marinade for a lenghty time. Only about 30 minutes