Grilled Lemon Chicken – Recipe!

Grilling season is in full swing and I created this simple, but delicious recipe for Grilled Lemon Chicken that you can make during the summer and still have time for fun.  Grilling chicken is sometimes tricky because it is easy to burn, while leaving the center raw.  To make it easy — use the indirect heat method.

The indirect heat method, means leaving 1/3 of your grill with no heat, so you can move the chicken to an area on the grill to prevent burning.  I usually let the chicken sear on the outside for a few minutes, then move it over to the indirect heat portion of the grill to continue cooking for the remainder of time. You can always put the chicken back over direct heat, if you feel it is not cooked enough.

Ingredients

6-8  bone-in half chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic

1 preserved lemon or the juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2/3 cup olive oil

3 sprigs fresh tarragon

salt

pepper

(Serves 4-6)

To Prepare:

1.  Mince the garlic cloves and preserved lemon and place them in a large casserole dish along with the olive oil.

2.  Then, add the Dijon mustard and whisk the mixture together.

3.  Wash the fresh tarragon and remove the leaves from the stems.  Rough chop the tarragon leaves and add them to the olive oil mixture along with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.  Whisk the mixture to combine.

4.  Remove the chicken from any packaging and cut the half breasts in half, so you have 12-14 pieces of chicken.  Salt and pepper the chicken, then add the chicken to the marinade and turn the pieces to coat evenly.  Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

5.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.  Preheat a gas grill to medium-high or a charcoal grill, leaving 1/3 of the grill with no heat.  Place the chicken on the grill to cook for 12 to 15 minutes a side, moving it to the indirect heat as necessary to prevent burning and to finish cooking. You can add any fresh vegetables to cook along with the chicken and I love sweet corn in the summertime.  Enjoy!