Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken

Chicken is a great meat for grilling.  Chicken is a blank canvas just waiting for you to add a few ingredients to make it pop. This recipe is one of those simple yet extraordinary dishes.  It takes 10 minutes to prep, 1-4 hours to marinate and 16-25 minutes to grill.  Then there is the flavor.  The lemon, garlic and rosemary make this simple dish pop with little to no sodium. This is a great dish.

Lemon Garlic Chicken – (Adapted from Bon Appetit)

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8 sprigs of rosemary, coarsely chopped
• 1 lemon zested and then juiced
• 8-10 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated black pepper
• pinch salt, optional

The key to getting great flavor in a marinade is to layer the flavors.  To do this you need to cover all or most of the taste buds.  A major player in that is fresh garlic.  You can buy garlic powder but it doesn’t give the same bite as real garlic.

In a gallon zip top bag add the chicken, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon  juice, rosemary, garlic, pepper, smoked paprika and salt (optional).

Allow the mixture to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.  Any longer and the acid will start to toughen the chicken.

Preheat your grill to medium/high heat along with a zone set up for indirect cooking.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and gently wipe off the rosemary sprigs before grilling.  You may not get them all, but try to get as many as possible.  They will start to burn during cooking and that is not good at all.

Place the chicken directly over the heat and cook for 6-8 minutes.  When the chicken freely releases from the grates, flip and continue cooking for 6-8 minutes.  When the other side freely releases move the chicken to an indirect cooking part of the grill.  Close the lid and continue to cook until the chicken reaches 165 degree Fahrenheit.  By moving the chicken to the indirect portion of the grill you will end up with juicier chicken that is not dried out.

Remove the chicken from the grill and let rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Serve with you favorite sides and enjoy!