Grilled Chicken with Lemon, Capers, Garlic and Oregano

I love a good marinade and this is a good marinade. The trick is to put it together the night before and let it soak up the most flavor possible. I made grilled these up for dinner last night and the chicken was moist and lemony with great flavor from the capers. I had some pretty thick chicken breasts, so I doubled the marinade recipe and cut some shallow slits in the chicken to help the flavor soak through.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon, Capers, Garlic and Oregano

4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. garlic puree (or crushed fresh garlic)
1/2 T caper juice
2 T finely chopped capers
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Trim all fat and tendons from chicken breasts and trim underneath side if needed so chicken pieces are all the same thickness. I like to make small slits crosswise along each chicken breast to help the marinade penetrate.

Use a chef's knife to finely chop capers. Crush the oregano with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic puree, caper juice, chopped capers, and black pepper. (You could also put all the marinade ingredients in a blender and process them rather than chopping the capers and crushing the oregano.)

Lay chicken flat in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over. Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator 4-6 hours or overnight. The longer the marination, the more flavor.

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high. Grill chicken top side down first, rotating after 4-5 minutes if you're wanting those criss-cross grill marks. (Use a spray bottle of water if flames shoot up from the oil in the marinade when you first put chicken on the grill.) Cook until chicken is well browned on both sides and firm, but not hard to the touch, probably not over 15-20 minutes total cooking time. (Actual cooking time will vary depending on chicken temperature, how hot your grill is, and how thick the chicken pieces are, so remove it from the heat when the chicken feels firm when pressed with your finger.) Serve hot.

Comments

[Blobby]

Can you brown it on a stove top grill and then throw in the oven for 15 min?

[Bloghungry]

Blobby- Sure, I use a grill pan all the time and grill 1 or 2 at a time before finishing them in the oven to keep them warm and make sure they are cooked though.

You can also just broil them in the oven and get similar results to grilling:

Position the oven rack 8 inches from the flame/coil and turn broiler to high. Cook 12 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Juices must run clear.

[Blobbby]

Well, I did it - indoor grill, but you're right on the marinade and fire. Well - smoke in my case. Our vent is BAD so it filled up the kitchen quickly.

But it came out good and w/out having the overwhelming flavor of marinade that sometimes chicken takes on.

Thanks!

[Blobbby]

btw....I blogged about this around a week or so ago, and threw you all the credit....and had the post link back to your blog.