- I'm sharing today four tips
for perfectly marinated grilled chicken
that you need this summer.
It comes out so tender and juicy
and beaming with vibrant flavor.
First, I'm Yumna, aka Feel Good Foodie.
I share wholesome, nutritious recipes
that make your body feel good.
Today, I'm sharing with you
how I make my grilled lemon chicken.
The marinade is super simple to make,
but the success of the recipe
really comes down to mindful timing,
a handy thermometer, and a little bit of patience.
It's a basic versatile recipe to make for your family,
your guests, or just yourself for a nice nutritious meal.
You'll need boneless, skinless chicken breast,
1/4 of a cup of lemon juice,
and 1/4 of a cup of olive oil.
And then we've got some lemon zest, four garlic cloves,
oregano, salt, and pepper.
So we're gonna start with a paper towel
and making sure that that chicken is nice and dry.
Just press it.
And what I did here was I tried cutting them
into six equal six-ounce sizes.
But we're also gonna pound the chicken,
just to make sure that they're nice and even in thickness.
We've got our plastic wrap,
and we're going to place it over the chicken.
And just pound it out until they're a nice, even thickness.
You can use anything.
You can use a mallet if you have.
I don't have such things,
so I just use a little baby frying pan.
So just go ahead and take it and just pound them
until they're nice, even thickness.
And the plastic wrap really helps
to just shield any chicken juices
from flying all over the place.
It's a really good way to take out your frustration
(chuckles)
on some chicken.
It's harmless and it feels really good.
So, and it makes the chicken much more juicy
and everything cooks evenly,
so double bonus there.
And now we're ready to marinate the chicken.
We'll start with 1/4 of a cup of the olive oil.
And you can use another oil if you want.
I do think, though, that the olive oil
gives it excellent flavor,
so I do prefer to use that.
Equal parts lemon juice.
It is called grilled lemon chicken,
so the lemon juice might be
a little bit much for some people,
but I think it really stands out in this recipe.
And when you grill it,
it really exaggerates that lemon flavor.
Now we'll add the garlic, lemon zest.
Again, exaggerating that lemon flavor.
Some salt, pepper.
And then, really, you can use any other seasoning you want.
I like to use oregano.
I think it combines super well with the lemons.
Now just give it all a good toss.
You've got to toss it until it feels good (chuckles).
And now we come to tip number one,
you have to marinate the chicken.
I recommend marinating it for 30 minutes.
Those lemon juices really get in there,
the flavor really gets absorbed,
and the taste is just so much better.
Because we're using lemon juice,
I wouldn't recommend doing it for more than two hours,
because that lemon juice
is really gonna break down the chicken
too much at that point
and make it tough.
We're gonna go ahead and put this in the fridge
for 20 to 30 minutes.
And while we do that,
it's a great time to cook some sides,
make a salad that you want to throw with it,
whatever it is you're gonna serve the chicken with.
And you can see it's kind of changed color a little bit
because the acidity from the lemon juice
has kind of broken down the chicken protein
and kind of cooked it a little bit, as well.
So we're gonna take this and plop it onto a grill pan.
And you can also grill it outside.
You can ad a little bit of that marinade
on top of the chicken.
And whatever's leftover, though, be sure to toss it.
And now it's time for tip number two.
Once you put the chicken on the grill,
don't touch it for like five to seven minutes.
What that's gonna do is that it's gonna give it
a nice sear all the way down.
And it's also just gonna give you pretty grill marks.
And if you want, you could press down on it with a spatula
so that it's nice and even.
All right, let's give them a flip.
And now it's time for tip number three,
which comes down to having a handy thermometer.
This is super cheap to have,
but it can really save your chicken
so that you don't overcook it,
because a lot of people just end up overcooking chicken,
just to make sure that it's well-done.
So this is...
It still works, we're good.
So now what we want to do is make sure
that the chicken is reading 160 degrees.
What's gonna happen, too, is, once it's done cooking,
it's going to continue to cook on its own.
So it'll come up to that 165 temperature.
But I like cooking it up to 160.
All right, it's reading at 160,
so that means the chicken is ready.
So now what we're gonna do is we're going to plate it.
But you want to make sure not to serve it immediately
and don't cut into it immediately
for at least five to 10 minutes.
And that, my friends, is tip number four,
which is letting the chicken rest.
What's gonna happen is
all those juices are really going to form
to the center of the chicken,
and it's just gonna make it more juicy and more tender.
And here is the final grilled lemon chicken.
You can also squeeze a little bit of extra lemon on top
just to accentuate that lemon flavor,
give it a nice freshness.
And I also love to add a bunch of fresh herbs,
like parsley, on top.
And now you can serve it with a salad.
You can serve it on top of rice, with pasta,
or just on its own, however you like to have it.
I'm gonna serve it with a kale salad.
And let's cut into it.
It looks so juicy, so tender.
Taste test.
Mm, so good.
You can really taste all that lemon flavor in there.
The garlic gives it a wonderful flavor,
and so does the oregano.
I hope you guys try the recipe and like it, as well.
Thank you so much for watching.
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for a full written recipe.
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See you guys next time.