Guest Blog Written By: Denise from The Mutts Kitchen
Chicken is one of those meats that really need some love when it comes to cooking it. No one likes rubber chicken, trust me, no one! It’s actually pretty simple on how to avoid that from happening. It’s all in 2 key steps 1) the marinade and 2) cooking method. Now, chicken can be grilled, baked, roasted, fried, seared and so forth. For today’s sake, we are sticking to grilling since the recipe below is grilled (trust me you are going to thank me for this).
Marinating your chicken gets it nice and tender and infuses your chicken with flavor. The longer you let it marinade for, the better it tastes. If you are pressed for time, use a dry rub instead of a liquid marinade, the juices won’t have time to soak in if you are in a rush. A good tip is to use mayo, dijon or olive oil if you are using a dry rub, it adds a bit of moisture as you grill it (and makes it yummy). Okay now back to marinades; you should let your chicken sit in the marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes, again longer is better (note that!)
Now cooking it, I cringe when I see someone cut into a nice chicken breast to see if it’s cooked. Right there you just lost all the juices and there you have it folks, rubber chicken! Grill your chicken on each side, lock in those flavors, don’t flip every 30 seconds, let each side grill for at least 5-7 minutes on each side. Once you’ve done that then you are free to go flip happy for all I care, just be patient until you get those nice grill marks. Here’s another tip…use your top rack! After you have grilled each side, place them on your top rack for a few minutes, close the lid and let the heat finish the cooking process. This avoids you burning your chicken and you are using indirect heat so it remains nice and juicy.
And please, for the love of food… DON”T cut your chicken to see if it’s done, use a food thermometer if you can’t tell, trust me your taste buds will thank you!
HONEY LEMON GRILLED CHICKEN
Recipe by: Denise
Serving: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 (not including marinating time)
Total time: 30 Min
Ingredients:
4-6 Skinless, boneless butterfly chicken breast,
1 ½ tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/8 cup honey
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp, parsley finely chopped (can be substituted for Cilantro or thyme)
1 garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped ( can be substituted with 1tsp garlic powder)
1/8 tsp black pepper
¼ tsp hot pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper) *optional
Directions:
1. You can buy chicken breast that has already been already butterfly cut. If not you can do it easily at home. Here’s a link on how to butterfly cut your chicken breast. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/cooking-tips/butterfly-chicken-breast#last-slide
2. In a small bowl whisk together all other ingredients.
3. Place prepared chicken in a zip lock bag or airtight container and add marinade. Mix well, making sure each breast is evenly coated.
4. Let chicken marinade over night for best results, otherwise let it sit for a min of 30min.
5. Preheat and lightly grease your grill (375-450 degrees F)
6. Add chicken breast and grill on each side for 6-7 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165F.
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