Grilled Lemon Chicken

With the clock ticking and the dinner hour approaching quickly, I pulled out a package of boneless chicken breasts to make grilled lemon chicken. Thankfully, the few simple ingredients called for were readily at hand in my pantry or refrigerator. As the grill pan heated up, I paused when I realized that the directions called for marinating the chicken for at least one hour. With apologies to Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat, authors of this easy recipe in the The Bite Me Balance Cookbook, I decided to skip that instruction.

Grilled Lemon Chicken

Light and fragrant with notes of citrus and the fresh scents of basil and oregano, the savory and succulent chicken breasts were ready to eat within minutes. I couldn’t help wondering if there was any advantage in marinating the poultry before cooking it. According to professional chef and food-writer Danilo Alfaro, “there are three commonly stated reasons for marinating chicken: to tenderize it, to add moisture, and so that the meat will absorb flavors. And in fact, marinating does none of those things.” Whether or not your chicken is tender depends totally on whether or not you overcook it and has nothing to do with how long you marinate it. When chicken white meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F. it will be moist and juicy. Cooked to a temperature that exceeds that, the meat will be dry, stringy and tough.

A marinade transfers aromatic herbs and spices to the surface of the chicken and that creates a burst of flavor when you bite into it. But that flavor enhancement is not a function of how long the chicken luxuriates in the marinade because the marinade does not penetrate the chicken. If you find yourself short on time in the busy weeks ahead, this grilled lemon chicken redefines the word fast food, in a good way.

Assemble your ingredients. In a large bowl, grate the rind of one lemon and microplane (grate finely) or mince 3 cloves of garlic. Add the thyme, oregano, basil, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and a dash of red pepper flakes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. 

Add the chicken to the marinade and stir to coat the chicken well.  Preheat a grill pan over high heat and spray it with cooking spray (I use cooking spray especially made for grilling.) Place the chicken breasts on the grill pan on a 45 degree angle. Once grill marks form, turn the chicken breasts 90 degrees. Continue to cook for 2-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. I use scaloppini-cut chicken breasts which are quite thin and cook quickly. Flip the chicken breasts and repeat. If using full-sized boneless chicken breasts, take the temperature of the chicken before removing it from the grill pan. A fully cooked chicken breast will measure 165 F. It probably took you longer to read this post than it will to make this chicken.

Print Recipe

Grilled Lemon Chicken

Meat, Chicken and Fish

By Julie Albert & Lisa Gnat, The Bite Me Balance Cookbook – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 6-12 minutes, depending on the size of the boneless chicken breasts – Total Time: 11-17 minutes

Savory and moist chicken breasts with notes of citrus, basil and oregano.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 3 garlic cloves, microplaned, crushed or minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 6 boneless chicken breasts (I used 12 scaloppini-cut boneless chicken breasts. They are smaller and thinner)

Instructions

1

In a large bowl, grate the rind of one lemon and microplane (grate finely) or mince 3 cloves of garlic. Add the thyme, oregano, basil, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and a dash of red pepper flakes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chicken to the marinade and stir to coat the chicken well. 

2

Preheat a grill pan over high heat and spray it with cooking spray (I use cooking spray especially made for grilling.) Place the chicken breasts on the grill pan on a 45 degree angle. Once grill marks form, turn the chicken breasts 90 degrees. Continue to cook for 2-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. I use scaloppini-cut chicken breasts which are quite thin and cook quickly. Flip the chicken breasts and repeat. If using full-sized boneless chicken breasts, take the temperature of the chicken before removing it from the grill pan. A fully cooked chicken breast will measure 165 F.

Notes

Leftover grilled chicken is a wonderful lunch served at room temperature the next day.