Normally, by this time of year, Eric has relegated the grill to the shed and will only grill dinner under extreme external pressure. Like his wife adamantly insisting. Or being without power for 9 days due to 28 inches of wet snow bringing down trees & electrical lines & causing massive power outages. The wife insisting is an occasional occurrence. That snow storm was the 4th disastrous weather phenomena that welcomed us back the year we relocated to Connecticut, but the only storm of the four extreme enough to take out the power. But it’s not the wife or the weather forcing Eric to the grill.
This year’s late fall weather has been unusual. It’s seemed more like early fall weather with temperatures into the 50s during the day & barely out of the 40s overnight. And no snow yet! At all! Well, maybe there were 5 minutes of snow flurries about 2 months ago, but that hardly counts. Although it is dark by dinner time, Eric is still willing to grill meals out on the deck in this unseasonably warm weather. He has to wear his LL Bean headlamp to see what he’s doing, but at least he doesn’t freeze while the meat is cooking! This grilling recipe is our thankful tribute to the lovely weather we’ve been enjoying.
Grilled Lemon Chicken
Lemon Grilled Chicken (adapted from Bobby Flay’s Butterflied Chicken with Thyme, Lemon and Garlic recipe) Makes 4-6 servings
Total Time: 3 hours Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic, about 3-4 large cloves, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves, divided
- zest & juice of 1 lemon, divided
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 (3-pound) whole chicken, butterflied
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Zest the lemon then set it aside. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of garlic with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt to make a paste. Whisk the oil into the paste along with 2 tablespoons of the thyme, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest, the lemon juice, the chopped onion, and the red pepper flakes.
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade.
Put the butterflied chicken into a large Ziploc bag then add the marinade, coating the chicken. Refrigerate the chicken and allow it to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
Place the chicken & the marinade into a Ziploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for 2-8 hours.
Preheat the grill to medium. Remove the chicken from the marinade and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on the grill, skin side down and slowly grill it until the fat renders and the skin becomes golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over, close the cover and continue grilling until it is just cooked through, about 20 minutes longer. Remove the chicken from the grill, loosely tent it with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Mix together the remaining garlic, thyme and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and sprinkle it over the cut chicken to serve.
The lemon chicken goes well with Brussels sprouts & stuffing!
It’s so nice to still be grillin’ in December! ~Linda
Lemon Grilled Chicken (adapted from Bobby Flay’s Butterflied Chicken with Thyme, Lemon and Garlic recipe) Makes 4-6 servings
Total Time: 3 hours Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic, about 3-4 large cloves, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves, divided
- zest & juice of 1 lemon, divided
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 (3-pound) whole chicken, butterflied
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Zest the lemon then set the zest aside. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of garlic with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt to make a paste. Whisk the oil into the paste along with 2 tablespoons of the thyme, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest, the lemon juice, the chopped onion, and the red pepper flakes. Put the butterflied chicken into a large Ziploc bag then add the marinade, coating the chicken. Refrigerate the chicken and allow it to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
Preheat the grill to medium. Remove the chicken from the marinade and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on the grill, skin side down and slowly grill it until the fat renders and the skin becomes golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over, close the cover and continue grilling until it is just cooked through, about 20 minutes longer. Remove the chicken from the grill, loosely tent it with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
Mix together the remaining garlic, thyme and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and sprinkle it over the cut chicken to serve.