Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com
Lemon-Garlic Grilled Chicken Breasts
This smoky beauty of a recipe, with its juicy swirl of lemon and olive oil, its fragrant charred garlic and parsley, is mouthwatering in the primal way of fried drumsticks and saucy wings. The leanness of chicken breasts, compared to the richness of thighs, gives the marinated meat a crystalline brightness. The way the meat is flattened here is the key to deliciousness: Often, breasts are butterflied by slicing them in half, which still leaves you with a thick slab of uniform meat striations that get boring after the second bite. Here, the breasts end up flatter. They won’t end up like heart-shaped cutlets or even symmetrical like Rorschach splotches, but that’s why they’ll be as irresistible as steak. Their fibers are now not only shortened, but because they run in different directions, each bite will offer some variety in chew.
Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com
- Yield:
- 4 servings
- Prep:
- 0 hr 5 min
- Cook:
- 0 hr 40 min
- Total:
- 0 hr 45 min
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large lemon, plus wedges for serving
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 cups leaves and tender stems of parsley, cilantro, basil, mint or a combination, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing grill
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Start by flattening the chicken breasts: Place a breast smooth side down on a cutting board, with the thick end at the top and the pointy end at the bottom. Cut a deep slit — without cutting all the way through the meat — down the center of its length. Pry open the slit, turn the knife blade to the left, parallel to the board, and slice perpendicular to the initial cut without cutting all the way through the meat. Repeat on the right side to end up with two flaps that open out from the center like window shutters to form a broader, flatter piece of meat. Use your palm to smack the lumpy parts flat, but don’t pound so hard that you tear the meat. Repeat with the remaining breasts.
- Make the marinade: Use a fine grater to zest the lemon directly over a large bowl or airtight container, then run the garlic cloves over the grater. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon, then stir in the herbs, oil, salt and pepper.
- Marinate the chicken: Add the flattened chicken and turn and rub it evenly with the marinade. Let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes if grilling right away or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. If chilled, take it out of the fridge right before heating the grill.
- Prepare the grill: Heat an outdoor grill to the higher side of medium-high. When it’s ready, you should be able to hold your hand 5 inches above the grate for 3 to 5 seconds. If the grill grates aren’t already clean, use a grill brush to remove anything stuck to them. Oil a wadded up paper towel, grip it with tongs and rub it over the grate. (See Tip for indoor cooking.)
- Set the chicken and any marinade clinging to it on the oiled grate, spreading each piece in a single, even layer. Cook, covered if using a gas grill, until the bottom is deeply browned and releases easily from the grate, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip each piece and cook until a paring knife inserted in the center reveals meat that’s just opaque throughout but still juicy, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving with lemon wedges for squeezing. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.