Italian Grilled Chicken Recipe

Posted by Michael Vyskocil Aug 20, 2008

Here's a simple grilled chicken main dish that's versatile enough for a weekday or weekend dinner. If you have leftovers, you can reheat the pieces of chicken and serve them over salad greens.

ITALIAN GRILLED CHICKEN

MAKES 4 MAIN-DISH SERVINGS

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 small bunches fresh thyme (about 1/2 cup of thyme leaves)

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 whole cloves garlic

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sugar

4 whole boneless and skinless chicken breasts

Combine the lemon juice, thyme leaves, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth. Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. This marinade will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to one week.

Pour 1 cup of the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate the remaining 1/2 cup for brushing on the chicken while grilling. Place the chicken breasts inside the bag; seal and turn the bag up and down to coat the chicken breasts with the marinade. Allow the chicken to marinate in the plastic bag in the refrigerator for about 4-12 hours.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill; arrange the coals for direct cooking. Lightly coat the rack with nonstick cooking spray. The coals should be hot.

When ready to grill, remove the chicken from the marinating bag; discard the bag. Grill on one side of the breast over direct heat for 15-20 minutes. Brush the chicken breasts with the remaining 1/2 cup of the olive-oil mixture. Turn the chicken breasts over; grill for about 10 minutes longer or until the inside of the breasts are no longer pink. Serve immediately.