The weather is still very inconsistent, but that’s not stopping us from firing up the grill. After many months of deliberation, my husband just recently purchased a new charcoal grill, and decided to go with a tried-and-true Weber Kettle. There was a moment when he was considering a gas grill because lighting a charcoal grill and maintaining a live fire has its own set of challenges, but nothing beats the flavor of cooking over a charcoal fire.
Chicken was on the menu last weekend, and we chose to highlight fresh and bright Greek flavors for our meal. You can’t go wrong with lemon, fresh herbs and garlic! In addition to the chicken, we cut up peppers, zucchini and red onions and grilled them as well. Instead of just grilling one thing, we try and make the most of out the burning charcoal and grill as many of the meal elements as we can in a session.
If you’re new to using a charcoal grill, here are some pointers for getting your grill lit:
- Purchase lump charcoal or briquettes. Natural lump charcoal tends to burn hotter and faster, which is great for quick cooking items. It also imparts a more intense natural wood flavor. Briquettes burn longer, which is great for bigger pieces of meat that need more cook time. It’s also more affordable than lump charcoal. Just be sure to buy the briquettes that don’t have any additives because this can affect the flavor.
- Skip the lighter fluid! Instead use a charcoal chimney to fire up your charcoal. Make sure the chimney you purchase has small holes up the sides to help with air flow.
- Bunch up several pieces of newspaper (or tear off pieces of the charcoal bag) and place them in the small section at the bottom of the chimney. Fill the chimney with your charcoal of choice and light the paper. The charcoal at the bottom of the chimney will catch first and gradually spread to the coals on top. Be patient as this process can take 20 to 30 minutes. And, be sure to put your chimney in a safe, heatproof spot while the coals are lighting; we remove the grilling rack and set ours right in the grill.
- Once all of the coals are a glowing orange, carefully pour the charcoal into your grill. We typically pour the coals on one side of the grill to create a dual temperature zone, which gives us flexibility when grilling. Be sure you have a safe, heatproof place to set your very hot chimney once emptied. If you’re interested in using woodchips, you can find the details in my Mouth-Watering BBQ Chicken blog.
- Place the rack back in the grill and allow the grates to heat up for about 10 minutes. Now you’re ready to grill!
Even before we lit the charcoal, I started marinating the chicken. I purchased leg and thigh quarters for this recipe, because the dark meat has the most amount of flavor in my opinion. I made a marinade of garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. I placed the chicken in a sealable bag, poured in the marinade and massaged it around to evenly coat the chicken. I let the chicken marinate for around 2 hours prior to grilling.
Once the charcoal was ready to go, I placed the chicken on the cooler side of the grill in order to first grill the veggies over direct heat. In order to capture the delicious smokiness of the charcoal and allow those flavors to permeate the food, I placed the cover on the grill but made sure the vent holes were all the way open in order to keep the fire burning. This gave the chicken time to pick up some serious flavor.
After the veggies came off the grill, I moved the chicken over to the hot side of the grill and covered the grill. I cooked it on each side until golden brown and crisp, which was about 10 minutes per side. If your chicken is getting too dark over direct heat but still needs more time to cook, just move it over to the cooler side and cover the grill. Once the chicken reached 165°, it was time to bring it inside so it could rest and finish cooking.
While the chicken was resting, I prepared one of my favorite sauces of all time to accompany the grilled meat, which is tzatziki sauce (with a little crumbled feta cheese added in as a personal touch). It’s cool, bright, super tangy and compliments the smoky flavor of grilled meats so perfectly. To make this sauce, I stirred together plain, Greek-style yogurt (I use 0% Fage), grated cucumber, dill, lemon juice, crumbled feta and granulated garlic (I’m super sensitive to raw garlic so the granulated garlic is a great option for me). Season with salt and pepper and that’s it!
In addition to the grilled chicken, feta tzatziki and grilled vegetables, we had a simple orzo-tomato salad and warm pita bread on the side. The only bummer is there’s no leftover chicken because we scarfed it all down!
Grilled Greek Chicken with Tzatziki Sauce
Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Inactive time: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
For the chicken:
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 chicken leg-thigh quarters
For the sauce:
1 cup plain, Greek-style yogurt
1/4 seedless cucumber, coarsely grated
1 tablespoon fresh dill, rough chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 clove garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
Lemon juice to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
- In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, oregano, rosemary, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the chicken in a baking dish or in a large sealable bag, and pour in the marinade. Evenly distribute the marinate. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to 2 hours.
- Prepare a charcoal grill with a two-zone fire with the coals on just one side one side of the grill.
- Place the chicken, skin side up, on the cooler side of the grill and close the lid making sure the air vents are open for airflow.
- Cook the chicken for 15 minutes to make it smoky.
- Move the chicken to the hot side of the grill and cook, skin side down and covered, until golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Flip and repeat.
- Continue to cook the chicken until the internal temperature reads 165° on a meat thermometer. If the chicken is getting too dark on the hot side and still needs more time to cook, place it on the cooler side of the grill.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- While the chicken is resting, prepare the sauce. In a medium-size bowl, mix together all of the tzatziki sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Cut the rested chicken to separate the legs from the thighs, transfer to a platter and serve with the sauce.
With grilling season right around the corner, now is the time to think about dusting off your gas or charcoal grill and learn new recipes and techniques you can apply all grilling season. Our grilling classes are held outdoors on our beautiful patio, and we teach you how to grill on gas and charcoal grills.
Don’t miss our first Italian Surf and Turf grilling class on Friday, May 30 at 6pm. And if you’re ready for a more in-depth grilling experience, join us for Grilling Boot Camp on:
