A Hearty & Zesty Marinade adds tons of tang and pungency to Chicken!
Coat chicken with this zesty marinade for 2 hours – a flavor-bomb!
Boneless chicken breast marinades for 2 hours to penetrate the lemony-herbal essence into the meat. I like to use chicken tenderloins too!
Steps for this RECIPE:
- Make the Lemon- Oregano Marinade
- Marinade the Chicken for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Remove marinade to a small skillet
- Grill Chicken – Cool; slice into 1/2″ pieces on the diagonal
- Heat the marinade for 2 minutes – This is your Sauce OR Dressing.
- Add chicken to rice – top with lemony-oregano “sauce.”
- OR Cool and add chicken to my fennel salad and top with the lemony-oregano “dressing.”
Ingredients for the Marinade:
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest (see this handy tool)
- Fresh Oregano Leaves
- Yellow Mustard Seeds
- Minced Garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (a fruity one)
- A dash of Chili Flakes (optional)
Marinades: What they are and how to use them:
A savory acidic sauce in which a food is soaked to enrich its flavor or to tenderize it. Marinades consists of a cooking oil, an acid (vinegar, lemon juice, wine), and spices. As the food stands in the mixture, the acid and the oil impart the savory flavors of the spices to the food. The acid also has a tenderizing action.
In This Amazing, Flavorful Salad – I toss the Veggies with the Marinated & Grilled Sliced Chicken… the simmered extra marinade becomes the dressing for the salad – kinda cool, right?
Enjoy,
Karen
A great Citrus/Lemon Zester!
I use mine often for oranges and limes too!
Karen's Lemon-Oregano Marinade ~ with Perfect Grilled Chicken
A Hearty & Zesty Marinade adds tons of tang and pungency to Chicken! Coat chicken with this zesty marinade for 2 hours - a flavor-bomb!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon rind, from one large lemon (see note)
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 pinches chili flakes
Instructions
The Marinade:
- Add the olive oil to a small 8" pan. Add mustard seeds and raise heat to slow simmer. When you hear a "popping noise" and oil is bubbly - in about 1 1/2 minutes - that's the mustard seeds... stir up and remove from heat. Let cool 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic and lemon rind off heat, stir well. Let stand 2 minutes (not too hot), add the oregano leaves, salt & pepper, lemon juice and chili flakes. Stir all together.
How to Use the Marinade:
- Add the cooled marinade to 1 pound of boneless chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins. Do so in a glass container with a good lid - cover tightly and shake to distribute the marinade. (some like to use a plastic ziplock bag.)Place in the refrigerator for TWO HOURS - not more.
To Grill the Chicken:
- Remove the marinade from the chicken to a small skillet with a rubber spatula. (This will be a sauce for the chicken - or a dressing for a salad with the chicken.) Bring to a boil and simmer a minute or two, fights away any bacteria.
- Clean your grates, oil them and grill the chicken over LOW-MEDIUM heat... not higher. When strong grill marks are on the first side, turn over with tongs and cook second side until lightly golden, internal temperature - 165 degrees.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and pour ALL of the reserved simmered marinade over (now your sauce, or cooled dressing ), let cool. Then cut 1/2 " pieces on the diagonal and serve. Can serve the chicken over rice, or in my Fennel Salad and Perfect Grilled Chicken... delicious!
Notes
I use a citrus/lemon zester - to get long strands of lemon zest from a lemon.
This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
or dressing
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 1gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gSodium: 294mgPotassium: 63mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 68IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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