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Greek Grilled Chicken
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Greek Grilled Chicken

Olive oil, lemons, garlic, oregano, paprika and Greek yogurt create a delicious, tenderizing marinade for grilled chicken thighs.
Course Main Course, Poultry
Cuisine Greek-inspired
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt if you don’t have Greek)
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon, about 3 tablespoons (see Kitchen Notes)
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika (not smoked)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 to 5 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (see Kitchen Note)

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients except chicken in a medium bowl and whisk to completely combine.
  • Trim chicken thighs of excess fat and place in a zippered plastic bag. Pour marinade over chicken, seal bag and work with your hands to make sure all chicken pieces are thoroughly coated.
  • Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 4 hours, turning bag once or twice to make sure everything marinates evenly.
  • Remove chicken from fridge when you light your charcoals to allow it to come to roomish temperature. Arrange coals for indirect grilling.
  • When grill is good and hot, remove chicken from the marinade, shaking off excess. Discard leftover marinade. Oil the grill rack and place thighs skin side down. Close the lid immediately—flareups are a given. You might also partially close vents on the grill for a bit to reduce oxygen and smother the flames.
  • Cook chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, then turn skin side up. Again, close the lid to discourage flareups. Cook for another 4 minutes or so, then use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature—you want the chicken at least 160ºF in its thickest part.
  • As pieces get done, move them away from the coals to keep them warm, but not overcook them (all grills seem to have hot and less hot spots, and chicken pieces vary in size, all meaning not everything will be done at the same time).
  • When chicken is done, transfer to a platter and let it rest for about 5 minutes, then serve.

Kitchen Notes

Lemons? Lemon juice? Fresh lemons are awesome. But increasingly, we’ve been keeping bottled lemon juice and lime juice on hand. It keeps longer and is easy to measure and use. The one thing you don’t get is the zest. And yes, we do occasionally get fresh lemons and limes, but this is an excellent “all of everything” workaround.
Chicken parts. Our usual go-to for chicken parts is bone-in, skin-on thighs—meaty, juicy, full of flavor. But use what you like or have on hand—chicken breasts, a whole cut-up chicken.