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5-Ingredient Lemon-Rosemary Grilled Chicken Breasts

5-Ingredient Lemon-Rosemary Grilled Chicken Breasts
Grace Parisi / TODAY
Servings:
4
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(82)

Chef notes

Crispy chicken skin is so delicious, but it's not easy to find boneless breasts with skin in the supermarket. You're more likely to find boneless, skinless chicken breasts or bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Most butchers will debone a breast for you, but it's easy enough to do yourself and you get to keep the bones for making stock in the future.

Note: If you decide to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead, using a meat pounder, gently pound the chicken breasts so they are about 1/2-inch thick all around.

ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 2.25 hours or overnight

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breast halves on the bone with skin, 10 to 12 ounces each, , or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/2-inch thick
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, plus 2 sprigs
  • 1 lemon, zested and cut in half
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1.

Prepare the chicken breasts:

Debone the skin-on chicken breasts: Using a sharp knife, make a small incision near the wing joint. Leaving the skin intact, slip your finger into the incision, close to the bone. Working your finger back and forth, separate the meat from the bone as best you can. Use the knife to fully separate the meat. (Reserve the bones in the freezer for stock.) Using a meat pounder, gently pound the chicken breasts so they are about 1/2-inch thick all around.

For boneless chicken breasts: Using a meat pounder, gently pound the chicken breasts so they are about 1/2-inch thick all around.

2.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the chickens, add the rosemary sprigs and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

3.

Light a grill and oil the grates. Grill the chicken, lemon halves, and rosemary sprigs over high heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and firm to the touch, about 10 to 12 minutes. Squeeze the grilled lemon halves over the chicken and serve.

Grace Parisi is a New York City-based food writer, cookbook author and food stylist. Her book, Get Saucy, was nominated for a James Beard award. Her latest book, Quick Pickles comes out in Fall 2016. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.