Middle Eastern Herb and Garlic Chicken

Theophan

This is another of Melissa Clark's recipes, and I made it tonight and my wife and I both LOVED it -- really good!  I over-charred some of the chicken pieces (temp got away from me pre-heating, and I was too impatient in getting it to cool down, so the fire was a bit too hot), but my wife actually loves it that way, and it was still just delicious.

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds)

6 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane or minced

Juice and zest of 2 lemons

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, more for serving

2 tablespoons minced fresh mint

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or marjoram

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, more for garnish (optional)

¾ teaspoon sumac, more for garnish (optional)

⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt, preferably whole milk yogurt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Combine chicken with all but 1 teaspoon of the grated garlic (save that teaspoon for the yogurt sauce), the zest and juice of 1 lemon, oil, parsley, mint, thyme, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the sesame seeds and sumac, if using. Cover and marinate for 15 to 30 minutes at room temperature; you can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.
2. Heat grill or broiler. If grilling, cook chicken over high heat until charred in spots, 4 to 7 minutes. Flip pieces and continue grilling until just cooked through, another 4 to 7 minutes. If broiling, arrange a rack 3 to 4 inches from flame. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spread chicken out in a single layer. Broil chicken, turning halfway through cooking, until well colored and charred in spots, 4 to 7 minutes per side. Be careful that it doesn’t burn.
3. While chicken cooks, place yogurt in a small bowl. Stir in the reserved grated garlic and lemon zest and season to taste with salt. Serve the chicken drizzled with olive oil, remaining lemon juice to taste, black pepper, parsley and sesame seeds and sumac, if using, with the yogurt alongside for dipping.

I forgot about the yogurt sauce, so I can't say whether it was good or not.  It sounds like it would be great, but the chicken was wonderful without it.  I'm sorry I only have a couple of pictures, and they're not very appetizing, really, but no kidding, it was really good.

Hans61

Looks delicious! Great cook! 

Theophan

Hans61 said:

Looks delicious! Great cook! 

Many thanks!

I'm sorry this post didn't draw more attention, maybe because of my lousy photos, because this was some of the best chicken I've ever had.  My wife and I both loved it, and we'll be having it again and again.

bhedges1987

Looks pretty great to me. Nicely done 

SmokingPiney

That looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

smokeyw

It looks fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!

Theophan

Delighted you all saw it -- it really was good.  My wife was raving about the leftovers.

bgebrent

I'd crush that.  Nice post brother.

Mattman3969

That looks and sounds like it would be right up my alley.   Thank you for posting.  

Did you do the sauce too?   

Theophan

Mattman3969 said:

That looks and sounds like it would be right up my alley.   Thank you for posting.  

Did you do the sauce too?   

I completely forgot about the sauce!  <sigh>  It sounded like it would be really good, a nice sort of cool contrast to the grilled chicken, but I forgot.  I still have the container of whole milk Greek yogurt that was for it, and it will keep a while, so I'm thinking maybe in a week or so I'll cook this again and make the sauce this time!