Mob request - I need a grilled Greek chicken recipe

Legume

I've googled a ton of recipes, but I'm looking for a recommendation from the mob here.  This is for a crowd meal at a cabin, at least 20 people.  I am looking for a recipe for really flavorful grilled Greek chicken.  Parts or kebabs, parts would be easier but could go either way.  I will either need to toss in marinade on Saturday night for a Monday night cook, or prep chicken on Saturday night and add marinade on Sunday at some point.  If you have one that wouldn't be good for a 24 or 48 hour soak, please note that.

Cabin has 'a reasonably sized charcoal grill' so I have to plan on just straight direct grilling for the chicken.  I'm not opposed to a yogurt based marinade if you've got a good one.

Thanks

fishlessman

gyros, lots of flavor with the cucumber sauce, maybe some tabouli to go into the pita wrap. dont have a recipe, but the flavors are always there

lkapigian

From Food Wishes and is very good 

For enough marinade for 6 chicken thigh/leg sections:

6 to 8 cloves garlic, totally crushed or very finely minced

2 tablespoons dried oregano and/or marjoram

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 generous teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar

1/4 olive oil

about 1 tablespoon kosher salt to season chicken

caliking

This may not be what you had in mind, but a stupidly simple way to make a ton of chicken would be to marinate it overnight in Greek salad dressing. 

Legume

fishlessman said:

gyros, lots of flavor with the cucumber sauce, maybe some tabouli to go into the pita wrap. dont have a recipe, but the flavors are always there

Yep, doing lamb gyros as well.

tarheelmatt

Bean, 

A little backstory here.  I worked at a restaurant from 15 yrs old till around 22 yrs old.  Greek owned and Evans, the owner, really loved me.  He was like a father figure to me at that time, but a great friend once I became an adult.  He taught me a lot about life, restaurant business, and cooking. That place churned the grilled chicken out.   

Never was a measuring type, just a dump and stir, so here's what we did.  

Beat the chicken breasts out.  It tenderizes and ensures chicken will cook evenly.  

We never used EVOO, but something more mild, like canola or vegetable oil.  


Ingredients was: 

Oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Good amount of oregano 
Dash of hot sauce

Oil to lemon about 1:1


Something to think about, is to place your salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and oregano and infuse your oil first, that'll really bring the flavor.  

Could add some balsamic vinegar too, for some sweetness.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Tom- get the Zatar spice from Central Market bulk spice area. Add a little of their dried lemon zest to it or finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon. The dizzy pig Mediterranean-ish is good too but I like the zatar a little better. I have a whole bottle of the DP- Its yours if you want it. ill meet you by the galleria later if you do. Leaving
town at 6 am tomorrow so would need to be this evening. 

fishlessman

Legume said:

fishlessman said:

gyros, lots of flavor with the cucumber sauce, maybe some tabouli to go into the pita wrap. dont have a recipe, but the flavors are always there

Yep, doing lamb gyros as well.

if youre doing the lamb the same time, theres lots of greek chicken gyro recipes out ther, looks like 24 hours on the marinade. those lamb kafka kabobs posted here make for a great gyro as well. dont forget the ouzo shots

fishlessman

homemade hummus is good too from dried chickpeas and tahinni. have fresh lemon to squeeze over it. can be made a few days ahead, keeps all week in the fridge

HeavyG

I've used a lot of these two blends over the last few years:

http://wholespice.com/greek-seasoning.html


https://smile.amazon.com/Spiceologist-Greek-Freak-Seasoning-Mediterranean/dp/B00I60CJEQ/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1500922114&sr=1-1&keywords=Greek+Freak+BBQ+Rub&th=1


If I am making an oily paste from either of those I'll also add some fresh lemon juice and some fresh, finely chopped sweet mint.

Carolina Q

Another vote for the FoodWishes marinade mentioned above by @ikapigian. I've only done it once and don't really know what's so Greek about it, but it was good. http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/search?q=grilled+greek+chicken

I did not care for his accompanying spicy yogurt though, but it's very simple to make and see for yourself (Greek yogurt, lemon juice, hot sauce and cayenne).

Maybe Tzatziki would work instead? It's supposed to be for grilled meats after all. Here's @NecessaryIndulgrecipe if you want to try it. http://necessaryindulgences.com/2014/10/easy-tzatziki/

Legume

Ooh, lots of good ideas on here, I appreciate all of them.  I'll read up on a few of these.

@caliking I've done this!  Easy, and good, but looking for a bit more pop.

@lkapigian and @tarheelmatt any concerns with long marinade time?  Matt, how about olive oil, not evoo?  Milder, right?

@tarheelmatt he didn't have a daughter?

@The Cen-Tex Smoker thanks for the bottle of rub, gonna pass today though.  Re zatar (had to type that a few times, apple wanted to autocorrect to Zantac), just rub the chicken, no marinating, correct?

@fishlessman I'm going to do the lamb gyro meat like I posted on the other night and cook ahead of time, maybe just to 150F and then will vac seal and freeze, re-heat and crust it either in oven or on grill, game-time decision based on what the setup is.  Lots of young adults (only six actual parents) and so basic grilled chicken parts or boneless skewers will probably be better for those that don't like lamb.

This dinner is "Dad's night to cook" so that's three of us in a cabin kitchen and grill and my goal is to get it down to two cooking and me drinking beer and pacing around doing my best Gordon Ramsay.  We'll be floating the river all day and drinking.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Yep- it's just a rub. I use a little EVOO and then hit it with the rub. The lemon really makes it pop so do the dried zest or plan to have a fresh lemon on hand when you are ready to plate it. You can do kebabs or while thighs or breast. 

Legume

@HeavyG thanks for the link.  @Carolina Q same.

@fishlessman yes re the kofta kebabs.  That's how I've made the gyro meat blend when I've done it, I use most of the spices from that recipe and include flat leaf parsley and mint into the blended up meat.

tarheelmatt

@Legume , he has two daughters.  One is an attorney and the other is almost an attorney.  I didn't marry either.  They were a fair amount younger than me.  

You can use olive oil, yes, not as mild and could use that for sure.  It's preference mostly.  

We would make the marinade for the week, starting on Tuesday run till Friday, and have to make more for Thursday-Sunday.  

Long is good.   

HeavyG

Olive oils are available in a wide range of flavors from very delicate to rather strong and peppery so I wouldn't discount the use of EVOO out of hand. Just need to find one with the flavor you prefer.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Well- we are now having grilled Greek chicken kebabs for dinner. 

Legume

HeavyG said:

Olive oils are available in a wide range of flavors from very delicate to rather strong and peppery so I wouldn't discount the use of EVOO out of hand. Just need to find one with the flavor you prefer.

Yep, thanks.  My only thought there was that it's usually milder, as a generalization only.  Regardless, I'm not buying spendy oil for marinating chicken in this case.  This will be eaten, half or fully buzzed, off of paper plates, on a deck at a cabin, down by the river.

Legume

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Well- we are now having grilled Greek chicken kebabs for dinner. 

Funny how that happens.  Good chance to use up that bottle of rub?

tarheelmatt

HeavyG said:

Olive oils are available in a wide range of flavors from very delicate to rather strong and peppery so I wouldn't discount the use of EVOO out of hand. Just need to find one with the flavor you prefer.

This is true, I too, like to go with a canola/veg for smoke point is a bit higher.

I have a couple olive oils on hand for drizzling, salad, and dipping.  

Legume

tarheelmatt said:

HeavyG said:

Olive oils are available in a wide range of flavors from very delicate to rather strong and peppery so I wouldn't discount the use of EVOO out of hand. Just need to find one with the flavor you prefer.

This is true, I too, like to go with a canola/veg for smoke point is a bit higher.

I have a couple olive oils on hand for drizzling, salad, and dipping.  

Ah, smoke point.  Hadn't thought of that.  Good point.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Legume said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Well- we are now having grilled Greek chicken kebabs for dinner. 

Funny how that happens.  Good chance to use up that bottle of rub?

Nah- I keep the Zatar around at all times. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Bam. So simple and so good
 

maso

Some way better suggestions already but for what it's worth John Henry's Papa Charlie's Greek rub is outstanding. Might help with a base flavor to let you enjoy more time socializing. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

If you like the Raita (yogurt "sauce") like you would get on a gyro, it's 1 cup of good Greek yogurt and 1 cup of pulverized (food processor) cucumber drained, juice of half a lemon,  salt and pepper

Legume

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

If you like the Raita (yogurt "sauce") like you would get on a gyro, it's 1 cup of good Greek yogurt and 1 cup of pulverized (food processor) cucumber drained, juice of half a lemon,  salt and pepper

We usually buy tzatziki (sounds nearly identical) but was thinking about making it since it's a bigger crowd this time.  Seems simple enough.  Thanks for the recipe.

Eggcelsior

Legume said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

If you like the Raita (yogurt "sauce") like you would get on a gyro, it's 1 cup of good Greek yogurt and 1 cup of pulverized (food processor) cucumber drained, juice of half a lemon,  salt and pepper

We usually buy tzatziki (sounds nearly identical) but was thinking about making it since it's a bigger crowd this time.  Seems simple enough.  Thanks for the recipe.

Except garlic. Tzatziki helps you avoid vampires and physical affection.

Legume

Eggcelsior said:

Legume said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

If you like the Raita (yogurt "sauce") like you would get on a gyro, it's 1 cup of good Greek yogurt and 1 cup of pulverized (food processor) cucumber drained, juice of half a lemon,  salt and pepper

We usually buy tzatziki (sounds nearly identical) but was thinking about making it since it's a bigger crowd this time.  Seems simple enough.  Thanks for the recipe.

Except garlic. Tzatziki helps you avoid vampires and physical affection.

Bring on the garlic then, we'll have 12-15 mostly single young adults under one roof w/alcohol and swimsuits everywhere.

KiterTodd

Penzey's Greek seasoning is excellent. (here)  You could heavily rub with that along with some olive oil and you'd be getting accolades. It's good stuff.

Here's the secret in my eyes to a Greek taste.
Oregano
Salt
Lemon
Olive Oil

...of course with some fresh garlic and fresh ground pepper.

Go heavy on any fresh herbs.  That and a hearty application of kosher salt will bring out the flavors.  Add other herbs, but the oregano is key.  You need lemon but it can't sit in lemon for hours before cooking or you risk cooking the flesh in the acid.

And if you can get away with it, sprinkle crumbled feta over your platter of cooked meat when done.

Another cheat to make a lot of chicken tasty is to marinate in Greek salad dressing.  I like the Gazebo Greek Lite salad dressing if you have it near you.  The light has more citrus which makes it a better marinade.  The regular can be too oily, but they are both excellent on salad or marinade.