Excite Me Tonight! Chicken!

NcMysteryShopper's Note:

Dress up that ordinary grilled chicken to create an exotic Mediterranean meal that will excite your family and friends. These 4 marinades will transform your menu into an international culinary delight. Whether you use whole butterflied poussins, game hens, broiler halves, chicken parts or boneless chicken cubes on skewers, you will find the following marinades intensely flavorful. Marinate the meat overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before cooking. If you like, thread blanched vegetables such as sweet pepper and onion chunks, onto skewers and cook alongside the chicken (or thread them on the same skewers). Serve the chicken with fresh lemon wedges and a traditional side dish or salad with bread or pitas and watch it disappear. Cooking times vary.I have been told the Egyptian marinade is especially good on whole butterflied squab (pigeon). I adjusted the amount of lemon juice in the Lebanese marinade if you love lemon, go for the 1/2 a cup.... if lemon is just "okay" stick with the 1/4 cup.

• Total Time: 28 mins
• Prep Time: 8 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts or 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs or 1 whole chickens, butterflied or 6 small rock cornish game hens or 6 broiler chicken halves

For a Lebanese Marinade

• 4 -6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/4-1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (depending on how much you like lemon!)
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, fresh
• 1/2 cup olive oil

For a Turkish Marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large lemon, juice of
• salt (to taste)
• fresh ground pepper (to taste)

For a Moroccan Marinade

• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted or 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large lemon, juice of
• salt (to taste)
• fresh ground pepper (to taste)

For an Egyptian Marinade

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 1 onion, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. If using boneless chicken pieces, cut into 1 inch cubes and place in a shallow non-reactive container; if using whole birds, butterfly them; if using broiler halves, leave whole; select one of the marinades, then combine the ingredients for it in a bowl and pour over chicken; cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.
2. Bring the meat to room temperature; meanwhile prepare your gas or charcoal grill or preheat broiler.
3. Remove the meat from the marinade, reserving the marinade; if using chicken cubes thread onto skewers; place skewers, butterflied or halved birds on the grill rack or a broiler pan and grill or broil until cooked through, basting with the reserved marinade.
4. Cooking time will depend upon size of poultry pieces; do not let meat become dry;.
5. Whole fryer (3-4 pounds) 60 - 70 minutes; Whole Roaster (5-7 pounds) 22 minutes a pound, Butterflied whole chicken (3-5 pounds) 45-50 minutes; Whole Cornish hens (18-24 oz) 45-55 minutes; Whole capon (4-8 lbs) 15-20 min a pound; Breast half, bone in (6-8 oz) 10-15 minutes a side; Breast half, boneless (4 oz) 8-10 min a side & (6-8 oz) 10-15 minutes a side; leg or thigh (8 or 4 oz) 10-15 minutes a side; Drumstick (4 oz) 8-12 minutes a side & (8-16 oz) 10-15 minutes a side; wings or wing drumette (2-3 oz) 8-12 minutes a side – Remove from oven when meat thermometer reads 175°-180°F; temperature will continue to rise as it stands.

Reviews

[JunieG]

I adapted the Turkish marinade to my slow cooker. Basically, I placed the chicken into the cooker, then mixed all the other ingredients together and pour them on top, and cooked on low for 10 hours. It was glorious. The ingredients are just assertive enough to make it scrumptious, without it being overly spicy. This joins my favorites. I am looking forward to trying the other variations. Thanks!

[Sandi (From CA)]

Another vote for the Lebanese marinade! I'll certainly try the others now that I've had such success with this one. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed, omitted the cayenne for personal taste and broiled them on high with some skewers of sweet mini peppers and onion chunks for about 9 minutes total. I served the chicken in warmed pitas with lettuce, tomato and Zankou Chicken's Lebanese Garlic Sauce (Copycat). YUM! Thank you so much for this great recipe!
***UPDATE*** I used the Turkish marinade the other night and It was nowhere near as good as the Lebanese version. My husband cooked them on the bbq and perhaps he let them sit too long, but they turned out too dry and not nearly as flavorful as the Lebanese chicken. So I'm not going to remove any stars for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the first was SO good! :o) Served with Onion Rice.

[Chef #1305086]

I pursued the Lebanese marinade in this recipe after falling in love with a similar marinade recipe at a local Lebanese restaurant. Like the restaurant, I serve my chicken with pita bread that has been slightly buttered and browned on a griddle. The combination of the two is terrific. After cutting chicken breasts into strips and marinading for a couple of hours, I brown the chicken on a griddle. I have shared this recipe with many friends and family members who have never eaten something like this. Everyone loves it.