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
• ¼-½ cup fresh lemon juice (depending on how much you like lemon!)
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme , chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper , fresh
• ½ cup olive oil

For a Turkish Marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• ¼ 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
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted or ½ cup olive oil
• 1 large lemon, juice of
• salt (to taste)
• fresh ground pepper (to taste)

For an Egyptian Marinade

• ½ 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!

[Chef #427221]

I followed the Moroccan recipe to the T- except for the ginger, which I substituted 2 teaspoons of fresh minced ginger, which in retrospect, thought might be way too strong... WRONG ! After marinating for 24 hours, and grilling to perfect doneness, my (2) chicken leg quarter had no flavor at all... except for chicken. We tasted no lemon, no cumin, no ginger...nothing. I can't figure why it got such rave reviews. I'm a big fan of Mediterrainian dishes, but thought this marinade was totally bland and totally UN-exciting.

[evewitch]

I used the Turkish marinade on whole chicken breasts. It was really easy to put together, even though I was completely exhausted & kind of spacey. When it came time to grill the chicken, I burnt the crap out of the skin side. :( The meat was still moist, which is probably a credit to the marinade. I didn't think the meat really picked up the flavors, though. I will probably try the other marinades and work on my grilling technique.