For Printing Purposes
This chicken marinade was awesome! Yes, I did say that, and yes, I am tooting my own horn, but it really was tasty. Even my vegetarian niece loved it (well, she says she is a “flexitarian” these days, it’s hard to be around us meat eaters for a few weeks and not give in!). If you are a fan of fresh herbs, this one is a keeper!
I just whizzed it all up in a mini food processor – come to think of it, I could have used the big one there were so many herbs I chopped up, but it seemed like the right thing at the time. We always know better in hindsight, don’t we?
I also have to confess here that I forgot to take pictures of it when I made it and had it marinating, and then when it first came off the grill – so you are seeing some stock phots of the herbs I used. This pic here is of the leftover chicken a few days later, but if it stays this good looking for that long, and that tasty, then this one is probably worth doing! ☺️
A crowd-pleaser
This herb-tastic chicken I made for a group of 16 people, so I got two 6 packs of chicken breasts, and I sliced each one of those in half, so they were a little more manageable on the grill, and they were sure to cook the whole way through. We had some leftovers, but a lot of it went!
Here’s how you do it…
Gather all your herbs – one bundle of each. I got these at our International Dekalb Farmers Market, so they are cheap and they come in large bundles. So get a few bundles of each if you are getting the ingredients from the grocery store… you will need:
dill
basil
chives
oregano
parsley ( I used the curly this time – but either one will work – it was just a whim when I picked this, I usually go with flat-leaf)
1 bag sundried tomatoes (preferably not in oil, but either way will work)
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp onion powder (I use this one – it’s AMAZING!)*
1 tbsp garlic powder (I use this one – it’s AMAZING!)*
1 package good season’s Italian dressing (pic of this awesome stuff below!)
Sea Salt (a few pinches with your fingers – 2 tbsp equivalent)
Freshly cracked pepper (several turns)
This stuff is such a great addition. Our mountain friends call it the “crack” dressing – it is awesome as instructed on the packet, or as an addition to anything you are making! Keep some in your spice cabinet – ALWAYS!!!
*A side note here – those spices I talked about that are AMAZING! Well, they are, and they are from the Atlantic Spice Company out on Cape Cod – I have no affiliate relationship with them, I just LOVE their products and am happy to promote them. The are *EXTRA*powdered and offer up so much flavor!
So, at this point, if you have a food processor, get her out! If you don’t, no worries. You can chop all of this up and then make your marinade. It just goes a little bit faster if you have the food processor.
Separate the leaves from their stems on all the herbs but the chives (just cut the ends of the chives off). This is not a perfect thing! You can have a few stems here and there. Don’t stress too much, you just don’t want too many stems in there – especially the oregano and the parsley, as the can have an earthy taste and a hard texture. Pulse all the herbs one at a time – and place the herbs in a separate bowl. Pulse the bag of sundried tomatoes, and the garlic and add all this to the bowl. If it is a little hard and not chopping well, add in some olive oil to loosen it up.
Once the herbs are all chopped up, add the rest of the ingredients and stir it up! If it is a little dry, add in some more olive oil. Add the chicken into two ziplock bags, and then add half the marinade into one, and the other half to the next one.
Let sit overnight if you can, and if you can’t then at least 2 hours will do the trick!
Grill, baby, grill!
Next, add them to a hot grill, and flip after about 5 – 8 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is, and how thin the chicken is. Then cook another 5 – 8 mins. Try not to overcook and dry out the chicken – look to see that the chicken turns white and is no longer pink and raw. If you think the chicken isn’t done, there are two ways to check:
Use a thermometer! We have a thermometer that you can plug into the meat while it cooks, or you can pull it off and check, it should read 165 degrees.
Also, you can go old school and cut into the thickest part and see if it is pink inside – if so, put it back on the grill! If not, you are good to go!
Once cooked through, rest for a few minutes before serving. It was a hit for our group, I hope it will be for yours too!
Herb-Tastic Marinated Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
1 bunch dill
1 bunch basil
1 bunch chives
1 bunch oregano
1 bunch parsley curly – but you can use flat
1 bag sundried tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 package good seasons Italian dressing
2 tbsp sea salt preferably Maldon
8 turns fresh cracked pepper
2 packages chicken with 6 pieces in each bag slice each breast in half
Instructions
Separate the leaves from their stems on all the herbs but the chives (all but the ends of the chives are used). This is not a perfect thing! You can have a few stems here and there.
In a food processor, pulse all the herbs one at a time – and place the herbs in a bowl. Pulse the bag of sundried tomatoes, and the garlic and add all this to a separate bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and stir it up! If it is a little dry, add in some more olive oil.
Add the chicken into two ziplock bags, and then add half the marinade into one, and the other half to the next one. Let this sit overnight if you can, at least two hours if you can't.
Grill the chicken to your preferred doneness, at least 165 degrees.
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