Grilled Chicken with Yogurt Marinade
Yields:
4 servings
Time Required:
Prep: 15 mins.
Marinate: at least 3 hrs
Grill: 12 to 16 min. (or bake 30 mins., or broil 16 mins.)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup1 plain, whole-milk yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried oregano)
- 1 ½ tsp. minced fresh thyme (or ½ tsp. dried thyme)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for grill or pan
- 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for serving
- ¼ tsp. black pepper, plus more for serving
- 1 lemon
- 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- (optional) Chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine yogurt, garlic, oregano, thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Zest lemon over bowl, reserving rest of lemon for serving. Whisk until smooth.
Add chicken thighs, toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hrs, or up to 24. Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 mins. before cooking.
If using a grill, clean and oil grates. Set grill to medium-high, or heat a grill pan slicked with olive oil on stovetop, over medium-high. Grill chicken for 6 to 8 mins. per side (depending on thickness of thighs), covering grill halfway through if necessary, to retain heat, until cooked through.
Transfer chicken thighs to a platter, and squeeze half lemon over them. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley, and serve with lemon wedges on the side, if desired.
Cook's Notes:
I find this recipe, as given, underspiced, so I'm experimenting with greater spice & grated garlic amounts, with good results. Instead of grilling, I've been spreading the marinated chicken on cookie sheets and oven-cooking them at 450°F (230°C), 15 mins. per side. Comments at NY Times Cooking suggest that broiling 8 mins. per side also works.
Equally helpful, NY Times Cooking suggest adding some of the following additional ingredients/spices also helps: lime zest, cilantro, za'atar, turmeric, cumin.
One reader commented: "Don't accidentally use plain vanilla yogurt." You are duly warned.
1 Cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons are as defined in US Customary Units, not to be confused with differing British imperial, "legal", "coffee", Commonwealth of Nations, Canadian, Latin American, Japanese, Russian, or Dutch defintions — further proof that everyone needs the metric system.
Collected and re-published at http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/recipes/grilled-chicken-with-yogurt-marinade.html by Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> on Mar. 8, 2025. Individual recipes are free from copyright. Share and enjoy!
Taken from: A recipe donated by Lidey Heuck, at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022478-grilled-chicken-with-yogurt-marinade. Much thanks to the talented Ms. Heuck, a cook, writer, and creator based in New York’s Hudson Valley, whose personal Web site deserves a look.
(If I have any copyright title in my own very minor contributions to this page — not my intention — they were created in 2025 by Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> and licensed for use under CC0. The image file (photograph) was taken on Mar. 8, 2025, also by Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> and licensed for use under CC0. I have thereby waived all copyright, compilation copyright, and related or neighbouring rights to this work. This work is published from: United States of America.)