Very Greek Chicken

(Recipe used with permission from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/)

This Greek style chicken recipe is like enjoying a lunch in the Greek islands.  Anyone who likes lemon, oregano, garlic, and chicken will be astounded with the array of flavors provided by this wonderful medley of ingredients.  Recommended pellet choices are apple or alder as they enhance the array of aromatic ingredients and do not dry the meat during the cooking process.

Ingredients:

1 4-5 # Whole roasting chicken

1/3 C Extra virgin olive oil

¼ C Fresh squeezed lemon juice (approx 2 small lemons)

1 T Greek seasoning (Penzey's or Cavender's brand)

1 t Oregano, dried

1 T Minced garlic

1 T Grated lemon zest

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Remove giblets and neck from the body of the chicken.  Reserve parts for other dishes or place into a small aluminum pot pie plate for cooking on the grill.  Discard the neck or retain for making chicken broth for other dishes.

Tie the chicken with string, if desired.  Mix the remaining ingredients for marinade in a small bowl.  Put chicken into a zip-lock plastic bag, pour marinade over, then close bag and massage well.  Place zip-lock bag into the refrigerator for approximately 8-10 hours.

Start the pellet grill and adjust temperature control to obtain a roasting temperature of 320-350 F degrees.  Remove chicken from zip-lock and place onto chicken stand. Discard the marinade. Place chicken and stand in center of cooking chamber in a vertical position.  Roast the chicken for approximately 1-1/2 hours or until the temperature on an instant read thermometer is 170 F degrees.

Remove chicken from grill, carve and enjoy. 

Although the original version of this recipe uses a whole chicken, skinless chicken breasts may be substituted.  It is recommended that the breasts be pierced with a fork in several places to allow the marinade to penetrate into the meat.