Tuscan Lemon Chicken...Second Attempt

Our second attempt to prepare this delicious chicken proved to be a good thing. (Remember the Cremated Chicken?....so sad....) I had been wanting to make this dish for a long time...lemon and rosemary have such a pleasant, fresh scent and taste that I thought the combination would be delicious.....and it was!

As we prepared the chicken, we decided to leave the skin on...normally we remove all of the skin when we are cooking chicken. After marinating in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary for about five hours, the chicken is cooked slowly over low heat, so the skin was certain to impart some additional great flavor.  We weren't disappointed....to me the best part was the piquant taste of that first bite after squeezing the juice from the grilled lemon over the chicken...

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics

4 chicken hind quarters
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Zest from 2 lemons
1/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary leaves (about four sprigs)
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
2 small to medium lemons, halved

Trim and chicken of excess skin and fat.  Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with kosher salt (about 1 tsp).  Place the chicken in a gallon zip-lock bag.

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and rosemary along with some fresh ground pepper in a mixing bowl.  Pour the marinade over the chicken in the bag.  Seal the bag, removing any excess air.  Rub the mixture so that all pieces of chicken are covered and place in a glass casserole dish. (This is just in case the bag isn't completely sealed.)  Refrigerate the chicken overnight or for a minimum of four hours, turning the chicken over a few times.

When ready to grill, turn the gas barbecue on low heat.  (If using a charcoal fire, prepare the fire on one side of the grill.  Spread about a quarter of the coals onto the other side of the grill.)  Place the chicken on the cooler side of the grill, skin side up.  Cook for about 15 minutes, until the underside of the chicken is golden brown.  Turn the chicken and cook for another 15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.  Using a thermometer, check the temperature.  Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165° F.

Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill during the last ten minutes of cooking.

Remove the chicken to a cutting board and cover with foil.  Allow the chicken to rest for five minutes.

Sprinkle with salt and serve with the lemon halves.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

I am sharing this delicious chicken at Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage and the Four Seasons Blog Hop hosted by Turnips 2 Tangerines!