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BBQ Chicken
Sam Sifton
2538 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,538
45 minutes
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In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, oregano, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper. Zest the lemon over the bowl, reserving the rest of the lemon for serving. Whisk until smooth.
Add the chicken thighs, toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 24. Remove chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.
If using a grill, clean and oil the grates. Set the grill to medium-high or heat a grill pan slicked with olive oil on the stovetop over medium-high. Grill the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes on each side (depending on the thickness of the thighs), covering the grill halfway through if necessary to retain heat, until cooked through.
Transfer the chicken thighs to a platter and squeeze half the lemon over them. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley, and serve with lemon wedges on the side if desired.
The recipe says in Step 3, "If using a grill...." What if you're NOT using a grill — what's the best way to cook this recipe?
Should I scrape the excess yogurt from the thighs before grilling, or leave them as is from the bowl?
I love how versatile this recipe is. You can add citrus zest to the marinade, or cumin or other ground spices for a different flavor profile, and mint or cilantro are great substitutions. 5% or full-fat Greek yogurt is what I always have in the house--if too thick this could be thinned with a little kefir or 1-2 tablespoons of water but I haven't found it necessary to do so. For best results I wipe most of the yogurt off since the sugars in it tend to burn while grilling. So good!
This a wonderful preparation yet simple. Instead of grilling, we often prepare boneless skinless chicken thigh meat with variations of marinades in the oven. Preheat to 450 deg. F and bake for 30 minutes, turning over the chicken pieces after 15 minutes. Optional: Cook on Broil for 2 - 3 minutes more in the end to add a "crispier" taste.
I understand why you want to clean off most of the yogurt marinade prior to grilling, but not necessary with you cook them in the oven. I just made this recipe and I roasted them in my toaster oven on my sunporch (which I do on hot days) and I left all of the marinade on the thighs and it disappears in the roasting process and the chicken tastes and looks great.
Note to others... Don't accidentally use plain vanilla yogurt.
This was delicious and fast. Used oven broiler, pulled out chicken thighs without wiping off yogurt marinade. 8 minutes per side and done. Added the lemon, cut in half when broiling chicken, a nice touch with fresh garden parsley, oregano and thyme. Very flavorful and moist. Highly recommend. Thanks for a fast weeknight recipe!
It’s best to take most of the yogurt off before putting on the grill. Otherwise going to have a heck of a clean up. The recipe works with almost any plain yogurt although I prefer full fat.
Made this according to the recipe with one change: used za'atar instead of the thyme for a more complex flavor. Very good, easy to make and appreciated by dinner guests.
This was SO GOOD. My husband said he thinks it's the best chicken he's ever had and I might agree. It was rainy so instead of grilling, I broiled on each side for 8 minutes a side. I didn't scrape off excess yogurt and it made a delicious crispy, yet creamy exterior. A new favorite for sure.
I used 0% fat Greek yogurt (not watered down), and it came out very tender and delicious!
My husband made this pretty much as written, though he used chicken breasts sliced thin and used fat free Greek yogurt. The herb combo was perfect with a little char from our gas grill. Will be in our weeknight rotation from now on.
I live in a condo, so no grill at hand. But I intend to use the broiler. It leaves no grill marks but works the same way.
I made this with boneless chicken breasts and it was delicious. I put two (equal-size) breasts in a quart bag with the yogurt mix for about six hours, put them in a pyrex pan without washing off the yogurt, then cooked at 400 for about 30 minutes until a thermometer registered 155, turning over 2-3 times. They were very juicy and delicious.
Started with fresh thyme, but the leaves were so tiny (hello winter?), it felt like it was going to take all night to amass enough, so used za'atar, as a fellow cook suggested, and it was great/so easy. Cooked the marinated thighs in the oven at 400 for a bit more than 20 min. More easiness. Next time I'll raise the temp a little so they brown faster. Didn't scrape off marinade.
Love this dish cause it exemplifies tenderness, protein, & flavor - esp if you use homegrown herbs. Enjoy!!
This is delicious! I was looking to make a boring chicken breast interesting and this did it splendidly. After marinating overnight, I put grapeseed oil on the grill with the yogurt on medium heat and they got a bit of char. I think they were full of flavor and delicious!
Chicken stuck to grill. Did not crisp up. Taste was good but kind of a disaster getting it off the grill (and I greased the grill grates well beforehand).
This is lovely as written. The yogurt tenderizes the chicken, and prevents it drying out on the grill. I have a grill, so that’s how I prepared it. I added a mix of breast pieces to it. I will definitely put this in rotation for summer grilling season. Easy and delicious.
Didn’t use a grill and used bone-in chicken thighs. Marinated chicken for 24 hours. Put chicken on a cast iron grilling pan and baked for 45 minutes at 400. Upped the temperature to 425 to get the skin crispy. I also put new potatoes on the same pan so they crisped up next to the chicken. This was ok. Looked better than it tasted. Didn’t taste bad but didn’t wow me like other dishes from nyt have. Probably won’t make again.
Yum! Since I don't have a grill, I followed fellow cooks' suggestions below and broiled the thighs 8 minutes per side, which was perfect. I misread the recipe and bought full-fat greek yogurt, decided to roll with it, marinated for 4 hours and left every bit of it on the chicken. Other than that I followed the recipe to the letter, including fresh herbs from my garden. We all loved it! Thanks for an easy dish that somehow transcends its simplicity to be a real knockout.
We made this as written except I only had low fat yogurt. Turned out very tender and flavorful.
So easy and so delicious. The leftovers are great on salad. Might be my new go-to chicken recipe.
Moist and delicious! I cooked thin sliced breasts at 7 minutes per side in a cast iron skillet. Didn’t bother scraping off the yogurt before putting in the hot pan. Covered and lowered the heat a bit after flipping. A keeper!
….. or heat a grill pan slicked with olive oil on the stovetop over medium-high.
Delcious! Made it to recipe but I used the broiler and drumsticks. Worked like a charm. Did about 10 minutes on each side.
Wow! This was amazing!! I did not scrape off the marinade before grilling and it was perfect!! The chicken was super tender and so flavorful! I saved about 1/2 cup of marinade before adding it to chicken and used it as a drizzle on chicken after it was cooked. So good. Paired it with grilled zucchini halves topped with an orzo/tomato/feta salad and pesto drizzled on top.
Tasty, and tender and simple flavor profile. I think i will try amping up the herbs for future use for myself, perhaps trying the za'atar as others have suggested. I really should have read through the prior notes and removed the marinade prior to grilling- My grill is now quite a mess.
I substituted za’atar for the fresh herbs and it was great!
I added turmeric, grated garlic and lime zest to the yogurt for great color and flavor. Yogurt is better than buttermilk for marinading chicken!
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