The Most Tender, Delicious, and Satisfying Grilled Chicken Breast: Yogurt Marinating is the Key

 

This is a dish from the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook that didn't have a picture. As such, it sat, untested in the book, for about a year and a half before we first tried it. Note to cookbook publishers - PICTURES! Especially on really, really delicious meals, like this one.

The best thing about it is that it takes virtually no time at all on the day you want to cook it. Take a few minutes at the end of prepping dinner tonight to whip up the yogurt marinade and stick in the chicken. Then let it sit in the fridge for a day, or two. When you're ready, take the chicken out of the yogurt marinade, let the excess drip off, put it on a grill, and in a few minutes get ready for the most delicious, tender, tasty piece of meat you've ever had.

Making the Dish

Delicious in the morning, and in your yogurt marinade

The night before, when you're finishing up dinner. Whip up the yogurt marinade. The list of herbs is a bit long, but follow it below, stir it into the yogurt, and you're done.

Adding all the spices to the yogurt

Rinse off the chicken and place it in the yogurt marinade. The cookbook says you can let it sit up for 48 hours. We've only ever done one night, and that seemed to be fine.

Yogurt marinated chicken

The next day, take out the chicken, let the excess drip off, and let it sit for a few minutes to come to room temperature. We made some moroccan cous cous from a box, and also sautéed up some spinach with garlic and olive oil as a nice side.

Sautéing the spinach with garlic

Grill the chicken on a blazing hot grill pan for about 5 - 6 minutes per side. Probably best to check to make sure it's cooked through entirely. When it is, take it off the grill, and let rest for a few minutes.

Grilling the chicken

Plate the ingredients side by side, dig your fork into the chicken and watch as it easily breaks away. You're about to enjoy the most tender, juicy, delicious chicken you've ever had.

The Result
Have we mentioned how tender and flavorful this chicken is? If not, we should. The enzymes from the yogurt work at the meat all night long making it really nice. And that long list of herbs and spices in the yogurt impart a ton of delicious complexity onto the meat.

The cous cous and spinach are actually quite good accompaniment from a flavor profile perspective, and  help this whole thing to add up to a fairly heathy meal.

Click through for the full ingredient list!

Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken

From Dinosaur BBQ Cookbook

A little preparation goes a long way in this complexly delicious dish

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min

(Serves: 2)

Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tbsp fresh ginger
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
juice from 1/2 fresh lime
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp honey


2 boneless skinless chicken breasts