Ingredients
Equipment
Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus marinating) Cook Time: 45 minutes Serves: 4
This is the grilled lemon pepper chicken that beat Dan's favorite restaurant plate, and the whole thing lands in one skillet. Chicken marinated in lemon, garlic and SuckleBusters Lemon Pepper Garlic goes on the grill over a drip pan, and every drop that comes off the bird becomes the broth for a lemon orzo loaded with plum tomatoes, artichoke hearts and spinach. Bright, garlicky, a little peppery, and done in about an hour. Serves 4.
The Insider Secret: Cook the Orzo in the Drippings
Most chicken orzo recipes reach for a carton of broth. Dan's move is to grill the chicken over a half tray so the marinade and the juices drip into the pan, then cook the orzo in that. It's lemon, garlic and chicken flavor you can't buy. If the pan runs short, top it off with a splash of chicken broth or water to reach 2 cups, which is exactly what Dan does on the set in the video.
Ingredients
The Chicken and Marinade
- 4 bone-in chicken leg quarters, or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded thin
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1 heaping tablespoon chopped garlic in oil (jarred)
- 2 tablespoons SuckleBusters Lemon Pepper Garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
The Lemon Orzo
- 1½ cups dry orzo pasta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1½ cups plum or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 14 ounces artichoke hearts, quartered (canned or jarred, drained)
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach, packed
- 2 cups captured chicken drippings from the grill (top off with chicken broth if short)
- Juice of ½ lemon
To Finish
- ½ cup crumbled feta (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
Equipment
- Grill (or flat top) with a half tray or drip pan
- Large oven-safe skillet, cast iron is ideal
- Zip-top bag or bowl for the marinade
- Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
1. Marinate the Chicken In a bowl or zip-top bag, whisk together the olive oil, the zest and juice of 2 lemons, the jarred garlic, 2 tablespoons of Lemon Pepper Garlic and the salt. Add the chicken, coat it all the way, then cover and refrigerate. Thirty minutes does the job; a couple of hours is better. Don't go overnight, the lemon juice will start to break the meat down.
2. Set the Drip Pan and Grill Preheat the grill to 325°F and set a half tray or drip pan under the grates, right below where the chicken goes. Grill the chicken until it reads 155 to 165°F inside, about 30 minutes for leg quarters. Pounded breasts cook a lot faster, so check them early. Pull the pan and save every drop of those drippings.
3. Boil the Orzo While the chicken grills, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the orzo per the package until it's just shy of al dente. Drain and set aside. It finishes cooking in the skillet.
4. Build the Skillet Base In a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat, warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the halved tomatoes and the artichoke hearts and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and the artichokes pick up a little color.
5. Simmer in the Drippings Pour in the 2 cups of captured chicken drippings and bring it to a simmer. Add the cooked orzo, stir to combine, and let it drink up the liquid for about 3 minutes.
6. Wilt the Spinach, Nestle the Chicken Stir in the spinach until it just wilts, then squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Nestle the grilled chicken on top of the orzo.
7. Finish Together Set the skillet over low heat (or in a 375°F oven) until the chicken reads a final 165°F and the orzo has absorbed most of the liquid, about 8 minutes.
8. Garnish and Serve Off the heat, scatter the feta if you're using it, then the chopped parsley and the lemon slices. Serve it straight from the skillet.
Dan's Tip: Leg quarters or breasts both work. Quarters take the full 30 minutes on the grill and stay juicy no matter what. Pounded breasts are faster and cleaner to eat, but watch the thermometer and pull them the second they hit 155°F, because they finish in the skillet. Got a whole spatchcocked chicken? Grill it whole over the drip pan, then cut it into quarters before it goes on the orzo.
Round It Out: Lemon Pepper Garlic is the shaker that lives next to the grill for chicken, shrimp and fish. If you're restocking, build your own bundle and pick it alongside Clucker Dust for the next chicken night and SPG for everything else; the bundle savings are already built into the price. Try the same seasoning on shrimp in the 30-Minute Surf & Turf, or go the other direction with The Ultimate Hot Wings.
The Verdict: Dan ordered this dish at his favorite restaurant for years. Cooking the orzo in the grill drippings is the difference, and it's the reason his version won. Same skillet, better chicken, and a lemon pepper garlic crust you can taste in every bite of the orzo.
Watch the video
Watch Dan cook it start to finish: