Honey Lemon Grilled Chicken Breasts & Home Grown Chef Contest Winner!

You can really learn a lot in a year without even realizing it. Last year, I can honestly say I used to burn or just about overcook everything I tried to grill (to the point of shoe leather!), but I have to say, though I'm not perfect yet, I am doing a much better job.


Here are some grilling tips for chicken I thought you might find helpful:

• After you fire up the grill, don’t poke the chicken. Instead, use tongs to turn it over. Using a fork to turn the chicken pokes holes in the meat, thus letting some of those juices go to waste. 
• The only time you need to cut into the meat is when you are cooking a whole chicken and it is almost done. 
• One trick I learned for grilling chicken on the bone is to simmer it in water first. Add chicken pieces to a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Then allow to simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes. You can do this with or without the skin on. This accomplishes several things. One: The chicken doesn't dry out on the grill (especially when using chicken breasts) before it has time to cook through. It also won't have that completely charred bbq sauce on the meat; which if you're like my family, the kids refuse to eat! Two: It reduces your grilling time which is helpful if you're entertaining for a large crowd. Three: If you are cooking for a crowd, you can prepare the chicken ahead of time, even the day before the event, so you can spend more time with friends and family and less time sweltering over the heat of the grill...BONUS in my opinion! 
• Grills vary, thickness of meat, bone-in or bone out, skin or no skin, and even the weather all effect the cooking times of chicken. Use a meat thermometer, look for golden brown skin, clear running juices, and monitor closely to cook to the best doneness.
• Get a grilling thermometer. The recommended internal temperature for chicken when it is finished is between 165 - 175 degrees and the juices run clear. 
• Don’t serve the chicken right away. Let the chicken “rest”. For grilling a whole chicken let it sit for about 15 minutes after taking it off the grill and before carving. For chicken pieces let them sit for about 5 minutes to let the juices run back into the meat. The chicken will be much juicier this way! 

You can't get any simpler than this and the flavor was INCREDIBLE! Sweet, tangy and woodsy all in one made this one of my favorite ways to marinate chicken. 

Honey Lemon Grilled Chicken

Four 4-6oz. Boneless Chicken Breasts

½ c. Honey

1 Lemon, zest and juice

1 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped

Add the honey, lemon zest and juice, and rosemary to a bowl and whisk until well blended. Add the chicken to a resealable plastic bag, then add the honey mixture. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes prior to grilling to bring the meat to room temperature, discard the marinade, then grill until desired internal temperature. Serves 4. 

Enjoy!


And now for the contest results! THANK YOU to everyone that voted and again to our contestants! Are you ready.... 

In 5th Place with 7 Votes was Lily Zhou's Steelhead Trout


In 4th Place with 11 Votes was Patty VanKirk's Caramelized Snack Mix


In 3rd Place with 50 Votes was Jenn Cedeno's Chicken with Roasted Peppers


In 2nd Place with 55 Votes was M.J. Vitelli's Nana's Chicken Ravioli Filling


And...The winner of the $50 Williams Sonoma Gift Card and the Bamboo Cutting Board with 71 votes was Karin Hung's Hot Cross Buns Ice Cream

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU! 

Please email your mailing address to carrieexpktchn@optonline.net so that I can get  your prizes out to you asap! :)

Recipe Shared on Recipes for My Boys Tasty Treasures 6/7/12


THIS CONTEST HAS BEEN CLOSED.