Greek Marinade for Chicken and Lamb

I bought a new Broil King Monarch 390 BBQ at the end of September, the weather here in Wellington is somewhat unpredictable at this time of year.

I got it home and 2 or 3 hours later I had it assembled and ready to go. It was warm and sunny but I had no gas, so had to wait for the gas wholesaler to open the next day (it was after 5pm by the time I had the thing assembled).

Unfortunately by 7pm that evening the clouds had appeared, it was a miserable, cold, wet and windy Wellington southerly, 9ºC, that persisted for 8 days. this put a stop to my excitement of owning a new bbq, quick smart.

Fortunately I was working nights in a small hot kitchen during this time, still, I wasn’t able to crank up the damn thing.

By the time the weather cleared I had to pack my bags and head to Sydney for 10 days, still no bbq. While I was away my wife teased me incessantly about how nice the weather was and how often she had got the Broil King out to cook her dinners (thankfully she was only having me on).

Finally, I got back home and to my delight it was warm and sunny. I dragged the bbq out of the garage, bought a succulent free range chicken and set to work marinating it and rigging up the rotisserie on the Monarch 390.

This is the recipe for my greek marinade, I use it for lamb and chicken mostly. If i am using it for lamb I add some fresh mint and thyme…

Greek Marinade

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated or chopped and crushed

1 teaspoon of good flakey sea salt ( you can use this to crush the garlic with the flat of a knife to great effect).

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

60ml olive oil

A generous grind of black pepper

2 Tblspn fresh chopped oregano OR 2 teaspoons dried oregano or marjoram

Method 

In a small bowl, place in the garlic and salt

Zest the lemon on the fine part of a grater, I use a microplane.

Juice the lemon and add to garlic salt and zest

Add the oil and black pepper and mix together well.

Add in the fresh or dried herbs and combine

Rub the mixture onto a nice whole chicken, be sure to work the marinade into the chicken’s cavity. I put the chicken into a big resealable plastic bag and zip it up and leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

You can use chicken portions too, just rub the marinade all over and leave in a bowl or bag for a couple of hours in the fridge.

If you have a rotisserie, truss the bird firmly with the rod running through the cavity and the spikes firmly embedded in either end of the chicken so that it won’t slip as it rotates and cooks. Alternatively you can just roast the whole chicken or portions in the oven at 180ºC. The whole bird for about 1 1/2 hours or portions for 30-40 minutes depending on their size. My advice is to roast the bird breast UP.