Honey-Lemon Grilled Chicken

So here it is.
Many of you email me or send messages asking for healthy, gluten-free, dairy free, easy meals.  Well, my lovelies, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Much like the oh so popular grilled pork chops, this recipe requires minimal ingredients and minimal effort with a big return.  The lemon is bright but not overly tangy and the honey adds more flavor than you would expect!  And you know how much I love to cook with honey.  It is just.  so.  good.  In a future post I will show you one of my favorite ways to serve this dish, but for now, you get it straight up.  Grill it, slice it, serve it.  Spring veggies are the perfect thing to share the plate with this chicken so make sure that you have lots of fresh greens, peas, asparagus, or beets piled on the side.  Aaahh.  The smell of a grill, the snap of fresh vegetables-delicious!

Can I take this time to chat with you a little about your zesting though?  I feel as if we know each other well enough to discuss this.  In regards to your preferred zesting apparatus, I hope you are all using a Microplane, or something similar.  You can buy them anywhere nowadays and they all run about fifteen bucks.  Not too shabby for a tool that does so much!  Of course I use mine mainly for zesting citrus which means it is pretty much always dirty.  But it can turn a block of parmesan cheese into wonderfully fluffy gratings that stir into pasta much easier than the grainy store bought stuff.  Back to the whole zesting dealy-o, make sure that you always zest with the grater OVER THE VESSEL YOU ARE MIXING IN, as opposed to zesting onto a counter, plate, or cutting board!  Believe it or not, you get way more flavor this way.  When you scrape your citrus over the blade, it cuts the rind into teeny tiny little ribbons, spraying the oils-which have a TON of flavor-as you go.  That beautiful essence of lemon, orange, or whatever, should be in your recipe, not making your counters sticky.

Ding!  Zest lecture complete.

Now go grill something!

One Year Ago: Lemon Quick Bread
Two Years Ago: Black & White Angel Food Cake

Honey-Lemon Grilled Chicken
White meat is more versatile but boneless, skinless chicken thighs are equally awesome in this recipe.  Don’t skimp on the black pepper; it adds a subtle heat that is part of what makes this chicken so addictive.  Replacing the lemon with orange is just as stellar.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c honey, preferably local
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2-3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 c extra-virgin olive or grapeseed oil

Combine all ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag or large bowl.  Squish and turn to mix and coat the chicken.  Let marinade for at least 4 hours, or up to 8, turning occasionally if you can.  Grill chicken over medium, direct heat, letting the extra marinade drain off before placing it in the grill.  Grill about 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until chicken is just done, but not dry.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!!