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Grilled Orange Tarragon Chicken for a light but totally flavorful dinner.
I love just throwing chicken on the bbq. It’s just so easy to me, although when you think about it, it’s really not that different to throw it in the oven. Oh, but wait, that smoky, delicious flavor just isn’t there in the oven. Unless of course you burned something, but then it’s just plain nasty. Often we grill with friends and sometimes we want to bring something other than burgers, but plain chicken just isn’t exciting so we need something better. Oh, sweet mercy. This is it! Grilled Orange Tarragon Chicken to the rescue!
The citrus flavor with that fresh tarragon. YUM! I loooooove that you marinade the chicken, and not even for a long time, just a short little blip. I adore marinades, but let’s be honest, sometimes you haven’t planned that far out or even if you did you completely forget to get it going. This chicken still gets the benefits of a marinade, but then you add a little more sweet deliciousness by adding a sauce after it’s cooked. LOVE IT!!! The chicken is juicy, tender, flavorful and a little saucy. Everything I love. Thank you Cook’s Illustrated!!!
Is Grilled Chicken Good For Losing Weight?
Chicken is always included in a healthy diet because it is basically a lean meat, which means it doesn’t have much fat.
So, eating chicken regularly can actually help you lose weight in a healthy way.
Grilling is a healthier way to prepare chicken because there is no added fat, so the meat remains lean.
What is Tarragon?
Tarragon is an herb in the sunflower family.
It is used for both culinary and medicinal purposes.
Tarragon has a slightly bittersweet flavor and an aroma similar to anise.
It is used to flavor fish, meat, soups and stews, and is often used in tomato and egg dishes.
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Grilled Orange Tarragon Chicken
Easy Healthy Citrus Grilled Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
Recipe By: Cook’s Illustrated
- 3-4 Chicken Breasts
For the Dressing
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Orange Juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Orange Zest
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Tarragon, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
For the Marinade
- 1 Teaspoon Orange Zest
- 1 Tablespoons Fresh Orange Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Tarragon, minced
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoons Sugar
- 3 Garlic Cloves, medium, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
- Vegetable Oil , for grill rack
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
For the Dressing
- Whisk together mustard, orange juice, orange zest, olive oil, tarragon, sugar, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Set aside.1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard, 1 Tablespoon Orange Juice, 1/2 teaspoon Orange Zest, 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, 1 Tablespoon Fresh Tarragon, 1/4 teaspoon Sugar, 1/4 teaspoon Salt, 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
For the Marinade
- Whisk together orange juice, remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, remaining teaspoon sugar, garlic, water, salt and pepper in medium bowl.1 Tablespoons Fresh Orange Juice, 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, 1 teaspoons Sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons Salt, 3 Garlic Cloves, 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- Place marinade and chicken in gallon-size zipper-lock bag and toss to coat;3-4 Chicken Breasts
- Press out as much air as possible and seal bag.
- Refrigerate 30 minutes, flipping bag after 15 minutes.
- Turn all burners to high and heat with lid down until very hot, about 15 minutes.
- Scrape grate clean with grill brush.
- Dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.Vegetable Oil
- Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
- Remove chicken from bag, allowing excess marinade to drip off.
- Place chicken on cooler side of grill, smooth-side down, with thicker side facing lit burner.
- Cover and cook until bottom of chicken just begins to develop light grill marks and is no longer translucent, 6 to 9 minutes.
- Using tongs, flip chicken and rotate so that thinner side faces lit burner.
- Cover and continue to cook until chicken is opaque and firm to touch and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 140 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes longer.
- Move chicken to hotter side of grill and cook, uncovered, until dark grill marks appear, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Using tongs, flip chicken and cook until dark grill marks appear and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board, let rest, tented with foil, 5 minutes.
- Slice each breast on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices and transfer to individual plates.
- Drizzle with reserved dressing and serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Easy Grilled Chicken for Tacos
Love this chicken, but I don’t understand why the olive oil and the orange juice for the marinade is labeled “divided.” I used all of both ingredients and the chicken is great. Please clarify. Thanks so much for this and all your great recipes. I sing your praises.