The secret to this simple grilled chicken is a very powerful marinade and 'roasting' it slowly over semi-indirect heat on the grill.

Grilled Greek Chicken

garlic (or more to taste), crushed or

oregano

red pepper flakes,

black pepper

lemon juice

olive oil

white vinegar

chicken leg quarters

lemon,

Whisk garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, and vinegar together in a large bowl.


Make 2 slashes on the skin side down to the bone in the thigh section and 1 in the leg section of each leg quarter. This will help infuse pieces with marinade and allow faster cooking on the grill. Season both sides of chicken generously with kosher salt. Transfer to bowl with marinade and thoroughly coat all sides. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 4 to 12 hours.


Transfer chicken to paper-towel-lined sheet pan to drain slightly.


Place leg quarters on grill skin side down over semi-direct heat (avoid intense direct heat so chicken cooks evenly and skin doesn't burn). Cook 6 or 7 minutes. Turn chicken and cook another 6 to 7 minutes. Continue cooking and turning until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 8 to 10 more minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.


It's a perfect go-to recipe as - is.  I recently tripled it, put everything in the blender (used whole cloves of garlic) blended and poured.  Using the blender gave a more even coating of spices (especially the chili flakes). Perfect marinade.  Use any chicken cut  you like, I've used thighs, and breasts both with skin on/off.  I frequently precook for dinner parties and this is a favorite.  I marinated the breasts overnight, grilled fast and hot and load everything into an electric skillet.  Then I boiled the marinade, added chicken stock, then it is just heat and eat for tender, flavorful chicken with a grilled flavor but less work at party time.  Today I'll serve this with a greek salad, greek yogurt on the side (as a dip), good bread and wine.  Viola'

I love this marinade.  I used this on a big pack of chicken breasts.  I pounded the breasts and marinated overnight just because I didn't have time to cook them.  Grill them the next day.  With the leftovers I let them cool and I sliced the chicken on the diagonal for chicken strips.  I froze half of it to use later on salads, pita bread (gyros), etc.  The only slight difference was I used half oregano and half majoram.  I think I must have read that on his website.  I had the majoram on hand that I needed to use.  My new standard marinade!

Fabulous!!  I was only able to marinate our chicken for the minimum of 4 hours but the flavor was very evident.  I made NO CHANGES to this recipe.  My husband grilled this over a charcoal fire and I served it with a Greek salad--everyone loved it.  Saving this one--thanks Chef John once again!

This marinade is fabulous!  I made it for a dinner party and used chicken breasts instead.  Let them marinate overnight and the end result was a deliciously tender and oh-so-flavorful entree.  Highly recommend!

As usual, Chef John does it again.  This chicken is delicious...I wouldn't change a thing in the marinade.   I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs because that's all I had on hand and it still turned out beautifully.  I only had  3  1/2 hours to  marinate but that was plenty of time for the cuts I used.  Something in the marinade gave a wonderful crusted chicken effect - don't know why but it was great.  I served it with the chopped salad Chef John suggests in his video.  I added a bit of chopped cilantro and sprinkled it with some feta cheese.  Made quite a hit.   So simple .....I'll be making this often.

Really good recipe, very Basic and Simple! Can adjust with various herbs to suit your tastes. The chicken quarters are great perfect serving with some Greek salad or cold pasta. Cant wait for Summertime Grilling this is going to be Awesome! Thank You Chef John! Love this version of chicken ..... the family enjoys this is so many ways and the leftovers are just as excellent.

Really good, but need to make just a few minor changes for next time. I need to use fresh garlic and lemon juice next time. Also, way better if it marinated overnight. Lastly, it takes a lot longer on the grill than it says so the drumsticks are not bloody.

Made it exactly as written.  Easy and delicious!

Mild flavors but only marinated for 30 minutes.  Try again with proper 4 hour wait time.

Quick marinade and very citrus it is a very quick way to cook a few chicken thighs

This is simply fantastic. Neighbors living near me came out and asked for recipe on the basis of delicious cooking smoke.

That said...I have a abiding dislike of reviewers who modify the recipe (marinading for only 30 minutes instead of 4 hours) and then giving only 3 stars because of the bland taste.

This was an excellent recipe!  I used chicken thighs and drumsticks, but only because my family does not like chicken leg quarters.  I prepared the marinade in the morning and let the chicken marinate all day.  It was a big hit with the whole family!

Love this marinade.  Charcoal grill is amazing with this for sure.  This is my go to

This recipe is awesome. It doesn’t need anything, but I would like to try it with that lemon yogurt condiment. No substitutions, this recipe shines as is. Thanks Chef John

Very easy to make. Awesome marinade. Try it on charcoal grill!!!

Great, easy recipe! Perfect for prepping meals the night before.

Very easy to prepare. Followed recipe as stated except I baked the chicken at 400. Skin super crispy. BF and guests enjoyed. I used lemon greek yogurt and added diced cucumber, dill and hot sauce...it paired perfectly with the chicken. We also added a greek salad plus green beans with walnuts. Will definitely make again and maybe more spicy.

Packed full of flavor and it is delicious.

I Did not marinate the full time but the results were still good. I loved The lemony taste.  I did not change the recipe.

Beautiful Citrus flavor, love the oregano and tang of the white vinegar. I will be making this a lot in the future. thanks for the recipe

It was very very good and exactly like he said.

Very tasty. I used fresh lime juice instead of lemons because this is what I had.

It took longer than I assumed to grill.  It had just enough seasonings but I went a little too heavy on the salt

Awesome ! Be sure to work some of the marinade into the cuts in the chicken.  Also , grill LOW and SLOW, well beyond reqiured time. Just keep an eye on it. You will be rewarded for your patience.

I used a whole chicken and smoked it rather than baking it.

Simple but great. My husband and I loved it.

A very easy and delicious marinate! Very flavorful

This is an flavorful marinade that makes your mouth sing. I used chicken breasts and it was amazing. One suggestion is adding some lemon thyme in if you have it. I add a bunch when it’s in abundance in the garden. Love this with Greek orzo salad.

Marinated the chicken for a few hours.  Not bad, but I wouldn't make it again.

I did not make any changes. This was good, but did not have the "wow" factor that I was expecting. My husband liked it more than I did, so I ended up averaging the two and giving it four stars.

Am I the only person thinking it needed salt? I can’t believe I didn’t catch it has no salt in the recipe.

Made this with chicken drumsticks. Came out great!

This was the best, juiciest, tender grilled chicken.  I made it exactly as written, except for the garlic. I was out of fresh garlic so I used a tablespoon of garlic powder.

The is excellent; although a little too much on the spicy side. Reducing the hotness would be just as good as well.

I followed the recipe without making changes using fresh lemons and garlic.  Easy, delicious, and the spiced yogurt really enhanced the flavors.

This second time came out great as the first...fabulous! All I changed was adding a little salt in the marinade. BTW, I served it with the AR Greek Pasta Salad I and grilled carrots. They were very complimentary. Oh, as for a picture, it was devoured before I remembered to take one. Everyone got really hungry with the aroma coming from the grill. Nuf said

This was good...and fairly easy to make, but think I preferred the lemon-yogurt recipe with harissa sauce when I am think grilled Mediterranean chicken.  Still good and easy and much better than standard grilled chicken.

I LOVED this dish! I will make it again and again. Probably won’t use a hind quarter again though. Too many bones to cut around. Will use it with boneless chicken thighs and breasts skin on. I made s tahini dipping sauce to go along with it. Delicious!

I don't even like chicken and I like this recipe.  Easy to follow.  Good marinate, slow grilling is the key.  I've always grilled on high or medium high heat.  This low and slow method allows the skin on the chicken to melt into a thin paper and infuse the meat with flavor.  Thank you.

This is easy with excellent flavor.  I marinated the chicken overnight.

Wonderful!  I did not have the leg/thigh pieces, but used thighs alone and it was excellent.  Will definitely make this again and will try it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Probably won't be as good, but perhaps a bit more healthy!!

If you thought that this recipe had bland flavor notes, I'm betting that you didn't salt your chicken enough. I only changed a very few, mostly methodological, things and got amazing results:
1. I used used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
2. I used white wine vinegar (nothing fancy, just a bottle I had in my cupboard from the local market). 
3. I used 7 cloves of garlic, crushed. 
4. I rubbed the oregano in my hand before adding to the marinade. I love releasing the oils in the oregano like this.  

I also used a good extra virgin olive oil.

The smell of the marinade was amazing, the lemon, garlic, and oregano come together  so nicely. 

I did a 5 hour marinade, the grilled result was a real hit in the family. This is a keeper.

grilled greek chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total: 4 hours, 35 minutes

Servings: 6

Author : Allrecipes

Ingredients

Instructions

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