Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken for Your Inner Manly Man

I think I have a problem. I may be morphing into some weird version of a stereotypical manly man. I’ve always had tendencies, but this is getting ridiculous. Stay with me.

I hate doing my nails. I’ve perfected the art of tuning people out, as necessary. If you offer me a beer, I’ll take Guinness over Mich Ultra any day. And if you don’t have Guinness, a little bourbon or some brandy neat will do just fine.

I don’t own a hairdryer. I don’t really like Madonna. And given the choice, I’d pick Shark Week over a What Not to Wear marathon. Every time. (Though I realize this comparison is a bit of a stretch: both species can be pretty ruthless.)

So the aforementioned evidence, plus my burgeoning—borderline unhealthy—relationship with my grill has elicited slight concern. (Take away my tongs and I may throw you into a headlock.) I figure while I deal with these Y chromosome traits, I might as well enjoy some grilled chicken. And as part of my new Sunday summer night grilling series, the chicken this week did not disappoint. It was extraordinary.

I should also mention that I spent some time on Saturday with said chicken, breaking it down into legs, thighs, wings and breasts. After letting it hang out in a spiced yogurt marinade overnight, it charred to juicy perfection on the grill. While you could certainly buy the bone-in pieces, the inner guy in me was looking for a task to conquer.

It was worth it. This chicken was like nothing I’ve tasted in a very, very long time. Said in a bad Barry White impersonation: baby, you’ll love this chicken. So go ahead, make the chicken. And maybe smash a beer can over your head. No, you are probably too smart for a cheap party trick like that. But on the off chance that you aren’t, come over: we can bond over beer and flame-grilled chicken.

Yogurt Marinated Spiced Grilled Chicken

Adapted from David Lebovitz

1 cup low fat Greek yogurt

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

1/4-1/2 tsp ground ginger (depends on your preference)

5 cardamom pods, seeds ground and pod shells discarded

Ground pepper (about 10 turns with the peppermill)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp saffron threads

1 whole chicken*, cut into 8 pieces (2 thigh, 2 wings, 2 legs and 2 breasts)

Combine the first 14 ingredients (all ingredients up to the saffron threads) in a large bowl. Heat 1 tbsp of water in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds and add saffron to water; let saffron sit for a few minutes and then add to yogurt spice mixture.

Meanwhile, break down a whole chicken into 8 pieces, discarding the backbone (or saving it for chicken stock). (Alternatively you could just buy a total of 8 chicken pieces, e.g. breasts, thighs, etc. Cook's choice: see note below.) Add chicken to yogurt marinade and chill in the fridge overnight.

Cook chicken on a medium-hot grill until done. (Internal temp should be 165 degrees.)

Yields 2 each of thighs, breasts, legs and wings

Notes:

-* You could easily buy already cut up chicken pieces; Lebovitz used 4 thighs and 4 legs. Regardless, buy skin-on chicken if you can. It keeps the chicken unbelievably moist on the grill: even the breast pieces.

-The leftovers of this have been insane: I've been feeding myself spiced chicken all week. Sometimes, multiple times per day.

-I'm thinking this would be perfect with a deep Lagrein rosé or the Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon rosé from South Africa that's chilling in my fridge. (This may be the only redeeming feminine note of my post.)