Someone needs to tell California that fall is just around the corner because it is HOT. All caps HOT. Over 100 degrees HOT.
On these hottest of September weekends, we filmed a wedding in Sacramento on Saturday. You guys, it was 101 degrees. All outdoors. I easily drank 1 gallon of water, and sweat about that same amount. We were quite the sight. Shawn made the unfortunate decision of wearing a gray t-shirt that day. He has the difficult job of setting up all of the audio before the ceremony starts, which means he’s running around with wires and microphones, getting the officiant and groom miked up. He walked over to me when he was done, and his shirt was soaked with some very unfortunate sweat marks.
It shouldn’t be this warm! I’m supposed to be bundled up on the couch with soup cooking on the stove. Instead, I’m splayed out on the couch with multiple fans turned on me, eating ice.
I don’t dare cook anything in the kitchen since it instantly makes the house feel like a sauna. So we’re doing lots of grilling outdoors. One of the few perks of this warm weather is delicious grilled dinners.
My current favorite grilling dinners is this grilled lemon and rosemary flattened chicken. To speed up the cooking process, you cut out the back bone and flatten the chicken. The whole bird is ready in less than 45 minutes. You smother the chicken in a lemon zest, rosemary and garlic olive oil rub. You cook the chicken skin side down, and weight it down with an aluminum foil brick. This also helps the chicken cook faster, and helps you get extra crispy skin with beautiful grill marks.
The *best* part of this recipe is the grilled lemons. You cut the lemons in half, and grill them during the last few minutes of cooking the chicken. The heat cooks out all the sourness of the lemon, and reduces the juices and pulp inside. It turns the lemon into an amazing, concentrated lemon sauce. When you squeeze out the lemons, the pulp comes out as paste. It is SO good! I can’t get enough of it.
Print
Grilled Lemon and Rosemary Flattened Chicken
Prep Time: 10 mins- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
Yield: 4 people 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 whole chicken, back bone cut out and the breast bone pressed to flatten (I get my chicken from ButcherBox, which I highly recommend)
- zest of 2 lemons, plus 2 more lemons (total of 4), sliced in half
- 3 sprigs of rosemary, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, grated or finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large 9×13 baking dish, mix the lemon zest, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Add in the flattened chicken, and rub it with the olive oil mixture on both sides. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
- Heat your grill over medium high heat, and oil the grill grates. Cook the chicken skin side down, and weight the chicken down with aluminum foil bricks, or the same baking dish you marinated the chicken in. Cook for 20 minutes, then flip the chicken so it is skin side up. Put the brick or baking dish back on the chicken. Continue cooking until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 20-40 minutes more, depending on the size of your chicken.
- In the last 10 minutes of cooking the chicken, grill the lemons flash side down.
- Remove the chicken from the heat, and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve, and serve with the grilled lemons. Squeeze the lemons on the chicken. Leftovers will keep refrigerated for 5 days.
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Renee@Two in the Kitchen says
September 16, 2014 at 4:37 amYou are right Natalie. Fall should not be 100 degrees!! But this chicken on the other hand NEEDS to happen in my house SOON!! Amazing! :)
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven says
September 16, 2014 at 4:45 amGahhhh even though it’s below 60 degrees here, I’m STILL craving grilled food, but I have no motivation to go out in the cold to grill. LOL. This chicken might change my mind though. I LOVE the combo of rosemary and lemon and this chicken looks so perfect and crispy on the outside! Perfect. :) Pinned!
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen says
September 16, 2014 at 6:16 amI’m with you! It IS too hot here in California! I’m ready for jeans, sweaters, and soup! In the meantime, this grilled chicken looks like the perfect way to avoid turning on my oven. :)
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
September 16, 2014 at 7:32 amI wish you could send some of that warm weather my way, because it’s only been in the upper 50s/low 60s by me this week, so unseasonable for this time of year! This grilled chicken looks perfect, Natalie! I love using rosemary whenever I can, and the lemon and garlic sounds like the perfect addition. Gorgeous pictures, too!
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
September 16, 2014 at 7:48 amOuch, a 100 degrees?! At this point you must want fall to get here.
This grilled chicken looks spectacular. I grew a lot of rosemary in containers over the summer. Love using it with chicken. Can’t wait to try this
★★★★★
Kathi @laughingspatula.com says
September 16, 2014 at 8:08 amThis is simply fabulous! The recipe and pictures are outstanding! It’s a hot 85 in Seattle too but I stopped grilling. Obviously too soon because I must try this recipe before the rains come in!!
Kathi
Cate @ Chez CateyLou says
September 16, 2014 at 8:30 amOver 100?! That’s insane!! This chicken looks amazing – you can see how crispy and delicious the skin is! And the grilled lemons – yum!!
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
September 16, 2014 at 8:30 amI finally had a chance to watch one of your videos, and wow, you guys are so talented! And this chicken looks so simple and delicious, love the idea of grilling the lemons and squeezing them over, I’m totally going to give this recipe a try :) Hope you get some cooler weather…maybe we can share with you, ha!
★★★★★
Meg says
September 16, 2014 at 8:32 amOoh, this looks so good. And that heat is crazy! It’s already in the 70s here during the day, with lows dipping into the 50s at night. It typically stays hot until late September here in Maryland, so this is pretty whacky! Not complaining, though. Yayyy fall!
Kathi @ Deliciously Yum! says
September 16, 2014 at 8:37 amWe didn’t even get close to 100 degrees this year! It definitely feels like fall in good old MN, but that doesn’t keep me from grilling :). I am in love with this Flattened Chicken – you always have the best dinner recipes, Natalie!
Meggan | Culinary Hill says
September 16, 2014 at 9:17 amI really admire how gorgeous your photo is of the chicken, I struggle with things like this myself and you are obviously very talented. Now, let’s talk about how much I want to EAT this chicken! So yummy! And yes, I’m in SoCal and it’s 105 for the 5th day in a row here… I cannot believe you were doing outdoor wedding activities on Saturday. That’s brutal. Glad you survived. Where is El Nino already?!
Leah | So, How's It Taste? says
September 16, 2014 at 9:38 amOk, this is the one time I’m not jealous of your California weather. We’ve been enjoying some temperatures unusually low for this time of year in Nashville and I’m loving it! It hasn’t been over 80 in several days. I’ve always wanted to try cooking chicken like this and haven’t tried it yet. I also had no idea that grilled lemons did that! I’ve been (gasp!) throwing them away after I grill them. I won’t make that mistake again!
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
September 16, 2014 at 9:40 amWow sounds like it’s stupid hot in CA!!! There’s nothing fun about trying to do a wedding when it’s that hot…. ugh. Loving this chicken though. Those grill marks are STUNNING!!!!
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
September 16, 2014 at 10:02 amThis chicken looks delicious! Wow, that is hot! I am actually wearing a sweater today :)
Kelly // The Pretty Bee: Cooking & Creating says
September 16, 2014 at 10:33 amI’ve never grilled lemons, but now I’m dying to try that! This chicken looks beautiful! You’re making me want to grill!
Adri says
September 16, 2014 at 11:02 amNo kidding about the heat here in California. In my neighborhood it was 104 degrees yesterday. Crazy hot. This chicken looks beautiful. Lemon, rosemary and chicken were made for each other!
Kelly says
September 16, 2014 at 11:16 amYikes, it sounds over 100?! That is hot! Hope it cools down for you soon. Luckily you guys are grilling most of your meals. This chicken looks incredible – the grill marks are gorgeous! And grilled lemons too? Sounds amazing!
Rachel @the dessert chronicles says
September 16, 2014 at 12:34 pmWow, that is hot! Way too hot for fall! This chicken looks amazing though and super healthy. I’ll try to send some of our cooler weather your way!!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
September 16, 2014 at 3:42 pmI hope it cools down for you. We actually enjoyed the cooler dry weather for a few days when we were in California. 100 degrees when it is dry feels a lot better to me than when it is humid. I had a good hair day almost every day I was in California ;P I love grilled lemon rosemary chicken. It is so easy and I usually just grab the rosemary and lemons from my yard so it makes it even easier!
Danielle says
September 16, 2014 at 5:05 pmHoly cow! Fall definitely needs to get here, especially for you! 100 degrees is just insane for September.
On the plus side, this chicken looks absolutely amazing. I love that you grilled it and it’s ready so quick. Pinning!
★★★★★
anna@shenANNAgans says
September 16, 2014 at 7:03 pmOh my, this does look delicious. Totes agree with you about the grilled chicken, I love the stuff.
chantelle says
September 16, 2014 at 10:54 pmThis chicken looks so perfectly crispy and charred. Great video too, I love the way those grilled lemons release all that amazing juice.
★★★★★
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
September 17, 2014 at 4:49 amThis seriously has to be the most gorgeous chicken I have ever seen! I am salivating!
Melanie @ Carmel Moments says
September 17, 2014 at 5:22 amNo wonder this is a favorite it looks delicious! I’ve got to give it a try on the grill before the grilling days are gone here in PA.
Have a beautiful day!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
September 17, 2014 at 12:21 pmI LOOOVE lemon and rosemary flavors on pretty much everything, and this chicken looks absolutely delicious!!
Annie @Maebells says
September 17, 2014 at 12:46 pmWow!! This looks super impressive!! I tried this once (the flatten chicken thing) but I am such a wuss that I gagged the whole time I tried to take the bone out. COULD NOT HANDLE IT! ha! I am going to be brave and try again because this looks so worth it!!
★★★★★
Layla @ Brunch Time Baker says
September 17, 2014 at 9:24 pmThis chicken looks perfect! It’s funny the weather is hot there because it’s around 55 here in Philly now :(
★★★★★
Caitlin @ teaspoon says
September 18, 2014 at 3:05 amThe grass is always greener…because I want your heat! I feel like summer never came here and we only got to use our grill a handful of times. Soup is for dinner more often than not! This chicken looks so good! But I kinda get the hebejeebees (?) when I have to cut off the backbone. Maybe I can get Jon to do it next time since he is in charge of the grill :)
Mira says
September 18, 2014 at 9:07 amRosemary and lemon is a great combination for chicken. This video i great, I love it. Pinning !
★★★★★
katie says
September 18, 2014 at 10:42 amWow great chicken recipe, I’m sorry that it’s so dang out for you guys! Hang in there, fall we be there soon. The weather is cooling off in NC but it’s still great grilling weather. I’ll have the hubby make this for us, pinning!
★★★★★
Isadora says
September 18, 2014 at 6:39 pmSweat marks are the worst! Poor Shawn! I love grilled lemons! They add such a great flavor to everything you add them to. I’ve never cooked a whole chicken before, but that seems like such a great idea to cut the backbone out and flatten it. We finally got a bunch of rain and it has cooled things down a bit. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you get some cool weather soon!!
Alyssa @ My Sequined Life says
September 18, 2014 at 8:51 pmOoof sorry about the heat, girl! No wonder you’re steering clear of the kitchen, but geez what a fab dinner to make on the grill regardless! I love that it takes under an hour and I NEED to experience a grilled lemon.
Tash says
September 19, 2014 at 12:12 amGreat photography here! Looks tasty :)
Ashley @ My Midwest Table says
October 15, 2014 at 11:23 amThis chicken looks amazing! Sad it took me this long to finally read about it. I’ve never had grilled lemons. Wow, they sounds like the best.
Hope CA has cooled off a bit! 100+ weather is no joke!
Lori says
July 18, 2015 at 8:22 pmMade this tonight! Wow!! Easier than I thought and AMAZING! This will definitely be a repeat!
★★★★
Natalie says
July 20, 2015 at 1:44 pmI am so glad to hear that Lori! I love this dinner. One of my favorites. Nothing better than flavorful and crispy skinned chicken. Thank you so much for taking the time and letting me know you like my recipe. You just made my day!
Cindy Litchfield says
July 25, 2015 at 3:35 pmThank you for making your recipes printable.
Davinia says
July 5, 2018 at 5:56 pmThis is the 4th time we have made this recipe, it is so simple yet the most amazing chicken recipe I have. The lemons make it for sure.
Natalie says
July 7, 2018 at 9:31 amI’m so glad you like it! This is one of our family favorites! Especially since by flattening it, the chicken cooks way faster on the grill. Thanks for letting me know you liked my recipe, this made my day!