Grilled Chicken Thighs with Courgette and Red Peppers
Garlicky grilled chicken thighs with charred courgette and sweet red peppers, finished with a bright lemon and olive oil drizzle. A high-protein barbecue dinner that comes together on the grill.
- Total
- 50 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 25 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Grilling · Resting meat
- Savory
- Barbecue
Instructions
-
Finely grate 3 garlic cloves into a small bowl. Add 3 tbsp olive oil, the zest of the lemon, 1 tsp salt and the black pepper. Stir to combine.
~5 min
Grating garlic releases more allicin and creates a paste that clings to food instead of burning in flecks.
Grate the garlic rather than chopping it: the fine paste clings to the chicken and vegetables instead of burning in flecks on the grate.
-
Slice the courgettes lengthways into 1 cm planks. Quarter the red peppers and remove the seeds and white pith. Slice the remaining garlic clove thinly.
~8 min
If your courgettes are large, salt the planks 10 minutes ahead and pat them dry so they char instead of steaming.
-
Light the barbecue and let it burn until the coals are covered in grey ash and you can hold your hand 10 cm above the grate for 3 seconds. Oil the grate with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil.
~12 min
Grey ash and a 3-second hand hold indicate the coals are at steady medium-high heat, so food sears rather than steams.
-
Brush the chicken thighs all over with half the garlic oil. Grill skin-side down over direct medium-high heat for 6 minutes until well marked, then turn and cook 6 to 8 minutes more, until the thickest part reaches 74°C/165°F on a thermometer. Move to a cooler edge of the grill if the skin darkens too fast.
~14 min
Cooking to 74°C/165°F ensures the chicken is safe while moving to a cooler edge prevents the skin burning before the meat cooks through.
Grilling Set up direct medium-high heat and oil the grate; watch for good char marks without flare-ups, moving food to a cooler zone if it darkens too fast.
-
While step 4 cooks
While the chicken rests, brush the courgette planks and pepper quarters with the remaining garlic oil and scatter over the sliced garlic. Grill 3 to 4 minutes per side until tender and lightly charred at the edges.
~8 min
Brushing vegetables with oil and grilling over direct heat chars the edges while keeping the interiors tender, not steamed.
Grilling Set up direct medium-high heat and oil the grate; watch for good char marks without flare-ups, moving food to a cooler zone if it darkens too fast.
-
Transfer the chicken to a board and rest 5 minutes. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon, slice the chicken, and serve with the grilled courgette and peppers.
~5 min
Resting 5 minutes lets juices redistribute so they stay in the meat instead of running out when sliced.
Resting meat Rest chicken 5 minutes before slicing so juices redistribute; cutting immediately lets them run out and leaves the meat dry.