Marinated Chicken Thighs on a George Foreman Grill

Lemon does wonders for chicken!  This extremely simple marinade improves chicken, no matter what you plan to do with it. Try it next time you barbecue!

Chicken thighs in a lemon marinade

2.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 cup water

1 tsp. salt
Juice of 1 lemon


Marinate for a day, chilled.

There were 10 thighs.  As our George Foreman Grill is a small one, we grilled twice, 3 pieces at a time. (The final four along with all the drippings and marinade and some tomatoes became spaghetti sauce, not shown here.)

Spray the grill with non-stick spray and plug it in.

Slice up an onion.  Arrange a layer of onion on the grill.  Arrange a layer of chicken over the onion, then another layer of onion over the chicken.  Lower the grill cover.

Give it a quick check after 2 minutes. If the top layer of onions are starting to scorch, turn them over.

Chicken thighs on a George Foreman Grill

After another 2 minutes, open the grill again and rearrange the pieces. (The small grill has hot spots and cooler spots; move the less done parts of the chicken into the hotter corners.)  Rearrange onions also as needed, then close the grill again. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, then open the grill and turn all the contents over, replacing everything again so that the less done parts are on the hotter parts of the grill.

Open once more; this time remove and set aside the onions,  turn over the chicken again, and grill for 2 more minutes.

The chicken is ready to be served!  It took about 10 minutes, with all the adjusting, but less than that actual cooking time.  If you are grilling chicken breasts the time will be less.  Thigh meat is both thicker and denser than breast meat, but it has more flavor, and is less expensive as well.

If you want to take this recipe in an ethnic direction, you can add spices, herbs, or sauce in the last minutes of cooking or in some cases to the marinade.  Beware of sweet sauces, like barbecue sauce, on the grill because the sugar will scorch in a hurry.  A sauce like that should be a last-minute addition.

Grilled chicken thighs

To clean the grill:  My secret weapon for this chore is a stack of saturated paper towels in the hot grill.  Most of the stuck parts and grease will steam off immediately and run out into the drip tray.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #78 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.

White Bean Salad

Marinate great northern beans in lemon juice, crushed garlic, onion, and olive oil.  Salt to taste.

Salad of marinated great northern beans heaped into a bell pepper

Spoon beans into a fresh bell pepper halved lengthwise.  Garnish with tomato and egg slices. Add a simple side, such as brown rice, for a quick and nutritious lunch.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.    (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This dish is # 97 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown

Grilled Marinated Chuck-eye Steak Dinner

Grilled steak on a George Foreman Grill

Prepare ahead:

1 or 2 pounds of chuck-eye steak (or more or less, it doesn't matter!) cut into chunks
Oil to coat
1 - 2 tablespoons of "Mrs. Dash" salt-free seasoning
Sprinkle of smoked paprika

Mix well, then seal into a quart-size ziplock bag and refrigerate for a day or more.  Any small container with a tight seal could be used.

A few cold steamed potatoes will be useful but not necessary. You can cook the potato from raw on the grill but it takes awhile.

To cook:

Heat the George Foreman Grill after oiling with non-stick spray.

Trim a few green onions, and cut in half so they'll fit on the grill.

When the grill is hot,  lay on the onions, then distribute chunks of meat over the onions.  Lower the lid.

Slice potato while you wait.

When juices stop dripping into the drip tray, check the meat, which is probably done.  This type of grill holds in heat and cooks very quickly!

Slide the meat and onions onto a plate.  Pick up the drip tray and drizzle the marinade and meat juices over the potato, then arrange potato slices on the grill.  Grill until done, or if pre-cooked, grill until browned.

Serve with tomato slices or some other simple salad.

This is hands-down the best dish made from chuck-eye that I have ever enjoyed!

Grilling machines tend to dry out meat, so the oily marinade is a big improvement.  If calories are important, then a better place to cut would be to replace the potato with a less starchy vegetable.

This is number 100 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).