Grilled Chicken Thighs (Simple Italian Marinade)
My Grilled Chicken Thighs with the easiest marinade are perfect for summer. Serve with your favorite sides, slice and toss with salad, or use them to make sandwiches - you can't go wrong!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Italian Dressing
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup neutral oil
- 3/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
Chicken
- 3 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
Instructions
- Trim the chicken thighs of any large pieces of fat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the Italian dressing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Reserve and set aside 3/4 cup of the Italian dressing marinade. Pour the remainder into a zip lock bag with the boneless chicken thighs. Refrigerate overnight or a minimum of 4 hours.
- When ready for grilling remove the chicken from the bag and dispose of marinade.
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Lightly oil the grates and grill the thighs for 7-8 minutes per side or until nicely charred. Cook until internal temperature of meat reaches 180°F. Note: If the thighs start to burn, move them to the cool side of the grill for indirect cooking. Simply close the grill, leaving the top vent open and cook until the thighs reach 180°F.
- Plate and serve the chicken thighs with a drizzle of the remaining 3/4 cups of Italian dressing. The rest of the dressing can be saved or used for a salad. Enjoy!
Notes
- Type of chicken. You can also use bone-in chicken thighs or chicken breasts or cutlets. Bone-in thighs should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 180°F and chicken breasts and cutlets 160°F.
- Fat removal. Remove any large pieces of fat from the boneless thighs if present, but do not worry about small bits of fat.
- Type of grill. All grills are different so use the time as a general grilling guideline making sure to cook to an internal temperature of 180°F. It's a good practice to keep 1/3 of a charcoal kettle grill free of charcoal for indirect cooking or leaving one burner side of the gas grill off.
- Indirect cooking. If the thighs start to burn, move them to the cool side of the grill for indirect cooking. Simply close the grill, leaving the top vent open and cook until the thighs reach 180°F.
- Salt levels. No salt was added due to the salt content of the pecorino cheese. But taste test the marinade after whisking and more salt and pepper if required.
- Italian dressing. 3/4 cup of the remaining dressing can be used for a salad or drizzled on top of the chicken.
- Leftovers. The grilled chicken thighs can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the microwave or oven.
Nutrition
Calories: 780kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.6g | Protein: 55.7g | Fat: 63.5g | Saturated Fat: 11.2g | Cholesterol: 233mg | Sodium: 520mg | Sugar: 0.1g | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 3mg
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