Perfect for a night you are getting together with friends or for a shower to serve on buns or over salad, this super moist lemon pepper chicken has a tangy and flavorful buttermilk sauce that keeps the chicken moist and bursting with flavor! (Shh! It's literally the secret sauce!)
When I first served this to my husband, I think he was skepitcal before he tasted it. Then he had a bite. The rest of the meal he kept saying, "wow", and "this is amazing!" over and over. I promise, this chicken looks innocent doesn't it? Don't let it deceive you! It's amazing!
Jan's Tip: On a busy night , i don't bother to grill the chicken, I just pull apart a rotisserie chicken. In fact I probably do that more often than grilling it from scratch.
Buttermilk; I keep a canister of powdered buttermilk (look in the baking section of the store with the powdered milk) in my pantry. It lasts a super long time, and I use it for recipes like this, dressings such as my avocado ranch, or biscuits, pancakes, and more, but you can do the "old" vinegar in milk trick to sour regular milk into buttermilk for this recipe if you don't want to buy real buttermilk.. but it really is worth it!
Barbecue Shredded Lemon Pepper Chicken
A light and refreshing twist on barbecue pulled pork. This Lemon Pepper Chicken is great on buns or over salad greens.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
- zest and juice of 2 lemons, divided
- Kosher Salt
- Ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Buttermilk
- Rolls or Salad greens to serve
Instructions
In a zip close plastic bag, combine the chicken thighs with the lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon (save the other lemon) plus a large pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and the olive oil. Close the bag. Turn and massage with your fingers to work the marinade into the meat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.When ready to cook the chicken, heat the grill to medium-high, Use a vegetable oil soaked paper towel held with tongs to oil the grates.Grill the thighs 5-6 minutes per side or until cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate.Use 2 forks to shred the meat into bite sized pieces.Sprinkle meat with lemon pepper seasoning and mix well.In mixing bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, buttermilk, lemon juice and zest of remaining lemon.Mix the buttermilk lemon sauce into the chicken. It may seem like too much liquid at first, but chicken will continue to absorb the sauce. Serve chicken warm piled on rolls, or over salad greens.
Yield: 6 servings
Yield: 6 servings