Lemon Chicken Recipe

We use lemon/pepper seasoning blend quite a lot for smoked or grilled chicken, not faithfully, but often. Also, I've done a marinade for pork chops using fresh lemon and orange, lemon and orange zest and a variety of spices. Does a marinade sound like what you're after?

Here's the last from-scratch marinade I concocted for when I was in a bit of a pinch for time, with the spice solution heated on the stove-top to bring it to life, then, chilled/mixed with ice in the blender prior to adding the meat...it worked out quite well:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/zesty-lemon-and-orange-marinated-pork-chops-with-smoke-and-sear

You may want to add a bit of thyme, sage and oregano to the above spice-mix to help bring out more depth of the poultry's natural flavors. Also, you could drop the orange and triple the lemon for similar marination results while staying solely with the theme of lemon as the base ingredient.

Another good way to get a lemon-based flavor is what we call "salty lemon chicken". Grill unseasoned chicken pieces over medium grate temps until seared lightly, then baste frequently with a 50/50 mixture of melted butter and lemon juice, seasoned with salt and black pepper to taste. The butter aids in final searing over lower grate temps and helps to hold the lemon in place by increasing the viscosity of the mixture just a bit so it doesn't just run off after brushing it on, as well as adding a deeper flavor profile. We like this much more than lemon-pepper seasoning blends alone. If you use unsalted butter, you may want to increase the salt, but in either case, do a taste-test after heated, seasoned and mixed, prior to basting on your chicken. This could be used for pieces, quartered, spatch-cocked or whole birds in the smoker, as well as whole birds on a rotiseri.

Eric

I smoked a whole chicken for the 4th that was lemon based. I made the basic brine using 1 gallon of watter with 3/4 cup of salt and 1/4 cup of sugar. Use one bottle of Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy and fill the container the rest of the way using the brine solution. In the brine I also threw in some garlic and citric acid. Let brine for 3-4 hours. Rinse the chicken, pat dry and rub with butter and make sure to hit under the breast skin. Then I rubbed down with lemon pepper and garlic again making sure to get the rub under the skin. Smoke and enjoy.

Looks like a tasty marinade