can you think of anything that rhymes with tzatziki?

Lately, after reading a post on Chef John’s excellent blog Food Wishes, I have been hooked on marinating chicken with yogurt. Tzatziki-like concoctions are easy to make and make an amazing marinade and sauce.

Now yes I know, real Greek tzatziki is always served cold, and it’s certainly no marinade. But it’s a foodie buzzword and sounds a lot nicer than “yogurt marinade”, you have to admit.

yogurt-marinated chicken over pesto mashed potatos

Usually tzatziki has garlic, cucumber, some kind of herb (like mint or dill), and a few optional dudes (depending on who you ask) like olive oil, lemon juice, salt/pepper, and even nuts in some areas. It’s generally a dip and served with meat or bread. But we’ll blow it apart today.

There are a lot of regional varieties and different names for similar styles anyway, so it’s fair that we use it for a marinade. And on chicken. And still call it tzatziki. Anything goes when it’s good eating.

●chicken thigh meat, boneless or cut from bone but KEEP the skin 
●yogurt*
●garlic 
●herb (dill, parsley, or sage – let’s leave mint out of it for now)
●lemon juice
●olive oil
●cracked black pepper (no reason to buy pre-crushed anymore)
●cucumbers if you want, or replace them with thinly sliced onions (yeah, changing it up)

*Ah, additional note.  The yogurt used in tzatziki is Greek yogurt, which is a lot thicker.  You can strain thinner yogurts by pouring them into a coffee filter and leaving that over a jar (I also like to plastic wrap the thing) in the fridge overnight to make a similar-to-Greek-yogurt yogurt, but we don’t mind the thinner stuff in this recipe because it’s a marinade. If you want to use thick stuff, add in a bit more lemon juice or olive oil to thin it for marinating.

Take the chicken and cut it into strips about the same size. I usually cut about 3 strips per thigh, but it’s a preference thing. When you get thigh meat, it’s this meat that’s been wrapped around the bone so that it’s all sort of radially attached to the skin. If you roll it up like a cigar it’s easy to cut into even strips.

Season the chicken with salt, both sides. This isn’t an ingredient. Ingredients are things you have to go out and buy. If you don’t have salt in your house there is something seriously wrong in the kitchen. And if I’ve said it before, I’ve said it before: all salt is not made equal. Get a nice, good tasting salt full of minerals. You want to eat minerals, right? Not baking salt. Enough said.

Use about 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt per strip, and put it in a bowl, ziplock bag, or whatever your preference for marinating things is. Smash or crush the garlic (perfectionists, feel free to finely mince) and add that mess. Add a squeeze of lemon (I am pushing that as an official unit of measure), a drizzle of olive oil (bit more if you’re using thick-style yogurt), and throw/crack in your black pepper. Chop up your herb, throw that in, and stir it all up.

Dip each strip into the mix and coat it completely. When all the strips are coated, pile them all together and throw the sliced onions (and/or cucumber) on top. Spread that out and plastic wrap it. I’d leave it in the fridge at least an hour; overnight wouldn’t hurt.

Ok now that’s marinated, ready to go, so get your oven preheating to around 200 C. While that’s happening, get a fry pan and get it hot over medium/medium-high heat. Leaving the onions/cucumbers alone, shake the strips off and throw them on there (by throw I mean place carefully, away from you, skin-side down). There should be a sizzle sound, oh yes.

Keep around medium and go until you’re getting some golden brown type of color on the chicken, then flip to the other side. When you get some color there, take off the heat. Don’t worry, the chicken’s not supposed to be cooked yet. Put your onions and marinade into the bottom of some kind of bakeware (pyrex for me), then lay those strips on top. Pop into that oven for about 7-8 minutes. The rich flavors are going to impress you.

Deliciously tender and serves well with bread, flatbreads, rice, or pasta. How can you lose?