Saturday, April 10, 2010

Lebanese BBQ Chicken with Homemade Garlic Sauce - The Ultimate


I love all kind of BBQ, we are used to having BBQ every Saturday since we were kids, my dad was a general contractor and he enjoyed a Mezza dinner every Saturday evening.
Part of the Mezza table will include two kinds of barbeque chicken, lamb kebab, kefta or even BBQ clams or fresh fish.
We kept the BBQ Tradition every Sunday.  We go to church, and when we are back we start preparing the food for lunch, from dips, salads, the meat then the coals.
I was thinking of a BBQ chicken dinner for some time, but the weather is still cold and snowy, it’s not convenient for an outside charcoal BBQ.
To prepare your chicken pieces, you clean it remove all the extra fat, rinse and dry, then prick holes in each piece to soak the marinate.   Using a large freezer bag transfer the chicken piece and choose one of these marinates to soak your chicken overnight.  
Marinate I
2 cups of yogurt preferably homemade
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of sea salt
2 bay leaves
Marinate II
Juice of two fresh lemons
5-6 large garlic cloves mashes
1 tsp of salt
Around ¼ cup of olive oil
When you are ready for barbeque discard the marinate and BBQ the chicken or even bake them in the oven at 375F until golden brown and the juice runs out clear.
A garlic dip is served with our BBQ chicken, it’s so good and garlicky, trust me you will be addicted to it. It’s easy to prepare, if you know how to prepare homemade mayo , it will be easier if you have an immersion blender , when the dip thickens  and all the oil is used add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and adjust the salt, and enjoy
For a salad I prepared Fattoush which is a very popular Lebanese Salad, using fresh thinly sliced vegetables and herbs, the dressing is a mix of sumac, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, chili flakes, some add also pomegranate molasses. When served it’s topped with toasted or fried pita bread chips.

Lebanese BBQ Chicken
2 kg of chicken pieces, cleaned and skinned if its deboned it will take less time to cook
Marinate
Garlic sauce

Lebanese Garlic Sauce
Big head of garlic, peeled sliced
1 cup of good quality vegetable or grape seeds oil
Salt
Juice of one lemon
You can double the amount and keep it in the fridge, its sooo good, you will be addicted to it


Lebanese Fattoush Salad - 4 servings
6 roman leaves washed and sliced small
Small Lebanese Cucumber or 1 English cucumber washed and thinly sliced
1 bunch of Italian parsley washed, drained and finely chopped
6 sprigs or half of bunch of fresh mint also washed, drained and finely chopped
half of bunch of  Purslane washed and picked 
1/2 bunch of green onion, washed and finely chopped
1/2 bunch of radish, washed and thinly sliced
4-5 heads of ripe tomatoes, washed and finely chopped
Two loaves of toasted or fried pita chips for the top of the fattoush  salad
(you can bake the chips or fried them in olive oil).
Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, 2 tsp sumac, sea salt, black pepper, chili flakes
Tablespoon pomegranate molasses or more depends on your taste
Toasted or fried pita bread slices.


You can serve the sauce over the chicken
or aside



How about some Fattoush


Preparing the Garlic Sauce


Marinating the Chicken


Roasted Potatoes

23 comments:

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

Absolutely correct ,this aint only the best Garlic sauce but also the best BBQ chicken ever...delicious and delightfully so....
super weekend to ya:-)))

pierre said...

j'adore ta sauce à l'ail ; !merci Arlette PIerre

Angie's Recipes said...

Super delicious! Love lots of garlic in the sauce!

Viviane, Taste-Buds said...

Thanks for your visit Arlette! I am glad you liked the blog. Amazing hoe Fattoush can change from region to region, we never used pomegranate molasses with it, we go for sumac. Interesting thought though. Nice to meet you :)

Kathleen said...

Arlette, I swear I bookmark almost all of your recipes. I seriously can NOT wait to try this recipe. I just got a new charcoal grill and Socal weather is almost always bbq friendly.

Mary Bergfeld said...

This looks so beautiful and sounds so flavorful - it is hard to resist. I've bookmarked this recipe and want to thank you for sharing it with us. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

tasteofbeirut said...

You are reminding me of our weekly farrouj mechoui on the balcony! the garlic sauce is so yummy! funny how we thought of fattoush simultaneously with the warmer weather!

Cherine said...

Yummy! It's been a while I hadn't chicken with toum!! The best sauce ever!

Hayley said...

Superb dosh for non-veg people..love the salad!!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I am drooling! That looks so tasty!

Cheers,

Rosa

Trish said...

Oh my goodness...I know that we are kindred spirits for sure as I would LOVE to be there to eat this with you. Bless your mom...what a feast. I am loving the fattoush and thinking I will get my Lebanese friend to get me some sumac the next time he stops at a Lebanese store. I am dependent on him now to keep me stocked with Za'atar although his mother's homemade is the best. Pomegranate molasses...don't think I've run across that...would that be in a specialty store too? Oh I wish I could come on over...perhaps I will make a version of this tonight for the two of us. Don't have all the ingredients but will run to the market for the salad ingredients. Chicken, I always have and this lemon garlic sauce ...perfect for today as I have to use up a good stock of garlic cloves! Ta...happy weekend.

Arlette said...

Hello Trish

If you cannot get the Sumac I can send you some. It growns all over Ontario, plenty of sumac trees around me, but they dont have the sour taste any more , lots of snow and rain ruin the flavour, in Lebanon it grows wild and no one water it.. I don't think i can send you a bottle in the mail though...

Trish said...

really? It grows there? I am going to have to look this up cause I am feeling foolish....what type of tree is that? You are such a sweetheart...I am sure I can get a friend to get me some at the Lebanese grocers here too. But I have never heard of the pomegranate molasses and I definitely want to try that. Well, that is what is great about blogging, sharing new ideas and 'old recipes' grin...thanks Arlette...have a great week ahead.

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

Thankyou so much for this recipe-I love toum and chicken! I've never known how to make it so thankyou very much! :D

Mark @ Cafe Campana said...

Mmmm great looking chicken. This looks very tasty. I like the sound of the garlic sauce too but I don't think the girlfriend would be to impressed.

Anonymous said...

Sounds amazing, I love the garlic sauce!

Reeni said...

That's a lovely tradition! And these are delicious recipes! I love the sound of the BBQ chicken with the garlic sauce dip. And your Fattoush - I have Sumac that I never use - this is perfect!

Juliana said...

Wow, what a nice meal...love the chicken dish...as a matter of fact we have a Lebanese restaurant near us and we always eat there, now I should try your recipe :-) Thanks for the step-by-step pictures...very helpful!

Azure Accessories said...

Your weekly BBQ's sound wonderful Arlette...sure looks yummy!!!
Keep your fingers crossed for a sunny April 24th!!!
Cheers

Amy @ cookbookmaniac said...

I love Toum. It makes everything taste better. Fattoush is my all time favourite salad. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

Lisa said...

ARELETTE..I cannot wait to try this. This was the first chance I got to really read through the recipe after bookmarking the link you sent me. PLUS, Fattoush salad..YUM!

Also, those cookies above look crispy, golden delicious. Love checking out all the beautiful dishes you make and/or create. *hugs*

smith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
matheli said...

Did excellent work ,Lebanese BBQ Chicken with Homemade Garlic Sauce - The Ultimate, thanks medicalnegligenceadvisors.co.uk.
Clinical Negligence