Grilled Chicken with Herbs De Provence

We are moving in nine days and I know I won't be cooking the day of the move! Unfortunately I have not cleared as much food as I would have liked to but that's ok. Over the weekend a cooler full of food from the side-by-side freezer made its way to one of our kids at my husband's insistence. Despite my supervision he managed to get a couple of packets of roasted garlic into the cooler as well! She's quite pleased at this generosity as I don't part with roasted garlic very often especially that roasted on the grill.

We love grilled chicken so I'm always experimenting with different ways to prepare it. Tonight I marinated it in Herbs de Provence from the Jet Set Spice Co. Chef Steven Popp, the resident Chef instructor for the Jet Set Spice Co. is a master of combining flavours with wine with a focus on balance and harmony. While their products can be ordered online, I usually splurge and buy mine at the various ribfests we attend. I paired his herb blend with a VQA Ontario 2006 Riesling Dry from Pelee Island Winery for the marinade. This wine is a perfect complement to appetizers, seafood, cheeses and light meals.

Grilled Chicken with Herbs de Provence

Herbs de Provence is a blend of herbs originating in Provence, southern France. It is usually a dry blend but could be made fresh. The blend I used consisted of marjoram, savoury, thyme, basil, lavender, rosemary, sage, fennel seed, garlic and onion. Herbs de Provence can be used in marinades for grilled chicken as I used it or as a rub for roast lamb or pork. This blend can be sprinkled on pizza, in potato soup or on fresh summer vegetables for a boost of flavour.

There are several recipes online for grilled chicken using an Herb de Provence marinade. I used the marinade recipe on the package of the herb blend from Jet Set Spice Co because I had everything on hand and didn't want a complicated recipe since packing has now moved to the kitchen. After making the marinade and the chicken was in the refridgerator, I realized I had the amounts of Riesling and olive oil reversed but the end result was wonderful so that's the way I will make it again. The recipe is as I made it. I served the chicken with sweet potatoes and nibblet corn, both from the freezer.

Grilled Chicken with Herbs de Provence

3 tbsp Herbs De Provence blend
100 ml Riesling
50 ml olive oil
2 lb fresh chicken breasts, skin and bone attached*

Place the chicken in a zipper style bag or vacuum canister. Mix the marinade then pour over the chicken. Seal the bag or vacuum seal the canister. If using the bag method, let marinate for 6 hours. Timing can be reduced if using a vacuum canister to about two hours. Remove from marinade and grill until juices are clear.

*Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be substituted but be careful to not over grill