July 9: Match this dish - Lemon/Thyme Chicken

[David M. Bueker]

So this week's dish is grilled lemon & thyme chicken. The basis for the whole thing is the following marinade:

Juice of 4 lemons
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp olive oil
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme (leaves only)
3 cloves of garlic (peeled & roughly chopped)
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Mix up the marinade, toss in some chicken pieces (I prefer thighs, Laura likes white meat) & marinate 8 hours minimum.

Grill over charcoal or wood.

Alsace pinot blanc?

Bourgogne blanc, or a villages or Premier Cru from the Macon or the Cotes de Beaune?

-Paul W.

NZ sauv blanc, maybe?

Vouvray or an un-oaked Chard.

[David M. Bueker]

Guys - show your work.

That's a lot of lemon, and to me that generally means unoaked dry white with good acidity. For my cellar, that would likely be Macon or Chablis. The kicker is the mustard (which I think will show more than the cayenne). If good and fresh, the mustard and cayenne together might show a little heat. Which makes me think a tad off-dry. Do you own any just-off dry Riesling?
Actually, if it were my cellar, it would probably be Gruner Veltliner.

[David M. Bueker]

Do you own any just-off dry Riesling?

Not really.

I have done both off-dry Riesling and Gruner Veltliner with the chicken, and like them both, though I prefer something a little rounder to counter the acidity in the chicken. If it's one of the bigger Gruners then that would work.

[Jenise]

I'm going red again: Cotes du Rhone or CdP, my favorite roast chicken wine. Too, thyme and garlic always calls out southern Rhone to my mind and that lemon juice doesn't scare me one bit. For instance, one of the few recurring dishes I make is a marinated lemon garlic chicken, but with oregano instead of thyme, called Rao's Lemon Chicken that's no less extreme than this marinade, and we ALWAYS drink Rhone with that dish.

NZ sauv blanc, maybe?

I second that.

[David M. Bueker]

Jenise,

I think the herbs & grilling really help make this a CdR-friendly dish. I have a lovely Clos du Mont Olivet CdR Vieilles Vignes that I will try with it next time I make it.

Guys - show your work.

I was thinking the lemon and thyme would work well with a nice SB. Don't know how the cayenne would play into it, though.

Guys - show your work.

I was thinking the lemon and thyme would work well with a nice SB. Don't know how the cayenne would play into it, though.

I agree - the citrus match is pretty obvious, and SB's vegetal/herbal notes will meld with the thyme. The reason to choose a NZ SB is because its exuberant fruitiness will help to moderate and contrast with the spices. You wouldn't want a Chilean or Loire SB for this.

[David M. Bueker]

FYI - this chicken never ends up spicy from this prep.

Nah, that's not enough mustard or cayenne to be terribly intrusive.

I'm with Jenise. La Vielle Ferme. But, I am a Beaucastel kinda guy anyway.

With the herbs and lemon and garlic, I would like a light Rose (Bandol or Nimes), a Greek Moscofilero, or Italian Vernacchia.

I made this recipe the other night. -RP

[David M. Bueker]

What did you drink with it?

[Jenise]

I made this recipe the other night. -RP

What an interesting device for roasting the chicken legs--I've never seen anything like that.

[Robin Garr]

I can't really show my work - it's intuition-based, as so many of my pairings are - but I'm liking the idea of a Southern Italian white along the lines of Fiano, especially, or maybe Falanghina or Greco di Tufo. I'm thinking they would go well with the chicken and would talk to the lemon and thyme so well that the other ingredients would just be accents.

What an interesting device for roasting the chicken legs--I've never seen anything like that.

They also hold wings, you can get them at Lowes around $6. -RP