Anonymous wrote:Argh okay Im the outlier...i followed the recipe exactly except since I did not have real lemons I used 1/4 cup of lemon juice in place. It was a good meal, but it was way more bland then I expected based on all the raves. It was ya know, fine, but nothing exceptional. What did I do wrong? More lemon juice? Real lemons next time? (No, I don't have covid)

That's not following a recipe "exactly".

I’ve used the marinade on cauliflower, which I then roast.

Gah- my family LOVES this recipe!

I love these added suggestions and substitutes! Will have to try. Esp all the vegetarian ones.

I always toss cherry or other small tomatoes in with the meat. They soften and caramelize a bit and just add to the experience.

For those intimidated by the look of the marinade - just prep the dry spices in a small bowl ahead of time. And I have used lemon juice from a bottle - no worries, still tastes great!

I love it too. Learned about it here. I’m not vegan but add fried eggplant to use less chicken. I have feta, pepperoncini, tomatoes, olives, red onions, tahini, etc on the table and people can fill with what they want.

Or use smoked paprika.

Anonymous wrote:Argh okay Im the outlier...i followed the recipe exactly except since I did not have real lemons I used 1/4 cup of lemon juice in place. It was a good meal, but it was way more bland then I expected based on all the raves. It was ya know, fine, but nothing exceptional. What did I do wrong? More lemon juice? Real lemons next time? (No, I don't have covid)

Add some zaatar at the table.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just look at the recipe. It has to many ingredients for me and takes 45 mins in orep time. Maybe im just lazy but that doesn’t appeal to me. I need quick dinners lol.

The majority of the ingredients are seasonings like salt, pepper and cinnamon. I think the 45 minutes includes marinating time. It really is a very easy recipe.

+1. It takes 5 minutes to whip up the marinade.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. To the PP about lemons, try it with fresh lemons and increase the red pepper. Also, be sure to marinate the meat for 12 hours - not more, not less (12 hours is the sweet spot for chicken to marinate). And broil it along with most of the marinade. If you try it again, LMK what you think.

I’ve made this many, many times and it doesn’t need to be marinated that long. When there’s acid in the marinade, like lemon juice, marinating chicken too long can result in a mushy texture.

Anonymous wrote:I just look at the recipe. It has to many ingredients for me and takes 45 mins in orep time. Maybe im just lazy but that doesn’t appeal to me. I need quick dinners lol.

The majority of the ingredients are seasonings like salt, pepper and cinnamon. I think the 45 minutes includes marinating time. It really is a very easy recipe.

I just look at the recipe. It has to many ingredients for me and takes 45 mins in orep time. Maybe im just lazy but that doesn’t appeal to me. I need quick dinners lol.

I always add a lot more chili and garlic.

OP again - I also doubled the marinade when I made it. Lots of yummy sauce for rice, naan, etc.

This is OP. To the PP about lemons, try it with fresh lemons and increase the red pepper. Also, be sure to marinate the meat for 12 hours - not more, not less (12 hours is the sweet spot for chicken to marinate). And broil it along with most of the marinade. If you try it again, LMK what you think.

Made the recipe (with chicken) for dinner tonight. It was great! Thank you for posting about this again.

Anonymous wrote:We use the marinade for grilled kabobs in the summer - that's been a hit as a meal to serve a crowd at summer gatherings. (Pro tip, have the butcher cut the kabob meat for you and it's much easier, and do meat kabobs and vegetable kabobs separately for more even cooking)

Is this marinade also from NYT?