How to make better Greek-style grilled chicken. [Photographs: J. Kenji López-Alt]

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• Greek-Style Grilled Chicken With Oregano, Garlic, Lemon, and Olive Oil

Grilling culture in Greece is inherently relaxed and groovy. Forget about gas grills, fancy technique, or complicated ingredients lists. More often than not, all it takes is a fire, a ton of olive oil and lemon, some garlic, and some herbs to transform meat and seafood into party-worthy fare.

You know that movie about the nerdy kid who nobody notices at school until the day she does up her hair, puts on a dress, takes off her glasses, and becomes the prettiest girl at the prom? At the cookout, chicken is kinda like that girl but without all the troublesome gender stereotyping. What I mean is, chicken’s normal role is a boring one. It’s the bland, sorta dry, everyday meat that nobody’s gonna pick over the steaks, burgers, and ribs. But if you can manage to really nail it—and I mean nail it—so that it has perfectly juicy meat without a hint of chalkiness or stringiness, crisp skin, and tons of flavor imparted by a balanced marinade, sauce, or rub, well, you may have just won yourself a date with prettiest bird in the yard.

I’ve been on a bit of a grilled chicken kick this summer, whether it’s smoking withwood for barbecue chickenor bay leaves for jerk chicken, or using a dried herb and spice paste for my grilled chicken with za’atar.For this Greek-style grilled chicken, I cook the bird in a similar manner—butterflied, skewered, and slow-cooked until juicy—but the flavorings get a slightly different treatment.