In Greece, butchers will break down a whole chicken into pieces (leg, thigh, breast, etc) then with a heavy cleaver, cut them across the the bone into smaller pieces. They call these “kotopoulo paidakia” aka chicken chops.

I like leg/thigh meat and that’s what I recommend for my recipe. The seasoning and flavouring of the chicken is classic with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, oregano and of course lemon juice.

I add lemon juice to the marinade when I take the chicken out of the fridge to return to room temperature. That way, I am adding citrus flavour without leaving lemon juice in a marinade too long and risk toughening the meat.

If you are confident of your knife skills, cut your own chicken into chops but it you are not, ask your butcher to cut your chicken into “chops”.

I served these once again to friends and the chicken chops “stole the show”.

Chicken Chops aka Paidakia Kotopoulo

(appetizer for 4-6)

4 chicken leg quarters

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup grated onion

2 tsp. seasoning salt

1 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. sweet paprika

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. dried Greek oregano

juice of 1/2 lemon

lemon wedges for garnish, sea salt, dried Greek oregano

1. Separate your the leg from the thigh. Pat-dry your pieces of chicken with paper towel. Hold the chicken pieces with one hand (tuck in your fingers) and cut the chicken into 2-3 pieces across the bone (about the size of a large chicken wing).
2. Place the chicken in a bowl along with the oil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, paprika, bay leaves oregano and toss to coat. Place in the fridge for 2 hours.
3. When ready to grill, remove the chicken from the fridge and add the lemon juice, toss again.
4. Pre-heat your grill to medium-high. Grill your chicken chops for 4-5 minutes a side or until juices run clear.
5. Transfer to a platter, squeeze more lemon juice, sprinkle of sea salt, some dried Greek oregano. Eat with your hands!