Lemon‑Garlic Grilled Chicken Breasts

This smoky beauty of a recipe, with its juicy swirl of lemon and olive oil, its fragrant charred garlic and parsley, is mouthwatering in the primal way of fried drumsticks and saucy wings. The leanness of chicken breasts, compared to the richness of thighs, gives the marinated meat a crystalline brightness. The way the meat is flattened here is the key to deliciousness: Often, breasts are butterflied by slicing them in half, which still leaves you with a thick slab of uniform meat striations that get boring after the second bite. Here, the breasts end up flatter. They won't end up like heart-shaped cutlets or even symmetrical like Rorschach splotches, but that's why they'll be as irresistible as steak. Their fibers are now not only shortened, but because they run in different directions, each bite will offer some variety in chew.