So, since the blood orange season is pretty much over and my attempts at making a blood orange vinaigrette will surely take several more attempts, I decided to set that aside for now and use my last blood orange for a special marinade for grilled chicken.

See, Kalyn over at Kalyn’s Kitchen has been grilling up a storm over the past week or so and her beautiful grilled chicken breasts really got me salivating. Plus, she offered a great tip earlier this week to cut slits in the top of a chicken breast to help the marinade really seep in (thanks so much for that tip! It really worked well!).

It seemed like a match made in heaven: juicy grilled chicken breasts marinaded in some sort of a blood orange marinade. Well, as things progressed, the blood orange marinade morphed into a citrus marinade. Regardless, the result was tangy and tasty and definitely worthy of inclusion in this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, which was started by the aforementioned Kalyn and hosted this week by Pat from Up a Creek without a PatL.

This yummy marinade also features one of my favorite herbs: rosemary, which I recently wrote about a great foccacia recipe using it. It comes from the Mediterranean region and is known for its memory improving qualities.

Blood Orange-Citrus Marinated Grilled Chicken

Yield: Marinade for 1-2 lbs chicekn

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

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Ingredients

• Juice of one pink grapefruit
• Juice of one blood orange
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 lb chicken breasts

Instructions

1. Whisk together the grapefruit juice, blood orange juice, orange juice, olive oil, lime juice, rosemary, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Cut 4 1/2-inch deep slits in the top of the chicken breasts. Add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade. Cover and let sit (in the refrigerator) for at least 2 hours, but preferably 6-8 hours.

To cook:

1. Heat your gas grill on medium or prepare charcoals for grilling.
2. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook, turning once or twice, until cooked through -- about 15-20 minutes.
3. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE: This recipe also appears on Betty Crocker’s website, which I worked with as a recipe developer for a number of years.