While we were on vacation in Virginia Beach, each family was in charge of doing dinner one night.
My sister-in-law Wendi and her husband made this amazing chicken the night they were in charge of dinner. It was a hit . . . . a HUGE hit! We devoured it, all 23 of us. I don’t think there was one of us who didn’t love it. It is so simple to make and absolutely delicious. I think this may be my new favorite way to grill chicken.You can also use a 3-4 lb. tri-tip roast instead of chicken. Trust me, you will love this.
Thanks Wendi for this yummy recipe!

Santa Maria Chicken
Scale
Ingredients
Rub:
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 6 chicken breasts
Marinade:
- ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves minced garlic
Instructions
- Combine Rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub all over chicken.
- Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Remove from fridge and set at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Combine Marinade ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to emulsify.
- Place chicken on grill. Baste with marinade turning every 3-4 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from grill and cover with foil and allow chicken to rest for about 10 minutes.
Made this for Sunday dinner last night and it was unbelievable! We will definitely be making this again….and again! Thanks for all your great recipes. You are a life saver
Was it suppose to be 1 tsp of pepper instead of 1 TB? I made this tonight and it wasa bit too spicy for us. My husband loved it. The taste was good, but just a bit too spicy. I used chilli pepper instead of cayene pepper too.
Hi Jenn! It is 1 tablespoon pepper. I’m much more “whimpy” than my boys are when it comes to spicy things, but I love this and don’t think it’s too spicy. But you can absolutely cut back on the pepper if you feel like it’s too spicy.