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This grilled chicken marinade will become one of your new favorite recipes, because we all love our grilled chicken dinners. This marinated chicken is juicy, flavorful, and perfect for just about any occasion. The trick to making the best grilled chicken is knowing how to marinate chicken in the first place. A good grilled chicken marinade includes all the flavors you would want in the finished dish: a little fat, a dash of salt, something sweet, and a bit of brightness. Fat: Olive oil has its own fruity, buttery, herbaceous flavors that work well when marinating chicken. Along with adding saltiness, it has a slight sweetness and rich umami flavor. Sweetness: Brown sugar in the marinade not only balances out the saltiness from the soy sauce and the acidity from the lemon juice, but it also brings a hint of caramelized flavor to the chicken.
You could also substitute honey or molasses, if needed. Something bright: Lemon juice and Dijon mustard act as flavor enhancers by giving the marinade the acidity it needs. Plus, fresh herbs bring a bright element that ensures the chicken is never boring! If you want to change up the herbs, you can swap in rosemary, oregano, or parsley. Do I need to marinate chicken before grilling? You can always grill your chicken without a marinade, but a marinade can work in as little as 30 minutes to give your chicken a ton of flavor and juiciness.
In fact, putting together a marinade is so easy, you can even do it in advance by making the marinade in a mason jar up to 4 days ahead. Store it in your fridge in the beginning of the week so you can have grilled chicken marinade all weekend long. How long should you marinate chicken before grilling? If you’re in a rush, you can marinate chicken in just 30 minutes, but if you have a little extra time, marinate it for up to 4 hours to really infuse it with flavor.
12 hours would be the max! This ingredient shopping module is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content on their web site. For the marinade: In a pint-sized mason jar, combine the olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, thyme, salt and black pepper. Cover and shake well to combine. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days before use. For the grilled chicken: Place the chicken in a zip-top gallon bag.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken skin-side down over the lit side of the grill. Cover and cook until grill marks appear and the chicken easily releases, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken and transfer it to the unlit side of the grill. Let rest for 5 minutes, then serve immediately. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.
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