Once you have tried every kind of marinated chicken the shop has to offer, it is time to create something new and undiscovered. I admit it, I am guilty - I am often too lazy to get my hands dirty and work out how to marinate the chicken I have bought, so very often I use shop-bought marinades or simply buy the meat ready-marinated. And there is no need. Making genuinely tasty and distinctive marinades can be done simply and quickly! And that is exactly what this post is about.
Marinated chicken is incomparably more tender, juicier and tastier than plainly cooked chicken, and every marinade listed here can be used on any cut – breast, drumsticks, thigh meat and so on. Since we like grilled chicken best, I used thigh meat for these recipes. Each marinade recipe is scaled for about 450g of meat (one tray).
On marinating time, I would recommend keeping the chicken in the marinade for no less than 30 minutes and no longer than 24 hours. If the marinade contains more acid (lemon or lime juice in particular), I would recommend keeping the meat in it for no more than 2 hours. Acid helps tenderise the meat, but it also breaks down the protein, so chicken left in acid for too long will start to change colour and turn tough and rubbery.
All the quantities and ingredients are a guide - I always recommend tasting and balancing the flavours yourself, since different brands of ingredient = different end results.
