The Best Grilled Chicken Marinade
This remarkably easy grilled chicken marinade completely rescues your terribly dry, boring weeknight dinners! Deeply dark soy sauce, sharp fresh lemon juice, and intensely sweet brown sugar forcefully penetrate the raw meat to create ridiculously juicy, perfectly charred poultry.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts approx. 900g
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil approx. 120ml
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce approx. 80ml
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice approx. 60ml
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar approx. 70g
- 2 tablespoons dark balsamic vinegar approx. 30ml
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce approx. 15ml
- 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk the Liquids: In a large glass measuring cup or medium bowl, drop in the olive oil, dark soy sauce, fresh lemon juice, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Use a metal whisk to vigorously stir the highly aromatic mixture until the dark sugars completely dissolve.
- Prep the Poultry: Place your completely cold chicken breasts onto a heavy cutting board. Cover them with plastic wrap and use a heavy meat mallet to aggressively pound them to an even 1/2-inch thickness.
- Marinate the Meat: Dump your flattened raw poultry entirely into a massive, heavy-duty gallon zip-top plastic bag. Vigorously pour the dark marinade directly over the meat. Squeeze out all the excess air and seal the heavy plastic shut.
- Chill: Place the sealed bag flat onto a baking sheet and let the meat marinate completely undisturbed in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (up to a maximum of 12 hours).
- Grill: Preheat your outdoor grill or heavy indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Use metal tongs to violently pull the dripping meat out of the bag, shaking off excess liquid. Discard the remaining raw marinade. Grill the chicken for exactly 6 minutes per side until deeply charred and an internal thermometer reaches 165°F (74°C).
- Rest and Serve: Pull the hot meat off the grill and let it firmly rest on a clean cutting board for 5 minutes to trap the savory juices before aggressively slicing.
Notes
Acid Warning: Do not marinate this chicken for longer than 12 hours. The highly acidic fresh lemon juice will aggressively cook the raw meat fibers, turning your dinner horribly mushy and chalky.
Storage: Let the heavily charred meat completely cool to room temperature. Store leftovers in tightly sealed glass containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezer Meal Prep: You can dump the raw marinade and fresh chicken directly into a freezer bag and immediately freeze it for up to 3 months. It will rapidly marinate as it thaws completely in the cold fridge overnight!