Chicken Marinade

By Lidey Heuck

Published Jan. 11, 2024

Chicken Marinade
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
10 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(1,369)
Comments
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Introducing your new go-to chicken marinade. Made from just a handful of pantry ingredients, this simple marinade adds serious flavor to grilled, seared or baked chicken. The acid in the lemon juice and Dijon help tenderize the chicken, the soy sauce adds a salty, savory note and the honey lends a bit of sweetness and encourages the chicken to brown. When using a marinade for chicken, aim for several hours in the refrigerator — too long, and it will begin to break down the meat, resulting in a rubbery texture. For this recipe, anywhere from 2 to 8 hours of marinating is ideal.

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Ingredients

Yield:⅔ cup (enough for 2 pounds of chicken)
  • ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1large lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1tablespoon honey or light brown sugar
  • 1tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1large garlic clove, minced or grated 
  • 1teaspoon dried oregano, rosemary or thyme, or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh 
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) 
  • ½teaspoon black pepper 
  • 2pounds chicken pieces, bone-in or boneless, skin-on or skinless
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

252 calories; 19 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 17 grams protein; 259 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, Dijon, soy sauce, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add chicken to the bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours. Bring the chicken in the marinade to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Remove the chicken and brush off any excess marinade before cooking.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,369 user ratings
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Comments

JD Marino

With marinades like this, a combo of wet and dry ingredients, I have started keeping them separate. I combine the dry ingredients (even substituting granulated garlic for fresh) and coat the chicken with it. Then I put the coated chicken in a zip-top bag with the wet ingredients, squeeze out the air, and let marinate. The result is that when you withdraw the meat for cooking, the flavorful ingredients stay with the meat and not with the marinade.

JPnyc

With some exceptions for trace minerals that add color, salt is salt: NaCl. There s a significant difference betw Morton's and Diamond Crystal, but it's not salinity, it's crystal size, which affects measurement. Check this out, from 177MilkStreet.com: "Diamond Crystal granules are large, crystalline and delicate, whereas Morton's are smaller, denser and crunchier. And size matters — 1 teaspoon of Morton's contains 4.8 grams of salt, whereas 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal has just 2.8 grams."

Jonathan

And when they say "such as Diamond Crystal" they don't mean "such as". There isn't any other salt with the same salinity as Diamond Crystal kosher salt. They mean, "use Diamond Crystal salt, or half as much salt if you use any other brand."

Kevin McGovern

Marinaded and grilled chicken breasts, they came out tender, juicy and flavorful, with great grill marks. I might try something other than Dijon mustard next time for a different flavor.

Elizabeth

This marinade made my chicken tenders nicely tender, but it imho both too salty and too sour. Next time I will try making it with white wine instead of lemon juice and no salt beyondcwhat’s in the dijon mustard and the soy sauce, and I will use tarragon as the herb, since white wine, dijon mustard, garlic, and tarragon are a classic French flavor combination.

Nina

Those who want to lower fat content in their diets (particularly LDL "bad" cholesterol) should avoid/remove chicken skin prior to cooking.

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