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What are your all-time favorite marinades for grilled or roasted chicken pieces (thighs, breasts, etc.)?

I did a little search, of course, but the results were pathetic.

My favorite marinade -- which is almost an understatement b/c I'm borderline addicted to it -- is the one for the NYT Trini-Chinese Chicken, which has only four ingredients: five spice powder, ginger, soy sauce, lime juice.

So easy, yet so fabulous -- particularly with the dipping sauce that has even less (3) ingredients: oyster sauce, lime juice, scotch bonnet sauce.

Another favorite stand-by is Greek marinade: olive oil, lemon juice, lots of oregano, paprika, crushed rosemary & maybe a dash of garlic powder.

What are your all-time favorites? I bet there's a whole world out there we can all explore together.

Bok, bok, bok bo-gaaaaaaaaaaap.

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  1. Soy sauce, ginger, honey, sesame oil, frozen orange juice concentrate, garlic, and smoked paprika. I set some aside to baste while grilling although I usually bake when it's just thighs. My, how they shrink.

    8 Replies
    1. re: Veggo

      honey is good, I've been playing with tamarind paste and molasses simmered in beer this year. bourbon or wild turkey is good too.

      1. re: hill food

        Sounds good. I do enough chicken dishes with chipotle heat and pineapple, and other times I want to go milder with mole or a fairly sweet marinade.

        1. re: Veggo

          I keep meaning to add pineapple to my repertoire, maybe just grilled with some mole or such as a side dish. baby steps, it's all about baby steps.

          and next summer - FULL ON BAROQUE-B-QUE BABY!

      2. re: Veggo

        Hey Veggo - minus the sesame oil, that is my ginger-orange chicken marinade I just posted. I guess I'm not very original.

        I dont like sesame with the orange/ginger - it hides the honey flavor for me. But it is a nice combo of flavors.

        1. re: gingershelley

          there's a reason why sesame oil usually comes in small bottles. a little goes far. but I DO love it. love it. as soon as it's legal I may just very well propose.

          1. re: hill food

            oh hell. how long is THAT thread going to be?

            but seriously. i love the stuff too but i find it gets rancid faster than other oils. or maybe i just use it more infrequently, because a little goes such a long way. maybe it needs to be in an even smaller bottle.

            1. re: hill food

              I've been on a peanut/sesame sauce binge with soy noodles lately, so whipping through the large can I bought a few TBS at a time. Only Kadoya toasted sesame for me.

              1. re: mcf

                I got me a sweet baby bottle of Wei Chuan pure black, just waiting for my attentions.

        2. This is one, with ras el hanout, paprika, lemon, mint (recipe's for a whole roasted chicken, but works as well with pieces): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

          And if I'm making up my own ras el hanout, I like the one (or an approximation thereof) in this link, which is nice and complex: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

          1. Mojo criollo is a favorite here. A bottle of sour orange juice (Goya,) 1 chopped white onion, a bulb of garlic or more, a little cumin, a little oregano, sometimes some pineapple juice, all buzzed up in the blender. Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours, beef overnight. Cooking it on the grill is the best but the oven works, too.

            3 Replies
            1. re: weezieduzzit

              Weezie, do you use this on skirt steak, or?

              1. re: weezieduzzit

                Love mojo Criollo; at my mexi store p they have a goya Mojo that has garlic, spices, etc. in it already - tho I do add more cumin and sliced onion. Pineapple is a good idea!

              2. Loving your input so far. Keep 'em coming!!

                2 Replies
                1. re: linguafood

                  I hope you don't mind if I butt in to get some great ideas. Great thread miss lingua.

                2. this is the game that moves as we play. it's different every time. but for a drop everything and don't think about it basic? a dry rub of something like garlic powder and savory then a marinade in VN or Thai fish sauce, soy and olive oil with maybe some ginger and lemon juice.

                  3 Replies
                    1. re: linguafood

                      next time I do an oven roast I think I'm going to do something like your Greco approach.

                      but I'll probably go light on the oregano and heavy on the rosemary.

                      1. re: hill food

                        now that I remember, the last time I roasted I did shove the body cavity full of as many quartered lemons as could fit and did a dry-rub of rosemary, garlic and kosher salt, later basted with olive oil and pan drippings.

                        nobody complained. (but that's one for the 'compliments' thread)