Sweet and Tangy Marinade for The Best Grilled Chicken

Delicious and tender grilled chicken?  Yes, please!  This Sweet and Tangy Marinade for the Best Grilled Chicken is made with pantry staple ingredients and produces marinated grilled chicken that is incredibly moist and deliciously flavourful.  Simply whisk a few ingredients together, marinate and grill for a deliciously easy summertime meal.

We’re still skiing here in the mountains, but I can’t help but start to think about summer at The Lakehouse, and all the simple but delicious meals we’ll prepare while the kids chase frogs and play tag in the evening sunlight.  The long days of summer are some of the best days, and lucky for all of us, they’ll be here before we know it.  With grilling season upon us (almost), I thought I’d share this recipe for simple, but delicious, marinated grilled chicken.  It all starts with a deeply flavoured marinade, made from pantry staples.  The recipe recommends that the chicken marinate for at least 4 hours, but don’t worry – if you forget to plan ahead, even 30 minutes in the marinade – while you get your sides together and set the table – is enough to flavour and tenderize the chicken.  I’ve also included some of my top tips for grilling moist, flavourful chicken every time.  Don’t worry if you’re new to grilling – these tips will help you manage temperature, prevent sticking and learn to make perfect grill marks!

What goes in Sweet and Tangy Marinade for the Best Grilled Chicken?

• Grapeseed Oil:. This neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point is great for grilling recipes.  Canola oil is another good option.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: This fruity vinegar adds great flavour and helps tenderize the chicken.
• Lemon Juice: Lemon juice adds a zesty citrus tang.
• Soy Sauce:  The addition of soy sauce to marinades adds salt and a deep umami flavour that helps make the grilled meat taste so satisfying.
• Brown Sugar:  Other sweeteners such as honey can be used, but we prefer the caramel notes of brown sugar in this recipe.
• Herbs and Spices: Raid the spice rack for onion powder, paprika, garlic powder and dried thyme to add savoury flavour to the marinade.
• Kosher Salt:  I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in my recipes, which is less salty per volume than Windsor or Morton’s Kosher salts.  If you use a brand other than Diamond Crystal, use about half the amount of salt that the recipe calls for.
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper:  Freshly cracked black peppercorns tastes infinitely better than powdered black pepper.  To keep my pretty grinders clean for the table, in the kitchen I use these inexpensive grinders that come pre-filled with peppercorns  and can be adjusted for coarse, medium or fine grind size.
• Chicken: This recipe for marinated grilled chicken calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but is equally delicious used on other cuts of chicken.  Bone-in chicken breasts, thighs and drumsticks all work well, but note that different cuts (and the presence of bones) will affect cooking times.  Always check that the internal temperature has reached 165F to confirm that the chicken is fully cooked.   

Pro Tips for the Best Grilled Chicken

•  Pound your chicken breasts to an even thickness (optional):  If you find yourself with chicken breasts that are thick at one end, tappering to narrow and thin at the other end, you may wish to even things out to avoid uneven cooking.  Before adding the chicken breasts to the marinade, pound them to an even thickness.  While I am trying to reduce the use of single use plastics in my home, pounding chicken is one instance when I like to use a large, resealable plastic bag.  Slide one chicken breast at a time into the bag.  Squeeze out the air and seal.  Place the bag with the chicken on a cutting board and pound with a meat mallet, rolling pin or heavy skillet until an even thickness has been reached.  Pounding the chicken inside the bag prevents chicken bits and juice from flying all over the kitchen.  If you don’t want to use a bag, be sure to clean the surrounding area and your clothing carefully to prevent the spread of bacteria.
• Use a marinade:  Chicken is fairly neutral tasting and benefits from the added flavour of a marinade.  A good marinade recipe also contains acid, which helps to tenderize the meat.  This recipe for grilled chicken marinade contains both apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.  If you choose to use a different recipe, be sure that it contains acidic ingredients such as vinegars or fruit juices.  When you add the chicken breasts to the marinade, roll them to coat and unfold the bottom of the chicken (where the bones were removed) to make sure the marinade gets into all the nooks and crannies.  Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes, and up to 24 hours.  The longer the chicken sits in the marinade, the more flavour it will take on.  Don’t marinade the chicken for longer than 24 hours as the chicken will start to toughen and bacteria may develop.
• Start with a clean, hot grill:  When you preheat the barbecue, start it at very high heat, then scrape it, to make sure the grill is clean and free of old food particles, bits of char and bacteria.  Once the grill is clean, reduce the heat to medium high and wait for the temperature to come down to about 400F before adding the chicken.  I don’t recommend greasing the grill to prevent sticking, which is a little controversial, but here’s why:  To safely grease a grill and avoid dangerous flare ups, the grease needs to be added to the grill before the barbecue is lit.  Many people swear by letting a barbecue cool after use, scraping it clean and rubbing the cold grill with oil in preparation for the next time.  That practice is great for keeping your grill in good condition, but will do little to prevent food from sticking.  Have you ever noticed a preheated grill smoking?  That smoke is the result of the grease being burned off the grill before you even put food on it.  Here’s what I recommend:  grease the food, not the grill.  In this case, the marinade contains grapeseed oil, which is a neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point, making it great for grilling.  The grapeseed oil in this recipe is added to the marinade for the purpose of preventing sticking, so no additional oil is needed.  The biggest thing you can do to prevent sticking, is to make sure that your grill is clean and hot before adding the food.  Grill marks will form where the food touches the grills, and when it’s ready, the food will lift off the grill easily.  If it sticks, just give it another moment or two, then try to lift it again.  In the case of delicate burgers, I would recommend brushing them with a high-heat oil before adding them to the grill, but you can learn more about grilling great burgers in Really Good, Really Simple Beef Burgers, if you’d like.
• Making Grill Marks:  To make perfect grill marks, place the chicken on the hot, clean grill, then don’t touch it until it releases easily. Moving the chicken breast around or ripping it off the grill before it’s ready will add additional marks and damage the exterior of the meat.  When the chicken releases easily, flip it over to the other side and leave it alone until grill marks have formed and it lifts easily from the grill.  Flip the chicken again, but this time rotate the breast about 45 degrees to form a crosshatch pattern with the grill marks.  Repeat on the other side, rotating the chicken breast 45 degrees to form the crosshatch pattern.  
• Watch your heat:  Before adding the chicken to the grill, be sure that the temperature has been adjusted to medium-high, which is about 400F.  A barbecue that is hotter than that is likely to burn the exterior of the chicken before the inside has a chance to cook.  Closing the lid of the barbecue traps the heat and creates an oven-like effect, which will help the chicken cook through, while retaining moisture.
• Use an instant read thermometer:  Cutting into chicken over and over to check for doneness is a surefire way to dry it out.  Instead, simply poke a small hole with an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature.  Once the chicken reaches 165F, remove it from the grill.  This is the instant read thermometer that I use at The Mountain House and at The Lakehouse.  I even have an extra in my travel kit, because its lightweight, portable nature makes it easy to tuck into a suitcase for cooking at vacation rentals.
• Give it a rest:  Allow the marinated grilled chicken to rest for 5-7 minutes before slicing or serving to preserve its juiciness.  The short rest allows the juices to settle and redistribute themselves throughout the meat, instead of spilling out all over the cutting board.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Serve this marinated grilled chicken for dinner along with a few simple sides such as corn on the cob and Golden Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.  Or, make it in advance and refrigerate it for use on salads, sandwiches, bowls and pasta dishes throughout the week.

DRINK PAIRINGS

Neutral tasting chicken takes on big flavour in this marinated grilled chicken recipe.  Soy sauce provides umami, but it is known to accentuate tannins in wines, and can make acidity taste downright sour, so you’ll want to reach for a softer style if wine is on the menu.  Consider an unoaked Chardonnay or a lightly chilled Gamay to compliment the chicken without overpowering the flavours.  Wine isn’t the only option here though – a light and crisp Pilsner beer is refreshing with grilled and lightly smoky chicken.  For non-alcoholic options, a lemony iced tea or a lemonade will match with the lemon in this recipe.