Chicken is a lighter, healthier alternative to beef, but without a little added spice, it can be dry and bland, especially when cooked on the barbecue. That’s where a marinade can help. Marinades saturate meat with flavour and help keep it moist while cooking, resulting in juicy, flavourful dishes that are anything but boring.
Barbecue sauce is a popular chicken marinade base, and it makes for a delicious entree, but that, too, can grow tired over a long summer of outdoor cooking. This summer, add a twist to your barbecue chicken recipe – a twist of lemon, lime, or orange to be precise.
The crisp, refreshing taste of citrus is perfect for a lighter meat like chicken, and it’s the perfect complement to a warm summer day, too. If you’re ready to sweeten your next barbecue chicken dinner, try this citrus chicken marinade. With just the right combination of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty, this marinade’s got your taste buds, as well as your chicken, covered.
Ingredients:
½ cup orange juice
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup lime juice
1.5-inch section fresh ginger, minced
¼ tsp. cumin
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tbsp. soy sauce
4-5 leaves fresh sage, chopped (OR 3 tbsp. chopped cilantro OR 2-3 crushed bay leaves)
Directions:
1)Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl or emulsify in a blender (no need to mince or chop with the latter method)
2)Place chicken in a shallow dish, preferably of glass or heavy plastic (citrus acid reacts with metal and can leave your chicken tasting “tinny”), or in large resealable freezer bags, and pour marinade over top
3)Refrigerate for at least one hour, preferably two to four hours (bone-in chicken breasts can be left overnight, but boneless chicken breasts should not marinate more than 4 hours)
4)Barbecue slowly over low to medium heat for best results
You can also add olive oil to the marinade to thicken it into a paste or sauce that can be brushed onto the chicken as it cooks. In this case, chill the marinade on its own for at least an hour to let the flavours combine and the mixture set.
For a presentation as delicious as the chicken, top each piece of chicken with a slice of orange, lemon, or lime, or line your platter with alternating slices of all three.
This marinade can also be used for baking or broiling chicken, and may be just the thing to chase away the doldrums on a winter evening. Cooking the marinated chicken slowly will help keep the moisture, and thus the flavour, in the meat, so this dish is best prepared when you have a little time.
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