Three Easy Chicken Marinades You Should Be Trying

My favorite kind of cooking is the kind where you do one thing, feel super accomplished, and then get to relax for like, a while. I’ll absolutely cook soup in hot weather―because for the low, low price of sautéing carrot, celery, and onion in olive oil (and then dunking a bunch of stock and chicken bones in), I get to enjoy the gorgeous fragrance of a simmering soup for hours. 

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Marinating (almost) anything is a lot like that. Of course, it varies from protein to protein. But again, there’s very little work for a lot of reward. Chuck some meat and flavor together in a Ziploc bag and you’re ready to cook. Marinades are easily one of the best ways to infuse flavor into our food―especially chicken. And with that in mind, here are a few easy, flavor-packed go-to chicken marinades to make your life a bit easier.

Soy Sauce And Sesame Oil

You’ll see a ton of variations on this basic flavor combination. Consider it a “bedrock” marinade. The soy sauce (really a superhero ingredient) adds your salt, some malty depth, and the savory umami factor. A good sesame oil locks in moisture and gives that delicate hint of buttery nuttiness. It’s also an easy marinade to build on what you probably already own―think vinegar, citrus fruit, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, honey, cracked black pepper, mint, basil, etc. As for time commitment, because soy sauce acts fast (and can draw out moisture like a salt bomb), you can have chicken ready to grill in half an hour and most recipes stop well short of anything over 2 hours. Basically, it’s fast and it’s delicious.

Salad Dressing

One word: easy. Why? Because bottle dressings are basically marinades already. Successful marinades involve fat, salt, acid, and any added flavor your heart desires. It’s why marinating chicken in yogurt works so well. Enter salad dressing. We already love Italian dressing as a marinade for our chicken kebabs, but the world of salad dressing is abundant. So go forth and (easily) infuse your chicken with the zest of Thousand Island or the tang of honey mustard dressing―you could even up the oomph by adding more mustard. Go Mediterranean with (the non-creamy) Caesar for your kebabs or chicken thighs or bring out your inner hippie with herbaceous, beloved Green Goddess. Any old Ranch dressing? Go for it. Your favorite salad dressing is the star here.

Gochujang

A fermented chili paste with robust, earthy, fruity and, of course, peppery flavor, gochujang is one of the great ingredients in in cooking and eating―a staple of the Korean kitchen. Incorporate this into your chicken marinating life and you’ll be rewarded in flavor and possibility. You’ll definitely find a lot of recipes that utilize Asian flavors like soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil (and usually added sweetness of some kind). But because gochujang is as round and sturdy as it is rich and peppery, it’s a happy marinade partner to anything from blood orange to olive oil to (so much) garlic, brown sugar, sweet apple, and more. And bonus points: because of its robustness, gochujang is a great option for dark meat.