This really is the best grilled chicken marinade! It's easy to prepare and makes any chicken taste like restaurant-quality chicken. So good!

A SUPER FLAVORFUL GRILLED CHICKEN MARINADE

I started making this chicken and marinade about 20 years ago when we were stationed in London. Many of us Americans would get together and have Super Bowl parties. It was a comaraderie thing. Nothing like being with your fellow countrymen and eating all your favorite foods from home. My little chicken on a stick soon became a favorite of our friends and it was regularly requested at get-togethers. And I'm happy to say it is still a favorite in our home.

The Best Chicken Marinade for Grilled Chicken

WHY USE A MARINADE FOR CHICKEN?

Chicken on its own is pretty bland. Especially chicken breasts. Like most marinades, this one has a base of oil and acid (the lemon juice.) Marinades generally have some sort of acid, like vinegar, that helps to tenderize the meat slowly. What really gives this marinade that oomph of flavor is the soy sauce, mustard and garlic. You've got a bit of salty, a bit of tang and the garlic just pushes it over the top. It may sound like a really odd combination of flavors, but I promise that they end up working perfectly together.

The Best Grilled Chicken Marinade recipe from The Country Cook

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

olive oil
soy sauce
lemon juice
mustard (Dijon or yellow)
Worcestershire sauce
minced garlic
black pepper
chicken tenderloins (or chicken thighs)

chicken tenders, soy sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, garlic, olive oil

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CHICKEN MARINADE:

Combine all marinade ingredients and whisk together well.

marinade ingredients whisked together in a bowl

Put chicken tenders into a lidded container (or a Ziploc bag) and pour marinade over top of chicken.

the best chicken marinade added to chicken tenders

Make sure all the chicken is coated.

Snap the the lid on. And pop it into the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When chicken is ready, soak your wooden skewers in water for at least a half an hour (so they don’t burn on the grill). Obviously you can skip this step if using metal skewers.

Preheat grill on medium-high heat. Once skewers have soaked, begin threading chicken onto skewers. Keep going until you are done with all of them. You can put either one or two chicken tenders on each skewer.

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Place skewers on clean grill

Cook for about 5-6 minutes per side (until internal temp. is 165F degrees). It's really important that you flip the chicken using tongs and you handle it by the meat portion of the skewer. Don't try flipping using the skewer itself. Metal ones will be too hot to handle at this point and the wooden ones might break. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Grilling Pro Tip: To keep food from sticking to your grill, you need to make sure you scrub off any baked-on food that might still be on your grill grates or your chicken is just going to stick to that blackened char. Don't have a grill brush? Just preheat your gas grill to high for a few minutes and close the lid. Open it up, turn down the heat, and scrub grates with a wad of aluminum foil. Works for me every time!

The Best Grilled Chicken Marinade for chicken on a stick

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Originally published: January 2011
Updated & republished: June 2019

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