Simple Tangy Chicken Marinade

The summer is made for grilling. Make the most of your next barbecue by using this simple, homemade tangy chicken marinade, with cupboard staples such as Worcestershire sauce, honey and spices. 

This tangy chicken marinade first appeared on my former blog, The Culinary Jumble. The photos have been updated but the recipe remains the same. 

For me, one of the best things about summer is the irresistible waft of a barbecue. We love grilling a bit of chicken as it is so quick and convenient, and a healthy way to cook meat.

Making your own chicken marinade

Although you can buy any number of barbecue sauces and marinades in the supermarket, making your own is not only cheaper but healthier, too. I do buy ready made sauces as much as the next person, but I much prefer to know exactly what is in my food. 

This homemade tangy chicken marinade is a combination of flavoursome cupboard staples like honey, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. There’s nothing more complicated than mixing everything together and then slathering over your chicken (or any other kind of meat).

Since writing this post, I have become a pescatarian, so no longer eat chicken. However, you don’t need meat as this marinade would work so well with bell peppers, courgettes or anything else you fancy. 

Like all marinades, the longer you leave it, the better. Prepare it the morning of your barbecue, let it marinate, and by dinner time, you are good to go. Here are some valuable tips to consider when determining how long you should marinate meat for to enhance its flavor and tenderness.

The perfect sides for marinated chicken

The sides for marinated chicken (or vegetables) are perhaps just as important as the main dish. Well, for me, anyway. When I took the pictures (above), I had made my gorgeous spicy Greek yoghurt potato salad, but here are some other great ideas for sides:

• Jalapeño cheddar spelt quick bread
• King prawn salad with chives and red onion
• Feta cheese salad with Marie Rose sauce
• Spelt cheddar soda bread
• Wholemeal spelt seeded soda bread
• Red onion feta dip
• Tzatziki

Print Pin

Homemade Tangy Chicken Marinade

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Fridge 4 hours hours

Ingredients

• approx. 800g (1¾ lb) chicken breast (4 large breasts)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp barbecue sauce
• 2 tbsp oil
• ¼ tsp fresh thyme
• ½ tsp fresh rosemary
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

• Mix the oil, ketchup, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, thyme, rosemary and honey in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients and then stir into the wet mixture.
• Lay the chicken breasts in a large dish and score each one several times.
• Slather over the sauce, making sure it gets right into the chicken and then turn the meat several times so each breast is well covered with the sauce.
• Cover and leave for several hours (or if you can, overnight is even better) and then cook on the BBQ (or you could grill or bake in the oven). Enjoy!