This is a quick and delicious way to marinate chicken and save time. I try to make time on my grocery shopping day to clean, prepare, and marinate the chicken breasts. If I don’t have time that day, I throw them in the refrigerator and marinate them the following morning. (Sorry – more raw meat pics…this is the last one for now. Promise!)
The great thing about these marinades is that you can use them with any kind of chicken, even a whole chicken if you remove the backbone and lay it out flat.
I posted the first half of this post on Wednesday. If you didn’t see it, you can find it here.
Before I give you the marinade recipes, I’m going to show you the final steps before adding all that great flavor to the chicken. I mix my marinade in 2 or 4 cup glass measuring cups before I start cleaning the chicken so it’s ready to go when I need it.
Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry. Then, salt both sides with kosher salt and rub the salt into the chicken. I use about 3/4 – 1 teaspoon per pound.
Cut the breasts in half. (You can do this before or after you salt the breasts.)
Place the chicken breasts in pre-labeled and dated 1 gallon zip-lock bags. Dump the marinade in the bag and flip it to coat both sides of the chicken. Get the breasts to lay as flat as you can, squeeze out as much air as possible, and then seal them.
I place the sealed bags of chicken and marinade on a baking sheet. Once they’re frozen solid, I take them off the baking sheet. They stack neatly in my freezer. When you’re ready to cook them, let them thaw in the refrigerator. You’ll have perfectly flavored meat.
Tuscan Lemon Chicken Marinade
makes enough for about 2 – 3 pounds of chicken
recipe from Ina Garten1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, about 2 lemons
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic grated on a microplane
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepperCombine all ingredients in a 2 or 4 cup glass measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Pour over chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The longer the meat is marinated, the more flavor it will absorb.
Herbs de Provence Chicken Marinade
makes enough for 2 – 3 pounds of chicken1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
10 drops of liquid stevia (I use NuNaturals)
1 tablespoon herbs de provenceCombine all ingredients in a 2 or 4 cup glass measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Pour over chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The longer the meat is marinated, the more flavor it will absorb.
