Marinating meat is an essential step to preparing a delicious and juicy dish.
For years, we have been cooking chicken in the oven with nothing more than salt and pepper.
But now we have a lot more marinade recipes to add more flavors to your dish.
Let’s explore some of the best ways to prepare your chicken in the oven for maximum flavor.
How to choose chicken marinade for oven cooking?
Not only the quality of the chicken will affect how your dish tastes but also the marinade you use to flavor the meat.
Therefore, it is crucial to have the best chicken marinade on hand so that you can turn the bland meat into something much more flavorful and juicy.
Here are some tips that will help you choose chicken marinades for oven cooking:
1. If you want to buy store-bought marinades, select the package without any sign of damage
There are a lot of brands of marinades that are typically used for chicken cooked in the oven.
Therefore, if you don’t have time to make your own marinade, it is easy to find one out there in any grocery store or supermarket.
However, when choosing premade chicken marinade, check the condition of the package carefully to make sure that it is good to use.
The package should be sealed tightly, hasn’t expired, and has a clear origin with all useful information printed on the label like ingredients, best-by date, or manufactory.
2. Try samples of new marinade flavors to make sure it works best with your taste buds
Another thing to keep in mind when choosing chicken marinade for oven baking is that you should always start with a sample package.
Since each manufacturer has its own recipe for chicken marinades, you cannot make sure which product works best for your taste buds.
Therefore, besides reading the ingredient list carefully, it is better to just buy a small sample package of chicken marinades so that in case you don’t like that flavor blend, it won’t be a waste to discard that package.
3. Make your own marinades so that they will meet what you expect from the dish
In case you prefer making a homemade marinade for your chicken, nothing is better than trying new recipes on your own.
Remember that a chicken marinade should contain several flavors, including sweetness, sourness, spiciness, and saltiness.
Depending on your preference, you can use more of one flavor.
For example, you can use more brown sugar or honey if you prefer sweet chicken, or more mustard or chili pepper if you like a kick of spiciness.
3 best chicken marinade for oven cooking
A chicken marinade is often made from numerous ingredients, spices, or herbs.
Therefore, the best way to figure out what works best for your dish is to try out different recipes with different combinations.
Here are three of the most common marinades used for chicken in the oven that you can refer to for more ideas:
1. Teriyaki marinade
Teriyaki marinade is a staple in Japanese cuisine.
It is perfectly used for chicken, beef, pork, or even fish.
Teriyaki marinade is often made from soy sauce, sake, sugar, and ginger.
The mixture should be used to marinate your chicken for at least hours before you put it in the oven for a nice roast or bake.
This kind of marinade has a typical umami flavor from Asian cooking, with a slight alcohol flavor.
Teriyaki marinade can be made at home with easy-to-find ingredients or bought from any Asian grocery store or supermarket.
2. BBQ sauce
BBQ sauce can be used as a marinade for your chicken.
Although it is often used for grilling meat recipes, it can work with your chicken in the oven.
A BBQ marinade is usually made of brown sugar, garlic powder, ketchup, vinegar or lemon juice, a liquid smoke, and mustard or black pepper.
Don’t forget to marinate your chicken with a BBQ sauce for at least two hours and drip out the excess liquid before cooking it in the oven.
3. Herb marinade
For anyone who loves the herbal taste on your chicken out of the oven, this herb marinade is an ideal option.
You can find a package of herb marinade in most grocery stores or supermarkets in the country, but making your own herb marinade at home will be great.
You can combine any kind of your favorite herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary, or thyme, all in a ground, dry form.
Remember to add some olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to complete the flavor profile for your dish and make the mixture easier to stick around the chicken.
The bottom line
Now it’s time to decide which recipe you want to try.
No matter which kind of marinade you are going to use for your chicken in the oven, don’t forget to marinade it in advance so that the meat will get maximum flavor.
Hope you will be successful with your next oven-baked or roasted chicken dish with one of our aforementioned marinade recipes.
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