Unlock the secret to incredibly flavorful, unbelievably tender, and consistently juicy grilled chicken with this ultimate homemade seasoning. More than just a spice blend, this versatile concoction doubles as a potent marinade, transforming ordinary poultry into a culinary masterpiece. Elevate your grilling game effortlessly with a simple yet powerful mix of aromatic herbs, robust spices, and key tenderizing ingredients. Bid farewell to dry, bland chicken and prepare to welcome mouthwatering perfection to your plate.
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Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Recipe
This grilled chicken seasoning isn’t just another mix; it’s a comprehensive solution for transforming your chicken into a culinary delight. Here’s why it’s a must-have in your kitchen:
- Unforgettable Flavor Profile: Our unique blend of herbs and spices, combined with the savory depth of soy sauce, infuses your chicken with an incredible array of flavors. You’ll experience a perfect balance of savory, sweet, and smoky notes that penetrate deep into the meat, ensuring every bite is bursting with taste. This isn’t just surface-level seasoning; it’s a rich, all-encompassing flavor experience that will truly elevate your meal.
- Exceptional Tenderization: The marinade includes soy sauce, which acts as a fantastic tenderizer. The mild acidity in soy sauce, similar to apple cider vinegar or citrus juice, works diligently to break down the chicken’s connective tissues. This process ensures that even leaner cuts, like chicken breasts, emerge from the grill remarkably tender and easy to cut, creating a pleasant texture that melts in your mouth.
- Superior Moisture Retention: One of the biggest challenges with grilling chicken is preventing it from drying out. Our marinade plays a crucial role in moisture retention. The combination of liquid, salt, and a touch of sugar helps the chicken fibers hold onto their natural juices throughout the high-heat grilling process. The result is consistently juicy chicken that remains succulent from the first bite to the last, even when reheated.
- Effortless Customization: This recipe provides a perfect base, but its true beauty lies in its adaptability. You have the freedom to easily tailor the flavor profile to match your personal preferences or the cuisine you’re aiming for. Whether you desire more heat, a zesty kick, or an herbaceous aroma, a few simple additions can create a completely new and exciting culinary experience every time you grill.
- Reduced Reliance on Extra Sauces: A well-marinated and seasoned piece of chicken often speaks for itself. With this potent blend, your grilled chicken will be so flavorful and moist that you might find yourself skipping the BBQ sauce or other condiments entirely. This is not only a benefit for those seeking healthier options but also a testament to the seasoning’s rich, standalone taste, allowing the natural deliciousness of the chicken to shine through.
Key Ingredients
Each ingredient in this grilled chicken seasoning is carefully selected for its role in creating a balanced, flavorful, and tender final product:
- Soy Sauce: Provides a fundamental umami flavor, adds necessary saltiness, and acts as a mild acid to tenderize the chicken, helping to break down protein structures without making the meat mushy.
- Brown Sugar or Sweetener: Balances the savory and acidic notes, promotes beautiful caramelization on the grill for a desirable crust, and helps with moisture retention.
- Chili Powder: Delivers a warm, earthy flavor with a mild, approachable spice, and contributes to the vibrant color of the seasoning.
- Smoked Paprika: Offers a rich, smoky depth that enhances the grilled flavor, along with a beautiful red hue that makes the chicken look as good as it tastes.
- Onion Powder: Provides a foundational aromatic sweetness and savory backbone that complements all other spices, contributing to a well-rounded flavor.
- Garlic Powder: A classic flavor enhancer, garlic powder adds a pungent, savory kick that is essential for most savory dishes, creating a robust and inviting aroma.
Marinades vs. Dry Rubs: Do You Have to Use Liquid?
When it comes to flavoring and tenderizing meat, particularly chicken, cooks often debate between wet marinades and dry rubs. While both methods aim to enhance taste, they function in distinctly different ways, and understanding these differences can help you choose the best approach for your specific cooking goals.
A **dry rub** consists solely of a mixture of dry ingredients like spices, herbs, salt, and sugar, applied directly to the surface of the meat. Without liquid, dry rubs work by creating a flavorful crust on the exterior of the chicken as it cooks, particularly through the caramelization of sugars and the toasting of spices. They are excellent for adding intense surface flavor and promoting a crispy skin, which is ideal for dishes like chicken wings or whole roasted chicken where crispiness is paramount. If you’re looking for a dedicated dry rub, consider my Dry Rub for Chicken Wings recipe.
On the other hand, a **wet marinade**, which includes a liquid component, offers a dual benefit. Liquids, especially those with acidic properties (like soy sauce, vinegar, or citrus juice) or enzymatic properties, penetrate deeper into the meat’s structure. This not only carries flavor throughout the chicken, influencing both its exterior and interior, but also actively tenderizes tougher cuts by breaking down connective tissues. This tenderizing action is particularly beneficial for lean cuts such as chicken breasts, which can easily dry out if not properly prepared.
This recipe ingeniously combines the best of both worlds. It integrates all the rich spices and aromatic flavors you would typically find in a premium dry rub with the tenderizing and moisture-retaining benefits of a liquid marinade, utilizing soy sauce as its base. This hybrid approach ensures your grilled chicken is not only deeply flavorful but also exceptionally tender and juicy, making it a superior choice for a wide variety of grilled chicken dishes.
How to Make This Grilled Chicken Seasoning and Marinade
Creating this flavorful grilled chicken seasoning and marinade is incredibly simple, requiring minimal effort for maximum impact. Detailed measurements and full instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare the Chicken: Before marinating, ensure your chicken pieces are pat dry with paper towels. This step is crucial as it helps the marinade adhere better to the chicken and prevents excess moisture from diluting the flavors. Trim any excess fat if desired.
- Combine Ingredients: In a large bowl or a sturdy plastic zip-top bag, combine the soy sauce along with all the measured dry spices (brown sugar, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper). Whisk or shake vigorously to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed, creating a homogenous marinade.
- Marinate the Chicken: Add the prepared chicken pieces to the bowl or bag with the marinade. Ensure that each piece of chicken is thoroughly coated. For best results, massage the marinade into the chicken with your hands for a minute or two, ensuring even distribution and penetration of the flavors.
- Refrigerate: Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or seal the zip-top bag, removing as much air as possible. Place the marinated chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. For deeper flavor and enhanced tenderization, you can marinate it overnight (up to 24 hours). This allows ample time for the flavors to infuse and the tenderizers to work their magic.
Once marinated, your chicken is ready for the grill, oven, or pan, promising a flavorful and juicy meal every time.
How to Customize: Substitutions and Variations
The beauty of homemade seasoning blends lies in their flexibility. Customizing this grilled chicken seasoning to match your unique taste preferences or to complement different cuisines is incredibly easy. Don’t hesitate to experiment with various herbs and spices to craft your signature flavor profile. Here are some ideas for substitutions and variations:
- For Intense Smoky Flavor: Add Chipotle Powder for a fiery, smoky kick that works wonderfully with grilled meats.
- Herbal Freshness: Incorporate dried Rosemary for its earthy, piney aroma; Thyme for delicate, slightly minty notes; or Oregano for a pungent, Mediterranean character. A blend of these can create an ‘Italian herb’ profile.
- Warm & Earthy Spices: A dash of Cumin introduces warm, earthy, and slightly spicy undertones, perfect for a more Southwestern or Mexican-inspired dish.
- Heat Boost: If you prefer more spice, a pinch or two of Cayenne Pepper will quickly elevate the heat level.
- Exotic Zest: Grated fresh Ginger or ginger powder adds a fresh, zesty, and slightly spicy kick, great for Asian-inspired grilled chicken.
- Acidic Alternatives: While soy sauce provides excellent flavor and tenderization, you can substitute it with other acidic liquids like fresh Lemon Juice for a bright, tangy marinade, Apple Cider Vinegar for a robust tang, or Balsamic Vinegar for a sweeter, more complex acidity.
- Sweetness Variations: Instead of brown sugar, try Honey or Maple Syrup for different nuanced sweetness that also aids in caramelization.
When customizing, remember that the key to a successful marinade is maintaining a harmonious balance among the flavors. Start with small additions and taste as you go (before adding raw chicken, of course!). Trust your taste buds, have fun exploring different combinations, and you’ll discover the perfect flavor right for you.
Optimal Marinating Time for Juicy Chicken
The duration for marinating chicken is a critical factor in achieving maximum flavor and tenderization without compromising the meat’s texture. The ideal marinating time depends largely on the cut and thickness of the chicken, as well as the acidity of the marinade.
- Thinly Sliced Chicken or Tenders: For quick-cooking cuts like thinly sliced chicken breasts or chicken tenders, a shorter marinating period is sufficient. 30 minutes to 2 hours in the refrigerator should allow these thinner pieces to absorb plenty of flavor without becoming too soft or mushy, especially if your marinade contains stronger acids.
- Standard Chicken Breasts or Thighs: For more substantial cuts like regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, you’ll want to extend the marinating time. 2 to 4 hours is generally recommended. This allows the marinade to penetrate deeper into the meat, ensuring a more pronounced flavor throughout and optimal tenderization.
- Bone-In Chicken Pieces or Whole Chicken: When marinating larger, thicker cuts such as bone-in chicken thighs, drumsticks, or even a whole chicken for grilling or roasting, a longer duration is beneficial. Marinating for at least 4 hours or even overnight (up to 12-24 hours) will ensure the seasoning permeates the entire bird, resulting in maximum flavor and moisture from bone to skin.
Important Considerations:
- Avoid Over-Marinating: While marinating is beneficial, excessive time, especially with highly acidic marinades (like those heavy in citrus juice or strong vinegars), can actually begin to “cook” the protein, leading to a mushy, undesirable texture. This specific recipe uses soy sauce, which is a milder acid, making it more forgiving. However, generally, do not exceed 24 hours for chicken, and even less for very thin cuts.
- Always Refrigerate: To prevent bacterial growth, always marinate chicken in the refrigerator. Never marinate at room temperature.
- Safe Handling: If you plan to use some of the marinade as a sauce, separate a portion before it comes into contact with raw chicken. Never use marinade that has touched raw meat without boiling it thoroughly first.
Tips for Ensuring Chicken Stays Moist When Cooked
Achieving perfectly moist and juicy grilled chicken is the ultimate goal, and it goes beyond just a great marinade. Here are essential tips to ensure your chicken remains succulent every time:
- Cook to the Proper Internal Temperature: The most crucial step is to cook chicken to the correct internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Use a reliable meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat, avoiding bones. Cooking beyond this temperature is the primary cause of dry chicken.
- Allow for Resting Time: Once cooked, transfer your chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing or serving. This allows the juices, which have been pushed to the center of the meat during cooking, to redistribute throughout the entire piece. Cutting too soon will cause these precious juices to run out, leaving your chicken dry.
- Avoid Overcooking: Overcooking is the arch-nemesis of juicy chicken. Keep a close eye on your chicken while it’s on the grill or in the oven. Remove it from the heat as soon as it reaches 165°F (74°C). Remember that the internal temperature will continue to rise slightly after removal (carry-over cooking), so you can even pull it off a few degrees early if you’re confident in your thermometer.
- Start with Quality Chicken: The quality of your raw chicken significantly impacts the final result. Opt for fresh, high-quality chicken over previously frozen whenever possible. Fresh chicken tends to retain more moisture and flavor. Bone-in, skin-on cuts also tend to be more forgiving and stay juicier due to the added insulation.
- Prepare the Grill Grates: Always ensure your grill grates are clean and well-oiled before placing the chicken on them. This prevents sticking, which can tear the chicken and allow juices to escape.
- Consider Two-Zone Grilling: For thicker cuts, start the chicken over direct, high heat to get a good sear and develop flavor (Maillard reaction). Then, move it to a cooler, indirect heat zone to finish cooking through without burning the exterior or drying out the inside. This method allows for a crispy exterior and tender interior.
- Pound Chicken Breasts for Even Thickness: If cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pound them to an even thickness (about ¾ inch) before marinating. This ensures that the entire piece cooks at the same rate, preventing thinner edges from drying out while the thicker parts finish cooking.
Storage Guidelines: How Long Will It Last?
Proper storage is essential to maintain the quality and safety of your grilled chicken seasoning and any marinated chicken. Here’s what you need to know:
- Storing the Dry Seasoning Mix: If you decide to prepare a larger batch of just the dry spice blend (without the soy sauce or other liquids) for future use, it should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark pantry. Properly stored, a dry seasoning mix can last for up to 6 months, though its potency will gradually diminish over time. Always check for any off-odors or clumping before use.
- Storing Prepared Marinade: If you mix the entire batch of wet marinade (soy sauce and spices) and don’t immediately use it with chicken, it can be kept in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. However, for best flavor and freshness, it’s generally recommended to mix the marinade just before use.
- Storing Marinated Raw Chicken: The amount of marinade noted in this recipe is typically sufficient for about 3 pounds of chicken, which I usually use in one serving. If you marinate chicken and don’t plan to cook it all at once, the marinated raw chicken can be safely stored in a sealed container or zip-top bag in the refrigerator for 1-2 days (24-48 hours). Beyond this, the chicken’s texture can begin to degrade due to the tenderizing action of the marinade, and food safety concerns increase.
- Storing Cooked Grilled Chicken: Leftover cooked grilled chicken should be refrigerated within two hours of cooking. Store it in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. For longer storage, cooked chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen chicken in the refrigerator before reheating.
Always prioritize food safety by adhering to these storage guidelines to ensure your meals are both delicious and safe to eat.
More Homemade Seasoning and Spice Recipes
Enhance your culinary repertoire with these other incredible homemade seasoning and spice blends:
- Homemade BBQ Seasoning and Rub
- Homemade Blackened Seasoning
- Homemade Chili Seasoning
- Homemade Ranch Seasoning
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
- Homemade Steak Seasoning Rub
- Dry Rub for Chicken
- Homemade Burger Rub and Seasoning
Perfect Pairings: What to Serve With Your Grilled Chicken
Once you’ve mastered the art of perfectly grilled chicken with this fantastic seasoning, you’ll want to pair it with equally delicious sides and preparations. Here are some recipes that complement the rich flavors of our grilled chicken, making for a complete and satisfying meal:
- Smoked Pulled Chicken: Utilize this seasoning for incredible smoked pulled chicken sandwiches or tacos.
- How to Grill Chicken Wings: Take your chicken wings to the next level with this versatile seasoning and a perfect grilling technique.
- Traeger Smoked Whole Chicken: Apply the seasoning to a whole chicken for a show-stopping, smoke-infused centerpiece.
- Traeger Smoked Chicken Wings: For fans of smoked wings, this seasoning is ideal for adding depth before hitting the smoker.
- Traeger Smoked Chicken Breast: Even lean chicken breasts benefit immensely from the tenderizing and flavor-boosting power of this marinade when smoked.
- Smoked Turkey Wings: Not just for chicken, this seasoning can also be adapted for other poultry, like these succulent smoked turkey wings.
- Traeger Beer Can Chicken: Elevate the classic beer can chicken with this seasoning for an extra layer of flavor and moisture.
Beyond these specific recipes, consider simple sides like a fresh garden salad, roasted vegetables, corn on the cob, or a fluffy rice pilaf to round out your meal. The robust flavor of the chicken will be the star, allowing for lighter, refreshing accompaniments.
Grilled Chicken Seasoning
Brandi Crawford
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar or sweetener
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce and all of the spices and drizzle it over the chicken in a large bowl or plastic bag. Place the chicken in the fridge (covered) for 30 minutes to overnight.
Notes
Feel free to double/triple the recipe.
You can use apple cider vinegar instead of soy sauce if you wish.
Nutrition
Nutrition Data
Macros are provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. This information is calculated using MyFitnessPal.com. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.