Shallots can be used to make a tasty chicken marinade.
Chicken generally lends itself well to flavor manipulation. Its light, mild flavor absorbs spices and marinades with ease, making it versatile and relatively easy to cook with. Some people find it especially tasty when marinated in honey. When choosing a honey chicken marinade, be prepared to pull apart hundreds of different recipes. This may seem confusing, but you can narrow down your options by deciding beforehand what type of honey chicken marinade you’re looking for. In general, you should decide if you want your marinade to be sweet, spicy, or savory, and then choose a predominant flavor to pair with the honey. Your selection process should be much easier.
Sweetie.
Most sweet honey chicken marinade recipes feature tropical or fruity flavors along with the honey itself. They usually start with a generous amount of honey, followed by an equal amount of vegetable oil. An acid, such as balsamic vinegar, is usually added as well. After that, the cook can add crushed blueberries, blackberries, chopped plums, or even pear nectar. It’s usually best to choose just two or three fruits for the marinade; So, for example, a recipe might include peach nectar and crushed raspberries or apple cider and pineapple.
Grated Granny Smith apples can be a nice addition to a honey chicken marinade.
Cooks looking for a spicy or savory honey chicken marinade also have plenty of options. Spicy marinades can get their flavor from sweet or savory ingredients. Cinnamon can add a bit of zing to a marinade filled with fall tree fruits like apples. Paprika can add a subtle spice to a mix full of tropical flavors like orange and lemon. Jalapenos and garlic can also be combined for a honey-toned marinade. If the cook wants to ditch the seasoning for the saltiness, cumin, allspice, shallot, and crushed garlic are all good choices. Black pepper is also a popular addition to honey chicken marinade recipes.
The honey adds sweetness to the marinade, perfectly complementing the flavor of the chicken.
Once you’ve chosen where your recipe will fall on the flavor spectrum, it’s usually time to choose a predominant flavor. There are many options listed above, but it’s usually best to choose a flavor to pair with honey and then complement it with other flavors and spices. For example, a honey apple chicken marinade might consist of grated Granny Smith apples, a little apple juice, a little honey, and a little lemon and orange zest. The citric acids should lighten the apple and honey flavors.
With a honey chicken marinade, you should use two or three fruits along with the honey.
Honey often has a subtle flavor, so cooks must prepare the chicken and marinate well in advance. Ideally, let the chicken marinate for at least 12 hours. In a pinch, let the chicken soak for an hour or so and grilling it can work just fine. Grilling helps set the flavors in the meat and can help bring out the honey chicken marinade.