Chicken is a favorite food of many people. It is a highly versatile food. It requires the right kind of cooking. But its preparation should also be perfect. In order to enhance its flavor and to make every bite juicy and soft, it requires the right kind of marination. What is the best way to do it?
Chicken and its marination procedure
Chicken is a favorite food of non-vegetarians. They love and relish it. It is cooked on weekends or holidays and is a feast time. People look forward eagerly to cook and consume it. But in order to enhance its taste and make every bite you eat flavorful and juicy, it requires the right amount of marination before cooking it. This marination also softens it and decreases the cooking time.
Chicken cooking (Source: Eat this not that)There are several ways to marinate chicken. But Patrick LeBeau, executive chef at Bambara situated in Salt Lake City reveals the method that stands above all. Patrick is also a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.
Marinade preparation
The process of marinating the chicken starts with the requirement of a good marinade. It should have the right ingredients in the right proportion. Patrick suggests to add grapeseed oil, kosher salt, and lemon juice to it. He recommends herbs too and these include parsley, chive, and dill. Patrick explains:
“The neutral flavor of the oil allows the flavor of the herbs to come through as well as providing a higher smoke point so the oil will not burn before the chicken cooks,”
“The lemon helps to tenderize the chicken as well and impart flavor.”
Chicken marinade (Source: Eat this not that)His advice is to first add oil, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. And to this add the chopped herbs:
“Chop the herbs and mix everything together in a bowl,”
For smoother consistency, Patrick suggests:
“If you want you can also place all ingredients in a blender to make it smooth,”
Process of marinating
Patrick believes that putting the chicken and the marinade together in a plastic bag does the trick. He elaborates:
“Place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag and then pour in your marinade,”
“Once everything is in the bag, seal the bag and squeeze [the contents] with your hands to massage the oil into the chicken and make sure it is evenly coated.”
The chicken should have an even coating of the marinade on it. This will ensure that each piece of it is full of flavor. Also before you add the marinade to the chicken chunk, one should ensure that the chicken is not frozen. It should be brought to room temperature before start of the procedure.
Marination procedure (Source: Eat this not that)Give some time for the marinade to act on the chicken piece. After this, you can cook the chicken the way you like. You can cook it on stove or grill it or roast it in an oven. With a good marination, it will turn out to be tender, juicy and highly delicious.