The key to great grilled chicken is to get it really juicy, and I have now learned that marinating chicken in beer first definitely works. You see, I bought some chicken thighs at the grocery store on Sunday and was rifling through the cabinets Monday morning trying to think of what to marinate them in. Our cupboards are pretty bare so I proceeded to start flipping through a cookbook I hadn’t used in awhile The Barbecue Bible. I found a Brazilian Beer Chicken recipe where the chicken marinates for days in a base of beer, garlic, onions and paprika. Works for me, even at the sacrifice of a beer.
This recipe created incredibly succulent and tangy chicken and I will definitely make it again. I marinated my chicken for about 36 hours before grilling it.
Grilled Chicken Marinated in Beer
(serves 6)
Adapted from The Barbecue BibleWhisk together the beer, oil, mustard, paprika and pepper in a medium bowl. Add chiles, onion, garlic and bay and combine. In a marinating container combine chicken and marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator for anywhere from 6 to 48 hours. Grill as normal and you can use the marinade to baste the chicken while grilling for the first portion of cooking. (Obviously the marinade isn't food safe, so discard and cook the chicken and sauce thoroughly.)
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I make beer-battered onion rings and beer-battered fish, but this is newby for me!!! Thx for the visit!!!You have very interesting recipes and a beautiful site here!!!
Nina – you are brave, I feel too klutzy to deep fry things most of the time.
Oh an unusual recipe huh? But lovely nonetheless. Thanks for the tip!
Beer is an under-rated marinade…I'm sure the thighs (chicken thighs) were juicy.
I recently marinaded a steak with beer and the result was fab.
Ah!!! I love this! I am familiar with this sort of recipe! My Portuguese uncle used to cook chicken with beer, garlic, paprika, and red peppers! Brings back some nice memories of when I was a skinny little kid eating chicken in the country. Random… yes… lol
Never marinated with beer. How strong is the beer taste? If one didn't know of the beer, would one pick up on it or just wonder what it was? Thanks!
Charlene – I used a light beer so you couldn't taste the beer as such. I think if you used a darker beer that might not be true.
Chicken is our fallback meat so I'm always looking for new ways to cook it. My husband will love this since he's a hot-and-spicy guy.
We seldom have beer in the house and I'm wondering if I can substitute cider? Only one way to find out!
Charmian – agreed, only one way to know. I bet if you used something which wasn't very sweet (like maybe strongbow?) it would work well.
hello!
I came across this from your best of 2009 list. I am wondering if this can be baked somehow?
At the moment over BBQ is under quite the bit of snow and it would be a hike through 3 ft of snow to get there! Though if I have to I wonder if I could bribe one of my brothers!
Yosha – I haven’t tried doing it in the oven so I am not sure. The best substitute for grilling via the oven tends to be the broiler though, what about doing it under the broiler?
This came out pretty well in the oven. I baked at 500, couldn’t find the broiler pan so placed the chicken on a wire rack and let it drip on to a tray. As the article you sent suggested I kept door open a bit to keep the element on the whole time. All in all pretty close to grilling, but I will definitely try again in the summer!
Thanks again for the recipe and all the help!
Love your recipe…used it in a post linking it back to your site here!
Thanks Parga!
Thanks Yosha.
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