The Best Grilled Chicken Marinade Has Just Two Ingredients
As much as I love the less popular cuts of meat , I can’t deny myself the simple pleasure of fried chicken thighs, especially when those thighs are marinated in yogurt and garlic salt – the perfect poultry marinade.
“Yogurt and Garlic Salt” doesn’t sound particularly sexy, but I can assure you that chicken spread with these two ingredients – and these two ingredients alone – is downright tempting. As we know from several other poultry recipes, the acid in dairy products softens, the protein darkens, and the fat keeps it moist. Why Garlic Salt? Very tasty. Easy to use. It is cheap. It imparts garlic and salt, two of the best flavors; sometimes parsley is involved. There are no downsides to using garlic salt.
Accordingly, you want to add enough garlic salt, so when you taste the yogurt (before spreading it over the chicken), you say, “Hmm. It’s too salty and garlic. ” I use at least one tablespoon of garlic salt per cup of yogurt, but you can use a little more or a little less depending on which brand of garlic salt you use. (Some are saltier, some are more garlic.) I like to use thick yoghurt like full- fat Greek yogurt or labne because they are delicious and rich and can be easily wiped off the chicken just before grilling.
To take advantage of the magical combination of yogurt and garlic salt, simply mix the two ingredients, using the approximate ratio: 1 tablespoon of garlic salt to each cup of yogurt (which is enough for about a pound of chicken), give it some flavor. and add more salt and garlic if necessary until it becomes “too salty.” Spread it all over the chicken you are going to grill (I love the thighs), put the chicken in a bag and refrigerate it overnight or up to 24 hours. When it’s time to grill, simply wipe off the excess with a paper towel and cook on hot coals or gas fire as usual. This chicken is very good hot and grilled, but it is also amazingly cold, so don’t be afraid to cook “too much.”