How to marinate chicken legs and barbecue them

Shashlik has long ceased to be the highlight of Caucasian cuisine. It is so firmly ingrained into our everyday cooking that it is impossible to imagine modern picnics or ordinary gatherings with friends in nature without it. In the classic version, this dish is always prepared from meat, but chicken kebabs turned out to be a very worthy alternative. They are easy to prepare, marinate quickly, are the most budget-friendly option for kebabs, and chicken can be purchased everywhere. Excellent kebab is made from chicken wings, legs, hearts, other offal and breasts. But the best starting product for barbecue, undoubtedly, is meaty chicken legs, which can always be cooked very tasty if they are properly marinated.

Some subtleties should be taken into account, both the pickling process itself and the creation of marinades.

How to cook shish kebab from chicken legs

1. Thaw the legs (if you bought them frozen), wash them, and cut them into 2 - 3 parts. Typically, the leg is cut at the junction of the bones between the drumstick and thigh. If the thigh is very large, it can be cut into two parts.

2. Add onion, chopped into small rings or half rings, to the legs, so it will better produce juice that softens the meat. Even better, mash the onion before adding it to the marinade. Chop the tomatoes (you can use bell peppers) and add them to the marinade. We prepared barbecue from the legs in early spring, so we used frozen tomatoes. Cut the garlic into slices (do not grate!) and add to the legs.

3. Then add ketchup and spices. A little bit of everything: salt 1 tsp, curry 1 tsp without a slide, ginger 0.5 tsp, pepper 0.5 tsp.

4. Mix the kebab with spices thoroughly, cover with a lid and leave to marinate. Chicken wings are marinated for 1-1.5 hours, drumsticks and thighs for 3 hours. You can leave the kebab in the refrigerator overnight. Fry on the grill or barbecue until fully cooked.

With mayonnaise and ketchup

The simplest, most economical and at the same time delicious marinade is made with mayonnaise and ketchup. All you need:

• 100-150 ml of mayonnaise (depending on the amount of meat);
• 50-80 g ketchup (kebab or spicy);
• seasonings to taste.

All the ingredients must be mixed, the meat should be rolled in them and the kebab should be allowed to brew for a while. Then you can send the legs to the grill or oven. If desired, you can add salt to the dish and add a little onion for flavor.

Marinade for chicken (legs)

Shish kebab made from chicken legs has long been loved by many. The number of recipes and methods for preparing chicken meat so that it is tender and tasty is steadily growing. After all, our inventive people love to experiment. We will present you some of the most popular and favorite recipes.

For chicken (legs): spices and seasonings

Not all spices are suitable for chicken meat; some, for example, cloves, give it a very persistent aroma, and at the same time not always pleasant. Therefore, we put this spice aside immediately. But you should stock up on things like, for example, a mixture of dry herbs. Also, for fans, you can buy dried garlic, dill, and basil. Also black, white pepper, paprika, turmeric and even mint - especially the latter seasoning will make the meat not only taste extraordinary, but also softer and lighter. You can also use coriander, curry, ground nutmeg and oregano.

For chicken (legs): marinades

• The simplest and most delicious marinade is your own juice. Mix all the seasonings that go with the chicken in a bowl, then dip and rub the spices into the chicken. Leave for several hours, or better yet, overnight. If desired, add onion, cut into rings.
• Original marinade: ginger root, finely chopped or grated, mixed with the pulp of an orange or several tangerines, add soy sauce and black pepper. Leave the chicken in this marinade for an hour in a cool place.
• The mayonnaise marinade consists of mayonnaise itself, black pepper, a mixture of herbs, garlic, mustard seeds, although you can add a few teaspoons of mustard from a jar. Dip the chicken or its parts into the mixture, grate, and leave overnight in a cool place. Instead of mayonnaise, you can put sour cream or yogurt, the taste will not change, but the dish will be less calorie. A spicy marinade based on mayonnaise can be prepared by taking mayonnaise and adjika in a 3:1 ratio.
• Ketchup based marinade. Take hot ketchup, add finely chopped parsley, vinegar (apple or regular), turmeric or paprika, a pinch of sugar and sunflower or olive oil. Rub the mixture over the chicken and leave to marinate.
• Lemon marinade. Mix lemon or lemon juice in a blender with mint and water, add oregano and salt. For those who like something savory, you can add a spoonful of honey. Mix everything, grate the chicken. Before marinating the chicken, sprinkle with a mixture of Provençal herbs.
• A piquant sweetish taste and a crispy caramel crust can be added to the chicken using a marinade of soy sauce and honey. Mix 10 tbsp. soy sauce with 3 tbsp honey, squeeze lemon juice and add curry with ground black pepper. Keep the wings in the marinade for about 4 hours, it is better to leave the drumsticks and thighs overnight.
• Marinades for chicken with beer. For example: 1 tbsp. spices for chicken, 1 tsp salt and 1 bottle of beer. Or this: beer and kefir in a 1:1 ratio, salt and a couple of cloves of garlic.
• Marinades for chicken with white wine: 1 glass of wine, 5 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil, chopped onion, garlic, dill and parsley, salt and ground black pepper. Another exquisite marinade: 1 glass of white wine, juice of one orange and 1 lemon, 2 tbsp. l honey, ginger, dill.
• Marinade for chicken with kefir. In this marinade the chicken turns out very tender and soft. 1 cup kefir, juice of 1 lemon, chopped onion, dill, parsley, salt, ground black pepper, spices for chicken (optional).
• If you want the meat to melt in your mouth literally after 1 hour of marinating, use natural pineapple juice as a marinade. Mustard gives a good effect; you can keep the meat in it for 20 minutes, then add any marinade. The smell and taste of mustard quickly evaporate, leaving the meat very soft and tender.

Please note that chicken kebab marinated in dairy products is much worse stored raw than kebab marinated in lemon juice and vinegar. Mustard is also an excellent preservative for barbecue. Therefore, when going on a long trip to barbecue, it is better to prepare a marinade with lemon.

Any of these marinades will suit shish kebab. Experiment!

How to marinate meat - tips and secrets

Marinating meat began in ancient times; various methods were used for this in different parts of the world. Nowadays, the traditions have undergone virtually no changes, for example, in the northern countries, meat is placed in salted sea water (sometimes even boiled in it), and in the south, vinegar is used.

In Asia, various spices are actively used; simply put, all this is necessary in order to make the meat more juicy and soft.

Nowadays, the traditions have remained the same, and the main condition in marinating any meat for barbecue is acid. It is this that softens the meat, thus allowing spices and seasonings to be better absorbed into it.

But acid is not only table vinegar, because other products can be used instead, for example:

1. Wine or apple cider vinegar (both are more natural and healthy);
2. Fruit juices, such as lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, apple or pomegranate;
3. Dry wines (white wine is ideal for chicken kebab);
4. A combination of fruits such as pineapple and kiwi, which are cut into slices and placed with meat;
5. Soy sauce;
6. Kefir or natural unsweetened yogurt.

But acid alone will not be enough to produce a tasty kebab, so you will need to add spices to it:

1. Onion;
2. Garlic;
3. Rosemary;
4. Bay leaf;
5. Dill;
6. Coriander (cilantro);
7. Fennel;
8. Mustard;
9. Juniper berries;
10. Black, red, sweet or hot pepper;
11. Special seasoning mixtures for meat.

You can also add a little vegetable oil to the marinade; in this case, during frying, the meat juice will not flow out and the meat will not be dry. Oil can be replaced with mayonnaise; shish kebab in this marinade will turn out very tasty. In any case, it is in these products that spices are best dissolved.

By the way, about the spices themselves. Experienced chefs advise putting no more than 3 types of herbs in the marinade, otherwise they will interrupt each other’s smell, and the kebab will not get all their aroma and taste.

Poultry meat does not tolerate aggressive marinades, so you can prepare a dressing for it not from vinegar, but from fruits or fruit juices. In addition, you won’t need to marinate this kebab for a long time.

There is no need to salt the marinade. The product itself is salted directly and only in its finished form. If you add salt to the marinade, the meat will turn out dense and tough.

Quick recipe with kefir

Chicken marinated in kefir is considered one of the most delicious dishes.

How to prepare the marinade:

1. Peel the onion and cut into rings;

2. Pass the garlic through a press;
3. Divide the chicken meat into small parts and place in a special deep bowl;

4. Add onion and garlic to the chicken, add spices, salt and pepper;

5. Mix the chicken pieces, pour kefir over them and press down with a press (for example, by placing a pan on them);
6. Place the kebab in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Culinary secrets

Among the 11 recipes for marinade for chicken legs, you are sure to find one that suits your taste. But to get the expected result, we advise you to familiarize yourself with a few simple rules that will allow you to fry juicy, rosy and aromatic kebab from chicken legs.

• You can also fry whole chicken legs on coals, but more often they are cut into 2-3 parts. The first incision is made between the femur and ankle bones; large femurs are additionally divided in half. Such pieces are usually fried on a grill - it’s more convenient.
• In order for the legs to be better soaked in the marinade, they need to be pierced in several places with a knife.
• There is no need to remove the skin from the legs. Roasted over charcoal, it becomes crispy and very tasty. Many gourmets adore it.
• Spices such as turmeric, paprika, hot red pepper, dry or liquid adjika, mustard, fresh or dried ginger and garlic are added to the marinade intended for chicken legs. Herbs that go well with chicken include parsley, cilantro, rosemary, and thyme. Do not put more than 2-3 herbs into the marinade so that they do not start “arguing” with each other. You should also not put cloves in the chicken marinade.
• To make chicken meat soft, acidic foods are often added to the marinade. The simplest and cheapest is vinegar; for chicken you need to take 6 percent (apple, grape). However, white wine, fruit or fruit and berry juices give chicken kebab a more refined taste. The more acids in the marinade, the faster the meat fibers will soften, and the meat will be ready for grilling over charcoal.
• Whole chicken legs are marinated 1.5-2 times longer than those cut into pieces.
• The length of time that chicken legs are kept in the marinade depends on its composition. Usually it does not exceed 3 hours, but sometimes you need to leave them in the sauce for 6-8 hours (for example, overnight). There are compositions that allow you to marinate chicken legs in literally 15-30 minutes. You will find exact instructions regarding the time to prepare chicken for frying on the grill in specific recipes.

Shish kebab from chicken legs can be fried not only on a grill outdoors, but also at home, in an electric kebab maker or oven with a grill function. The composition of the marinade and the rules for its preparation will not change, but you can slightly reduce the period of keeping the chicken in the marinade when frying the kebab in the oven.

Below you will find recipes for marinade for chicken legs. They are based on 0.8-1.2 kg of poultry meat. If you plan to barbecue for a large group, increase the amount of ingredients while maintaining the proportions.

Preparing the marinade. Adviсe

To begin, take a baking dish, lightly grease it with vegetable oil, and place the meat on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, carefully sprinkle with nutmeg for flavor. This spice is also relevant if you are planning a side dish of potatoes.

Now you need to finely chop or grate the garlic, mix it with mayonnaise, let it brew for at least ten minutes. Spread the aromatic mixture over the legs. That's it, the product can go into the oven! This is the easiest option for baking. The meat turns out soft and flavorful, and there is no need to soak the legs in the sauce for a long time.

An excellent side dish would be boiled or baked potatoes, for example, in their jackets. You can also prepare something more sophisticated, for example, a fruit salad.

Delicious meat from the oven is a great option for dinner. For cooking, you can take the legs of any bird, for example, chicken. A delicious marinade makes the meat even more tender, more aromatic and more appetizing in appearance. There are many options, from the simplest, which involve only a few ingredients, to the complex, containing different flavors. Marinade makes any dish much more interesting.

With lecho

It’s not for nothing that lecho turns out so delicious. The fact is that the sauce with which the vegetables are coated is saturated with all the ingredients included in the composition. This allows it to complement any other dish, including barbecue. To prepare you will need:

• 100-150 ml lecho;
• 2-3 onions;
• 4-5 cloves of garlic (or 1.5 teaspoons dried);
• seasoning for chicken to taste.

Mix lecho sauce with finely chopped garlic and chicken seasoning. Add chopped onion and chicken pieces to the resulting mixture. Place a lid on the dish and leave to steep for at least 2 hours. Lecho will make the meat structure softer and give it a vegetable aroma.

General recommendations

To make the chicken tasty, you need to choose it correctly. Let’s say right away that absolutely any part of the carcass is suitable for cooking barbecue. Some people like juicy thighs, especially if the central bone is cut out of them, while others prefer the breast.

It is much more important that the meat is fresh. It is better not to buy frozen chicken for barbecue. Take either a fresh carcass or a chilled one.

Examine the meat carefully. It should be light pink, slightly moist, but not sticky, without bruises, feathers, or bruises. Smell matters a lot. Fresh chicken has practically none. Only a subtle sweetish aroma is barely audible to the buyer. There should be no sourness, bitterness, and certainly no rot.

Soup chickens are not suitable for barbecue; they are too tough and bony. There is no need to spend money on a rooster either. It makes an excellent broth or jellied meat, but it is not suitable for cooking over coals.

Advice!

If you choose chicken fillet, string small pieces of pork fat and slices of green bell pepper onto skewers in addition to the chicken, it will be juicier.

With white wine

One of the fastest ways to marinate is in white wine. You will need:

• 200-300 ml dry white wine;
• 1 lemon;
• 2 onions;
• salt and seasoning (coriander, Provençal herbs, pepper).

Mix white wine, lemon juice, salt and seasonings in a bowl. Cut the onion into rings or large pieces. Pour the mixture over the legs, add the onions and stir. Then cover the kebab with film or a lid and leave to marinate for 30-60 minutes. The meat is spicy and incredibly tender.

With kiwi

Kiwi meat turns out to be quite unusual and tender due to the flavor of the fruit. For this recipe you only need four ingredients:

• 2 large onions;
• 2 ripe kiwis;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Peel the kiwi, cut into small pieces and place in a blender, add salt and pepper. Peel the onion and cut into rings. Place the kiwi mixture into the meat first, and then the onion rings. Mix everything and add salt. It is advisable to marinate the meat for 6-8 hours, but it is better to leave it overnight in a cool place.

Marinade for shish kebab with adjika

What do you need:

• spicy adjika – 40 ml;
• mayonnaise – 80 ml;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• refined vegetable oil – 20 ml.

How to cook:

1. Crush the garlic with a press. Stir in other ingredients.
2. Coat the chicken legs with the resulting sauce.
3. Let them sit for an hour or two in the refrigerator.

All that remains is to fry the chicken. Important: kebab prepared according to this recipe turns out to be very spicy; you should not offer it to children.