Chicken Thigh Marinade (Soy Sauce + Mirin)
A pantry-built marinade mixed with soy sauce, mirin, rice wine vinegar, Dijon, and garlic — that caramelizes beautifully on the grill and bakes up deep and savory in the oven.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari (for gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine) maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon crushed or grated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs or 2½-3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and whisk together.
- Place the chicken in a bowl, baking dish or heavy duty zip-top bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Flip the thighs over a few times with a fork or a pair of tongs to coat them evenly in marinade.
- If you want to cook the chicken right away, marinate at room temperature 20-30 minutes. Otherwise, store the marinated chicken in the refrigerator 12-24 hours ahead.
Grilling instructions
- Preheat a grill to medium-high heat (400-425F; 200-220C) for direct grilling, and scrape down the grill rack with a wire brush.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and transfer to a plate or baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Arrange the chicken on the grill rack, skin-side up. Cook 5 minutes. Flip the chicken over and move them to a section of the grill with indirect heat. If you're cooking skin-on chicken, this will prevent the skin from scorching.
- Cover the grill an cook until the chicken is cooked through, an additional 5-8 minutes. A digital thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should register 160-165F (70-75C). Transfer to a platter and rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
Baking instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 (220C) with the rack in the center. Arrange the chicken on a non-stick or foil-lined sheet pan. Bake 20 minutes for boneless thighs, or 25-30 minutes for bone-in thighs, turning the pieces over halfway through.
Pan-Frying instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon neutral oil in a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Cook 5–7 minutes per side, until deeply browned and cooked through (165°F on an instant-read thermometer). Transfer to a plate and deglaze the pan with ¼ cup chicken broth or water, scraping up the browned bits. Spoon over the chicken before serving.
Broiling instructions
- Position an oven rack so it's about 6 inches from the heat source. Preheat the broiler element to high for 5-10 minutes. Arrange the chicken on the rack a broiler pan, or on a grill rack set on a foil-lined sheet pan. Broil 6-7 minutes per side, until the chicken is nicely browned.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes enough marinade for 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, or up to 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs. You can double or triple the recipe. The marinade is tasty on boneless chicken breasts too!
- Freezing: You can freeze the chicken directly in the marinade for up to 3 months — thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking.
- Tip: Use an instant read meat thermometer if you're not sure of doneness for your chicken thighs. Look for an internal temperature range of 160-175F.
Nutrition
Calories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 26gFat: 25gSodium: 571mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 2g
