Sticky apricot chicken marinade
The South African favourite of apricot jam, soy, lemon, garlic and a little curry powder, warmed together and used on chicken pieces, wings or sosaties.
- CoalsGas
- No fire needed
- Prep
- 10 min
- On the fire
- 2 min
- Plan ahead
- 2 to 24 hours marinating, overnight is best
- Serves
- makes about 375 ml (1 1/2 cups), enough for 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) chicken
- Done at
- 165°F (74°C)
Ingredients
Method
- Warm the jam, soy, vinegar, lemon zest and juice, garlic, curry powder, ginger, chilli and salt in a small pot for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring until smooth. Stir in the oil and let it cool.
- Pour about a third into a clean jar and refrigerate it for basting.
- Put the chicken in a glass dish or zip-seal bag with the rest of the marinade and the thyme. Turn to coat, then refrigerate, turning once or twice.
- Marinate wings and sosatie cubes for 2 to 6 hours. Give drumsticks, thighs and pieces on the bone 6 to 24 hours.
- Take the chicken out 30 minutes before cooking. Wipe off the thick excess so the sugar does not burn.
- Braai over medium to low coals, turning often. Wings take 20 to 25 minutes, drumsticks and thighs 30 to 40 minutes. Lift the meat away from any flames.
- Baste with the clean marinade from the jar in the last 10 minutes only. To use the marinade the raw chicken sat in, boil it for 2 to 3 minutes first.
Done when: the chicken is glossy and charred at the edges and a thermometer in the thickest part, away from the bone, reads 74°C (165°F).
Tips
- It suits other meat too. Pork chops or spare ribs: 4 to 12 hours, 12 to 15 minutes on medium coals for chops. Lamb sosaties: 6 to 24 hours. Firm fish: 30 minutes, 8 to 10 minutes on medium coals.
- Jam burns fast. If the chicken is darkening before it is cooked, raise the grid or move it to the edge of the fire.
- Chunky jam works too; blend the marinade for a few seconds so the fruit pieces do not stick to the grid.
Apricot jam is one of the oldest tricks in the South African kitchen, used in sosaties, blatjang and countless braai bastes. The sugar caramelises over the coals and the soy and lemon stop it tasting like dessert. It goes well with sticky chutney chicken drumsticks cooked on the same fire.
Source
Adapted from Sticky apricot chicken wings at TASTE and South African Braai Drumsticks at Just Bare.