Maple syrup season has us looking for delicious ways to enjoy this sweetener. We had a craving and discovered these easy barbequed chicken breasts with the combination of maple & rosemary! And good news…you likely already have all these classic marinade ingredients at home so get cooking those succulent chicken breasts!
For this recipe we’ve gone with bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (you can replace with boneless if that’s your preference!). Being a butcher shop, we tend to favour bone-in, skin-on meats. Why? Because the skin preserves the tender juices and the bone adds flavour.
Maple Chicken Marinade
There’s nothing like a good maple marinade to really bring out the flavour of your chicken (or even pork!). Start by gathering all your ingredients: maple syrup, soy sauce, olive oil, minced shallot, chopped fresh rosemary, freshly squeezed lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, salt and pepper.
Mix them together in a bowl, then add in your meat and let it marinate, preferably overnight in the fridge. If you’re short on time, 30 – 60 minutes should do the trick.
The maple sweetness pairs perfectly with the savory soy sauce, the herbaceous rosemary and the kick of garlic, creating an irresistible combination. Try grilling (or roasting) the maple marinated meat for a delicious meal that will have everyone begging for seconds. Trust us, once you try maple marinade, you’ll never go back to plain old BBQ sauce again.
Marinades are easily adapted by omitting or adding your own flavours, so feel free to play with the flavours in this recipe. Just be sure to include the 3 main components that make up a marinade: acid (like lemon juice or vinegar), oil, and flavour (herbs, seasoning, maple).
Now for the maple syrup, make sure you are purchasing the REAL thing! Real maple syrup is the sap from tapped trees that has been harvested, boiled, and bottled without any additives or corn syrup. A lot of hard work goes into the production of maple syrup (they call it Canada’s liquid gold for a reason!).
And as always, make sure you are using quality meats for a better end result. Chicken breasts for this recipe are easily sourced from your local butcher or local farmer.
Maple Rosemary Marinated BBQ Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Ontario maple syrup
- 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon try Kozlik's
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
- sprigs of rosemary for garnish optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine maple syrup, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, shallot, rosemary, lemon juice, Dijon and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- In a Ziploc bag, combine maple syrup mixture and chicken; marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
- Allow the chicken to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes - 1 hour before cooking. Meats at room temperature cook more evenly.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat (have a cooler side for the other half of the grill for indirect cooking).
- Brush chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
- Add chicken to the hot side of the grill, and brown both sides, approximately 10-14 minutes. Get some nice sear marks on there!
- Move the chicken breasts to the indirect heat until cooked through, turning occasionally, and reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 20-35 minutes. The chicken can be removed from heat at 160F, covered loosely and left to rest for 10 minutes (the temperature will continue to rise to 165F even after it is removed from the heat).
- Garnish with rosemary if desired
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
