Years ago, I published my recipe for salt & vinegar chicken, and it was a HIT. The marinade is so fast: you can drop the chicken in while you’re preheating the grill, and as soon as it’s heated, start grilling. This technique is basically flash brining. The liquid is so strong that you only need 15-30 minutes in the brine before the chicken is packed with flavor. It’s an amazing weeknight dinner.
I’ve made it so often over the last few years, and I’ve made some tweaks along the way. One is to switch from a whole chicken to boneless, skinless chicken thighs. It’s the best meat for it: it absorbs super fast, and the slightly more fatty cut keeps the meat from drying out. It makes it so much easier to monitor the grill and finish cooking everything at the same time.
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I’ve also taken out the “extra” seasonings. While they do add some flavor, since Julia avoids some of those ingredients now, it’s easier to just skip it. It’s also easier for the kids to eat since they’re not cutting around bone-in chicken.
Want to Make a Substitution?
Add seasonings: You can add brown sugar to it, if you like a little more sweetness (which I did in the original recipe). You can also add garlic powder or any seasoning you want.
Sub some salt: You can sub some of the salt with soy sauce for extra umaminess.
Sub for chicken thighs: You can make this recipe with a spatchcocked chicken or cut-up, bone-in chicken. When I do this, I’ll use half water and half vinegar and reduce the salt mixture in half so it can marinate longer—around an hour or 2.
The recipe is very accomodating. For me? It’s perfect just as it is, with only 3 ingredients: chicken thighs, kosher salt, and white vinegar. I’ll show you how it’s done.
