If you love lemony chicken with crispy skin, you'll love this Barbecued Sumac Chicken recipe! The sumac in the marinade adds a delicious tangy flavor, while the garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes do their own magic. I often serve this chicken with cheesy brussel sprouts.
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Sumac chicken is one of my favorite chicken recipes. I love the tangy, spicy flavor and how it pairs with so many other dishes! I predict you will love it too!
This sumac marinade when making musakhan. Musakhan is a Palestinian dish prepared with sumac-flavored chicken served on flatbread on a bed of grilled sumac onions. A sprinkling of pine nuts completes this amazing dish.
It can be prepared ahead of time and grilled when you're ready to eat. The recipe uses simple ingredients, and the end result is the most flavorful barbecued chicken ever!
I'll show you how to prepare sumac chicken both on your grill and in the oven.
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This grilled sumac chicken recipe is very straightforward, and best of all, you don't need any cooking skills to succeed! But don't let that detail fool you; it's definitely not just another barbecued chicken recipe.
- Sumac chicken fits in most diets, including low-carb, keto, and gluten-free lifestyles.
- Leftovers can be shredded and added to a salad, or stuffed into a Middle Eastern bread, this lavash bread recipe, or naan bread. Don't forget the sliced red onion, chopped parsley, and sliced tomatoes. Pickled turnips would also go great in the sandwich!
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil for the sumac marinade; however, you can use almost any other oil, especially avocado oil and vegetable oil.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh lemons or bottled lemon juice can be used in this recipe.
- Spices: I like to add the following spices to my marinade: Salt, black pepper, thyme, sumac, and garlic. For a kick of spice, I add either a fresh serrano or jalapeno pepper or 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. If you prefer milder flavors, the pepper can be left out. If you like it extra hot, add some cayenne!
- Chicken: Sumac chicken can be prepared with your favorite chicken pieces. Feel free to use bone-in chicken thighs, boneless chicken thighs, drumsticks, and chicken breast (with or without skin).
🍗 How to Make Sumac Chicken
Step 1: Add marinade ingredients to a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk to combine the ingredients.
Step 2: Defrost the chicken, if frozen, and rinse thoroughly. Add chicken to a bowl, then pour the marinade over the chicken and mix to really infuse the seasoning into the chicken pieces. Pour into a large plastic Ziploc bag. Marinate for at least four hours, or overnight.
Step 3: Barbecue chicken over low to medium heat until cooked through. Turn the chicken pieces a few times to make sure they cook evenly and don't burn. The skin should be nice and crispy, but not burned.
🎛 Oven Sumac Chicken
If you prefer, you can bake the marinated sumac chicken in the oven; just follow these easy steps!
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking oil.
- Place chicken thighs on the tray and bake on the middle rack for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is nice and crispy.
🥣 Serving Suggestions
This barbecued sumac chicken goes great with just about everything! I like to serve it with baghali polo, vermicelli rice, lemon dill rice, and Lebanese tabouli. It's also great with white bean salad.
But you don't have to limit the sides to Middle Eastern options. This means it goes just as well with smoked corn on the cob or potato salad with dill. Another great idea is to drizzle the chicken with balsamic vinegar glaze.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Sumac starts off as a small, low tree or shrub that grows in East Asia, Africa, and North America. "Sumac" means "red" in Arabic.
The flowers (fruit) of this sparsely-leaved plant are called "Sumac Bobs." The fruit of some of the species is ground into a sour, crimson-colored powder. This powder, known as "sumac," can be found in many Middle Eastern recipes.
Sumac powder has a sour, lemony taste. It's a great substitute in recipes that call for lemon, especially when used in marinades.
🍲 Other Chicken Recipes
Chicken is a favorite dinner choice for our family, so I'm always looking for new chicken recipes. If you can relate, here are some chicken recipes I recommend! This baked lemon pepper chicken is tender, juicy, and loaded with flavor! If you're in the mood for something smoky, you'll want to try my smoked chicken thighs or these easy smoked chicken drumsticks. Finally, if you prefer breast meat, make sure to try my Greek chicken souvlaki!
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Sumac should be stored in the freezer to last longer. The flavor can deteriorate over time if not frozen.
- Add sumac to any recipe that needs a lemony flavor, but be aware that sumac doesn't dissolve completely and will be visible in the dish.
- For best results, marinate the chicken for a minimum of four hours, or overnight.
- This marinade gives the chicken skin a delicious, crispy flavor and texture. Just this once, don't toss the skin; eat it!
- Sumac chicken Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days.
🌶 More Chicken Recipes
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Ingredients
Method
- Add marinade ingredients to a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk to combine the ingredients.
- Defrost the chicken, if frozen, and rinse thoroughly. Add the chicken to a bowl, then pour the marinade over the chicken and mix to really infuse the seasoning into the chicken pieces. Pour into a large plastic Ziploc bag. Marinate for at least four hours, or overnight.
- Barbecue chicken over low to medium heat until cooked through. Turn the chicken pieces a few times to make sure they cook evenly and not burn. The skin should be nice and crispy, but not burned.
Nutrition
Notes
- See post for oven instructions!
- Sumac should be stored in the freezer to last longer. The flavor can deteriorate over time if not frozen.
- Add sumac to any recipe that needs a lemony flavor, but be aware that sumac doesn't dissolve completely and will be visible in the dish.
- For best results, marinate the chicken for a minimum of four hours, or overnight.
- This marinade gives the chicken skin a delicious, crispy flavor and texture. Just this once, don't toss the skin; eat it!
- Sumac chicken Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days.
Sue S. says
I used boneless/skinless chicken breasts to make this recipe and the chicken turned out so very good. Full of flavor and so moist/tender. My marinade time was 5-6 hr. Looking forward to making the recipe again and trying more of your recipes too!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you so much, Sue. I really appreciate your review!
Lisa says
My pleasure Hilda. I did forget to mention that I used the oven method due to our weather here, but we're looking forward to trying it grilled. I was also able to let it marinade for 7 hours. Mmmmm Mmmmm good! 😋
Lisa says
Holy Smitherinees!! This dish freak'n rocks! I've been dying to try Sumac and found it in an unexpected location. It looks to me that no other Sumac Chicken recipe is necessary because you can't beat this. Extreme depth of flavor. Looking forward to doing this over and over again. My fiancé is definitely on-board with this recipe. Thank you and God bless.
Hilda Sterner says
Wow, Lisa, what a sweet comment to wake up to, thank you so much. Enjoy & God bless!
Eileen says
Could I not have the skin on the chicken before cooking?
Thanks
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Eileen, You can do whatever you want with the skin, leave it on or off. I love crispy chicken skin so I always leave it on but I realize it's healthier to remove it. Thanks!
Robin says
I loved this dish.
Hilda Sterner says
Me too!
Tina says
My husband loved it and he does not favor chicken. I followed the recipe but just used a tsp of salt. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Tina! I'm glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed the sumac chicken. Thank you also for the review!
Novi says
I made this chicken and then used the left over bits to make gravy. It was amazing! Thank you for a great recipe!
HildaSterner says
I love that idea, I will have to give that a try. Thanks for the review!
Mariam says
I made this sumac chicken using thighs and it was sooooo delicious! I 100%
recommend this!
HildaSterner says
Thank you, Mariam! I really appreciate your feedback! 😘