This Barbecued Sumac Chicken recipe is so good! The sumac in the marinade lends a delicious tangy flavor, while the garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes do their own magic! I often serve this chicken with Low Carb Cheesy Brussel Sprouts.
You can also use 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.
But I digress... let's focus on this sumac chicken recipe... If you love lemony chicken with crispy skin, you'll love sumac chicken! 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. Read, set, let's go!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- 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.
- Leftovers can be shredded over a salad, or stuffed into a pita pocket, lavash, or naan bread with sliced red onion, chopped parsley, and sliced tomatoes.
🔖 Recipe Ingredients And 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.
- Chicken: Sumac chicken can be prepared with your favorite chicken pieces. Although I used bone-in chicken thighs this time, I have also prepared this recipe with boneless chicken thighs and with chicken breast.
🍗 How to Make Sumac Chicken
Step 1: Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl then pour into a large plastic ziplock bag.
Step 2: Defrost the chicken, if frozen, and rinse thoroughly. Add the chicken to the marinade bag, making sure all the pieces are immersed in the marinade. Marinate for at least four hours, or overnight.
Step 3: Barbecue chicken until cooked through, turning the chicken pieces a few times to make sure they cook evenly. 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.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Line a baking dish 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 tasty mashed potatoes (
This means it goes just as well with smoked corn on the cob or potato salad. Another great idea is to drizzle the chicken with balsamic vinegar glaze.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
You may not be familiar with the spice known as sumac. This tasty powder can be found in most Middle Eastern markets. But if you don't have access to one, there's always Amazon!
Sumac starts off as a small, low tree, or shrub, that grows in East Asia, Africa, and North America. "Sumac" means "red" in Arabic, and similarly, in Assyrian, the word for "red" is "smuka."
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.
If you love the flavor of lemons, you can use a combination of lemon juice and sumac powder for an extra lemony flavor.
👩🏼🍳 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!
🌶 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Barbecued Sumac Chicken
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoon sumac
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 medium Serrano pepper, minced minced (or 1 tsp. crushed pepper flakes)
- 8 chicken thighs
Instructions
Prepare marinade
- Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl then pour into a large plastic ziplock bag.
- Defrost the chicken, if frozen, and rinse thoroughly. Add the chicken to the marinade bag, making sure all the pieces are immersed in the marinade. Marinate for at least four hours, or overnight.
- Barbecue chicken until cooked through, turning the chicken pieces a few times to make sure they cook evenly. The skin should be nice and crispy, but not burned.
Notes
- 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!
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! 😘