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 Low Carb Cheesy Brussel Sprouts.
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 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 lifestyles.
- Leftovers can be shredded and added to a salad, or stuffed into a pita pocket, lavash, or naan bread. Don't forget the sliced red onion, chopped parsley, and sliced tomatoes. Pickled turnips would also go great in the sandwich!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 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 combing 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 ziplock 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 keep from burning. 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 tasty mashed potatoes (
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. 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.
👩🏼🍳 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.
🌶 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Barbecued Sumac Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1½ tablespoon sumac powder
- 5 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 3 lbs chicken thighs, breast, or drumsticks
Instructions
Prepare marinade
- Add marinade ingredients to a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk to combing the ingredients.
- 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 ziplock 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 keep from burning. The skin should be nice and crispy, but not burned.
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.
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!
Eileen says
Could I not have the skin on the chicken before cooking?
Thanks
Hilda Sterner says
Me too!
Robin says
I loved this dish.
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!
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!
HildaSterner says
I love that idea, I will have to give that a try. Thanks 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
Thank you, Mariam! I really appreciate your feedback! 😘
Mariam says
I made this sumac chicken using thighs and it was sooooo delicious! I 100%
recommend this!