The Brazilian Spirit You Should Be Using To Marinate Grilled Chicken

To make the perfect grilled chicken, you have to have the perfect marinade. A simple grilled chicken marinade recipe might have you toss garlic, olive oil, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper together for an enticingly balanced arrangement of flavors. However, in an exclusive interview with Mashed, Brazilian grill master, private chef, and catering director at Tropicali Brazilian Kitchen Silvio Correa explains why something a touch boozier works better.

His recipe follows the usual marinade formula: oil, acid, spices — plus a little something extra. "Marinate the chicken in a citrus-based marinade such as lime juice mixed with garlic, olive oil, and fresh herbs like parsley," says Correa. "In Brazilian cuisine, we love adding a touch of cachaça to tenderize the meat and add a subtle depth of flavor." The same spirit used to make the popular Brazilian drink caipirinha, cachaça is made from fermented sugar cane juice. Because it's a byproduct of processed sugar, cachaça has a noticeably sweet taste similar to rum.

While sweetness is a defining characteristic of cachaça, lovers of the drink maintain that there's so much more to it than that. Because of where it's produced and the environment in which the sugarcane grows, it can have notes of banana, sea salt, and even rainforest greenery.  When used in your marinade, these flavors won't necessarily be glaringly obvious, but the understated aromas will weave into the fabric of the dish. You can marinate your chicken for six to 24 hours, or up to two days before it becomes so tender it might actually fall apart.

More than just tinkering with the taste, the alcohol in conjunction with the other ingredients in the marinade also works to improve the texture of the chicken. As Silvio Correa explains,"[It] breaks down the proteins in the chicken, making it juicy and full of flavor. The acidity from the lime and cachaça ensures tender, flavorful meat that holds up well on the grill."