Learn to make more flavorful, juicy chicken by understanding these common questions about marinating.
Marinating chicken is my favorite tactic — it can add tons of flavor and texture, giving you a different result every time. If you love the fact that you can modify meat super easily with marinade, you may be wondering if you can marinate frozen chicken.
We have some simple prep tips to assist with your meal planning! Let’s dive right into some of your pressing questions.
Can You Marinate Frozen Chicken?
Yes, you can marinate frozen chicken.
Marinating chicken that is frozen will add flavor to the meat as it thaws out, preparing it for you without any additional steps during the process.
While it is not as effective as fully thawed chicken being freshly marinated, it does work to a degree.
We will discuss how to marinate chicken that is still frozen, as well as share with you our recommendation for making future meal prep with marinated chicken easier.
How To Marinate Frozen Chicken
Marinating frozen chicken is not as simple as opening the bag of frozen chicken and tossing in some marinade. In fact, don’t do that at all! (Please.)
Chicken will need to thaw in order to absorb the flavors in the marinade, which is why marinating frozen chicken involves using chicken you’re about to thaw and use.
To marinate frozen chicken:
- Prepare your choice of marinade. If you’re not feeling inspired, check out our marinade recipe collection and general tips.
- Remove the frozen chicken from the package and place it in a new container. Add the marinade, using caution not to allow it to splash, as this can contaminate the area around you.
- Place the container in the fridge and allow it to thaw.
- Before cooking, remove the thawed chicken from the container and discard the marinade.
You may be wondering why step 2 is listed — doesn’t it seem like it would be much easier to just toss some marinade in a bag you’ve already used, with the chicken already inside?
The answer is that it’s frozen, so it’s sticking to the meat. The marinade will not successfully coat the chicken, which is, well… the entire point.
If you’re using this method to marinate chicken, it’s best to make sure you are coating the entire piece of chicken.
You can marinate frozen chicken wings, frozen chicken breasts, frozen chicken tenders, frozen chicken thighs, and really any cut of chicken.
The type of marinade is up to you! People often choose acidic ingredients for best results, including citrus juice, lime juice, and lemon juice, alongside seasoning such as black pepper to marinade chicken. Soy sauce is another common ingredient to give you a juicy chicken as the final result. It can also help to use smaller pieces of meat to allow for maximum absorption of your delicious marinade.
How Long Does It Take to Marinate Frozen Chicken?
While we have introduced you to some pretty solid advice about how long to marinate chicken in the past, this approach breaks the rules a bit.
It can take up to 24 hours to fully thaw marinated chicken in the fridge, meaning you’ll have your chicken soaking for that length of time.
Once your chicken is defrosted, you will want to cook it right away.
Does Chicken Need To Be Fully Thawed Before Marinating?
This is a bit of a tricky one.
Chicken can be placed in marinade, as mentioned above, while still frozen. However, in order to actually absorb the marinade and flavor, chicken will have to be thawed out.
So, while you can begin the process while the chicken is frozen, you cannot actually expect frozen chicken to marinate properly until it thaws.
There are still benefits to this approach, however, particularly if you’re not available to add the marinade at the time the chicken thaws in your fridge.
How To Freeze Marinated Chicken
If you’re looking to save time in the long run, start today and plan ahead!
Marinating your chicken in freezer bags and then storing it in the freezer until you’re ready to use it is the best way to marinate chicken for a later time, and is more effective and flavorful than starting the marinade process as the chicken thaws.
Set yourself up for success by meal prepping some frozen marinated chicken!
- Purchase chicken when it’s on sale at your grocer or from a local farmer or butcher.
- Trim the raw chicken, and divide it into portions that suit your family and freezer size.
- Mix up marinades to your preference, and divide in amounts that will coat each portion of chicken in an individual freezer bag.
- Seal the chicken and the marinade as airtight as possible in your freezer-friendly bags. Label with the marinade type and the date — this will last in your freezer for up to 9 months.
- Defrost in the fridge in a bowl (just in case of any unexpected leaks to your resealable plastic bag) for 24 to 36 hours in advance of cooking for a super easy dinner!
It’s a great idea to save yourself effort after a long day or week! Your future self will thank you for making it that much easier to get a delicious meal on the table.
Does This Cause Over-Marinating?
Over-marinating can ruin your chicken, but the good news is, freezing chicken in marinade does not cause over-marinating.
Why?
Chicken stops absorbing the marinade once it is frozen, so the marinating process is naturally halted for frozen meat.
Also, in reverse, thawing your raw, frozen chicken in marinade follows the same rules — the chicken does not start absorbing the marinade until it has thawed enough to begin to draw in the liquids. So, defrosting in marinade will also not over-marinate it.
This is only true if you do not leave the thawed marinated chicken in the fridge for longer than recommended after you defrost it. If you allow it to rest too long after it is thawed and ready to eat, you can not only over-marinate the chicken but also allow it to spoil.
It is best to use your chicken as soon as possible after thawing.
Can You Refreeze Marinated Chicken?
You may find you don’t have the time or energy you expected after you’ve allowed your chicken to thaw out entirely and now you want to refreeze it again.
You should not refreeze meat that has already been thawed from the freezer.
The reason for this is that the thawing process does not have stable, consistent temperatures. This can mean that the meat was exposed to temperatures that allowed harmful bacteria to begin to grow.
If you thawed meat but aren’t prepared to use it immediately, you will need to cook it before freezing it again.
You can freeze cooked meat that was previously stored in the freezer when it was still raw.
What Not To Do When Defrosting Chicken
Avoid these simple mistakes in order to thaw your marinated chicken to safe, delicious perfection! Be sure to follow these proper thawing techniques.
- Always thaw your chicken pieces in the fridge. Do not leave your chicken out at room temperature — this is a major risk for serious foodborne illness. That’s why we always recommend the refrigerator method!
- Don’t use a microwave to thaw the chicken unless you absolutely have to. It’s easy to improperly defrost meat in the microwave, leading to portions of the meat beginning to cook. It not only ruins the texture and exposes the meat to potential bacteria, but it doesn’t allow the chicken time to marinate.
- Do not wash or rinse raw chicken. This creates splashing and the spreading of contaminants in the kitchen workspace, exposing you and others to dangerous or even deadly bacteria.
- Immediately and thoroughly wash everything that comes in contact with raw chicken — especially your hands! Wash knives, dishes, chopping boards, the countertop, and all other items that have come into contact with your raw chicken using hot, soapy water. Then, thoroughly wash your hands. For best practice, I wash my hands multiple times when handling raw meat, especially poultry. Always remember to disinfect your sink, faucet, and faucet handles as well.
Our Best Tips on This Topic
We love flavorful chicken in many styles, recipes, and cooking methods, so we’ve made several handy guides to help you prepare the best quality chicken you’ve ever had!
Here are some of our best how-tos and tips for cooking the perfect chicken:
- Baked Chicken Breast Temperature
- How to Grill Chicken Breast
- How to Cook Chicken Breast
- How Long Does it Take to Bake a Whole Chicken?
- How Long Can Raw Chicken Stay in the Fridge?
- How Long Does Cooked Chicken Last in the Fridge?
- Chicken Breast Bake Time
