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Mayo-Marinated Chicken With Chimichurri
Updated April 26, 2024
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- Total Time
- About 10 minutes, plus marinating if desired
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 4chicken breast cutlets (4 to 5 ounces each), pounded about ¼-inch thick
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- ⅓cup store-bought or homemade mayonnaise
- 1cup chimichurri (see recipe)
Preparation
- Step 1
Season chicken cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Step 2
Whisk together mayonnaise and ¼ cup chimichurri in a large bowl. Reserve remaining chimichurri. Add chicken cutlets to the mixture and turn to coat. Cook immediately, or for better flavor, transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.
- Step 3
To cook on the grill: Heat a gas or charcoal grill over high heat for 10 minutes. Cook chicken cutlets directly over high heat, turning and flipping occasionally, until just cooked through and lightly charred all over, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Spoon some of the remaining chimichurri over the chicken and serve the rest in a small bowl on the side.
- Step 4
To cook in a skillet: Heat a large (12-inch) cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water immediately balls up and dances across the surface. Add chicken cutlets in a single layer and cook, swirling them and flipping them occasionally until browned all over and just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Spoon some of the remaining chimichurri over the chicken and serve the rest in a small bowl on the side.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Question about the mayo searing. If you are going to sous vide, do you put the mayo on the meat before or after the sous vide?
A variation I love is blending 1 tbs of garlic paste and 1 tbs of mushroom powder into 1/4 cup mayo. It's amazing on almost any meat or fish. When a grill is not available it makes 6oz filet mingon steaks done in my cast iron skillet come out perfectly medium rare, with a beautiful and delicious note of crust that doesn't require overcooking.
Ok now the whole nation is going to be cooking with mayo :) If you like Indian flavors, it can get even simpler. Buy masala from any Indian store (I prefer one of the the Shaan kabab mixes for this). Mix the masala with mayo (adjust based on preferred spice level), slather it on the meat and bake. This works best for thinner portions of meat. Lamb or goat chops work well. Use a thermometer to control doneness. You can throw in some veggies into the pan as well. Elegant family dinner in 20.
Not just for meat. I made an aioli with garlic and fish sauce, coated broccoli, onions and red peppers, then sautéed. Unbelievable!
In Stony Brook, in the 70's, my father would come home with bluefish, fished from Montauk. My mother would smear mayo on it and pop it under the broiler. I've been doing the same for chicken and fish since. I stir mayo into pan-fried potatoes just before serving. My kids grew up eating hot pasta & peas, tossed with mayo instead of butter, mixed with parmesan, garlic & parsley for a quick after school snack. I could go on and on...I'm telling you - Mayonnaise - best thing since sliced bread!
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I considered this one of my great secrets. You've let the mayo out of the jar Kenji. You've taught me so much over the years and I'm grateful, but...come on, there won't be any secrets left.
I've never made a comment before, but this recipe was so delicious that I had to say something! I replaced the chimichurri with pesto, but followed all of the other steps perfectly. Highly recommend.
This is intriguing, can you use lower fat mayo or does it only work with regular mayo? I’ve used lower fat mayo for grilled cheese and Cuban sandwiches and it works perfectly well. Does the higher heat from grilling change this when you use it as a marinade?
Best Foods/Hellman's 4eva!
Hi Maggie, I tried Tony R’s suggestion and it is a delicious favorite now! I used 8 boneless chicken thighs, 1 cup avocado oil mayonnaise (any mayo will work, this is what I had), Two heaping tablespoons Masala, couple of grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Mixed this together in a bowl, coat each individual chick thigh with mixture and blobbed the rest on top when they were all coated. Baked in a 16” enamel covered cast iron Paella pan at 425 degrees for twenty minutes. YUM!
I will forever use mayo when grilling chicken. Boneless skinless breasts to die for. I add 1/3 part miso paste to 2/3 part mayo and the flavor is out of this world
No. The point is the mayo helps the marinade stick, and also provides an extra coating of fat and protein that makes the meat brown better. See the original article https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/dining/mayo-meat-marinade.html
For years, I have made "maria chicken" for my family. Mix equal amounts of bottled Italian dressing and mayo. "Marinate" boneless, skinless chicken breasts for ten minutes up to overnight. Grill! Moist, delicious chicken. Can add honey, soy, brown sugar, more garlic...whatever suits you. But the mayo is oil & egg, a perfect carrier for flavor.
Am I right in assuming that the mayo isn't necessary if you use a skin on bone in thigh?
This was good, even with only an hour of marinating. Used Chimilove chimichurri for a quick meal.
I used a stainless steel pan. The recipe says do not use any oil. Just place the chicken on the pan. It came out weird and kinda burnt. Any suggestions?
The technique is solid. The chimichurri needed work.
I made this with pistou instead of chimichurri. Marinated one hour in the fridge, one hour at room temperature. That was plenty. The chicken was very flavorful even without the extra sauce at the end. Served with tomatoes with vinaigrette, sauteed spinach with garlic, and a baguette. Delicious, and I'm not a fan of chicken breasts. Just be careful not to overcook the breasts.
I love all manner of herby green sauces, but this one was too strong for me to serve on its own and tasted of too much oregano. It was delicious tamed by the mayonnaise and the marinated chicken was extremely good. Expect the chimichurri will perk up many sauces.
Has anyone tried roasting a whole (spatchcocked) chicken using this method? Thinking of trying that later this week.
ok. i am dreaming of this for fish! only difference was fresh oregano in lieu of dried.
I need to start by saying 1. I don’t normally leave comments 2. I really don’t like chicken breast because it bland and boring 3. I am not a big mayo fan So you can imagine how surprised I was at the outcome of this recipe! Could not be easier and so moist! Also super surprised that the marinade didn’t burn all over the pan. Bookmarked the recipe just so I see it regularly in the app and get a reminder to make it again because it is just so tasty.
I used whole chicken thighs, also worked extremely well, I grilled 10, 8 minutes on side 1, 2
Use Duke's mayo. You're welcome.
The reviews of the chimichurri recipe were bad—as in “threw it out”. The chimichurri is grainy and vinegary, but when mixed with the mayo and grilled, the chicken came out delicious.
Can I use Miracle Whip instead of Mayonnaise for this? (I never have mayo on hand)
I can't say enough good things about this recipe. It is a staple in our home and comes around about every two weeks in the summer and every month in the winter. If I do it on the grille, I fully heat the grille and then cook it indirect once the chicken is on the grille. No flare-ups, no burning but because you heated the entire grille to start you get great grille marks. Make this. You won't be sorry.
A coworker introduced me to mayo marinated chicken decades ago. It works. And I keep chimichurri in the fridge regularly. It goes with so many things. Try it with boiled potatoes as a potato salad, no mayo. It's great!
Can this recipe be baked instead of on the pan or grilled?
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