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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Lemon-Lime Lacquered Grilled Chicken (Inihaw Na Manok)

4 Servings

50 minutes Plus marinating

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Often referred to as Filipino chicken barbecue, inihaw na manok (which translates simply as “grilled chicken”) commonly includes multiple sweet ingredients, the most intriguing being lemon-lime soda such as Sprite or 7Up. With sweetness tempered by tangy vinegar, salty soy sauce and savory garlic and black pepper, the marinade infuses bone-in, skin-on chicken parts and produces nicely lacquered skin. Gas grills vary in heat output; check the browning on the chicken when you uncover the grill for the first basting—if the bottoms threaten to scorch, shut off the burners under the chicken. If you cook both breasts and legs, make sure to take the internal temperatures of the different parts and remove the pieces as they are done cooking, as white meat is done at about 160°F and dark meat at about 175°F.

4

Servings

Tip

Don’t flip the chicken or place the pieces directly over the fire until final the minutes of cooking. The basting sauce contains a good dose of sugar and will burn if it gets too much direct heat.

50 minutes

Plus marinating

Ingredients

  • ¾

    cup cider vinegar

  • ½

    cup ketchup

Directions

Reviews
KIM V.
September 14, 2026
So easy and delish!
What a great recipe! A super inventive riff on BBQ chicken that is not overly sweet. Make sure to oil your grill grates
Scott S.
April 29, 2026
The Best!
This is the best grilled chicken. . I used divided leg quarters. Cheap. Served with the Vietnamese salad and coconut sticky rice. Strip the leftover chicken off the bone and mix in the salad for lunch. So good!
Matt P.
June 24, 2024
Fabulous grilled chicken
Just be careful turning the chicken. The skin is semi delicate
Shipley P.
May 20, 2024
WHOA!
I used this on chicken kabobs. This took them to an entirely new level of YUM.
Pamela W.
July 20, 2023
No grill!
Sounds great but I am an apartment dweller. How can I convert recipe to oven, please. Thanks
Ralph P.

Phenomenal with chicken and pretty good done with pork chops. A definite keeper of a recipe. I will definitely make this again.

Delene W.

You say to "simmer" marinade to make the sauce, but the chicken has marinated in it. Doesn't it have to boil before it is safe to eat?

Lynn C.

Hi Delene -

The temperature of a simmer is usually between 185 and 205 degrees. The marinade needs to be cooked to 165 to cook off any bacteria remaining from the raw chicken. The recipe calls for simmering for 20 minutes at which point that will have occurred.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

JJ P.

A little too tart on the glaze. I'd up the sugar from 6 Tbsp to a full 1/2 cup. With that being said, I did adjust the recipe (I'm Filipino) and used sugar cane vinegar, Silver Swan soy sauce + banana ketchup vs. the cider & regular ketchup so that may have contributed to the difference. I thought the grilling method was stellar though.


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