Marination is the most important step in preparing juicy, aromatic meat! It softens the fibers and brings the flavors deep into the meat, whether it’s baking, grilling or making shashlik.

Here’s a universal, classic paprika-onion marinade recipe that’s great for pork and chicken:

🥩 Classic Paprika-Onion Marinade
This marinade uses basic Hungarian spices and is perfect for pork loin, chicken breast or wings.

📝 Ingredients (for about 1 kg of meat)
Quantity Ingredient Note
1 kg Meat (pork, chicken) Diced (for shashlik) or cut into slices.
2 pcs Red Onions Cut into very thin rings or half rings.
2-3 tbsp. Sweet paprika High-quality paprika that gives it a red color.
1 tsp. Salt To taste (be careful, salt will draw out water, don’t add too much!).
1 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 cloves Garlic Crushed or finely chopped.
1 dl Cooking oil To dissolve the spices and coat the meat.
1-2 tbsp. Mustard (optional) Helps tenderize the meat.

🔪 Preparation (Marination)
Prepare the Onion: In a large bowl, mix the sliced ​​red onion with the salt and pepper. Important: Press the onion lightly with your hands to start releasing its juice. The onion juice is the basis of the marinade’s flavor!
Add the spices: Add the paprika, garlic, and oil. Mix until you get a thick paste.
Marinating Meat: Add the prepared meat to the marinade. Work the marinade thoroughly into each piece of meat with your hands.
Resting: Cover the bowl and refrigerate.

Chicken: minimum 2-4 hours.
Pork: minimum 6 hours, but ideally overnight.
Roasting/Grilling: Before roasting, remove the meat from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour.
Extra Tip (Citrus Marinade – For Chicken)
If you are marinating chicken breast, a citrus yogurt marinade is a great alternative to the onion-pepper marinade. The acidity of the yogurt/sour cream makes drier chicken breast extremely tender and juicy.

Ingredients: Yogurt/sour cream, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, curry powder.
What kind of meat would you like to marinate? I can recommend seasoning variations to suit it!