Copycat Lawry's® Hickory Brown Sugar Marinade
Description
Sweet, smoky, and ready in 15 minutes — a homemade copycat of Lawry's Hickory Brown Sugar Marinade made with brown sugar, molasses, and hickory smoke. Perfect for chicken, pork, ribs, and salmon.
Ingredients
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons molasses, unsulphured
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon hickory liquid smoke, start with ½ teaspoon; see notes
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons red bell pepper, very finely minced (optional, for authentic flecks)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon cold water, optional, for bottle-like body
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or large jar, whisk together the vinegar, water, brown sugar, molasses, and salt until the sugar completely dissolves, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, cinnamon, and minced red bell pepper.
- Optional: for a thicker, clingier marinade, whisk the cornstarch with cold water, stir it in, and warm the marinade over low heat for 1–2 minutes until just thickened. Cool completely before using.
- Pour over chicken, pork, steak, salmon, or vegetables. Marinate at least 15 minutes (see post for times by protein).
- Grill, bake, air fry, or slow cook, basting with fresh, unused marinade. Discard any marinade that touched raw meat.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
Notes
- Sugar burns fast — grill over medium heat and caramelize at the end.
- No liquid smoke? Substitute 1 teaspoon smoked paprika.
- Reserve ¼–½ cup before marinating to simmer into a glaze with a cornstarch slurry.
- Vinegar-based marinade: don't exceed 24 hours on meat or the texture suffers.
- Naturally gluten-free as written; verify your liquid smoke label.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ServingCalories: 40kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.02gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.01gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.003gSodium: 392mgPotassium: 68mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 50IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 0.3mg