How to Grill Chicken

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Learn how to grill chicken to perfection?

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Chicken can be one of the more difficult meats to grill, as it is so easy to dry out.

How many times have you had dried chicken come off the grill tasting like saw dust? (over cooked!)

Then on the other hand you risk the danger of under cooking chicken and getting food poisoning. (You don't want that!)

With a few easy steps you will know how to get your chicken perfect and delicious everytime.

On this page we've highlighted:

• Chicken dishes

• Pre-cooking

• Grilling chicken

How To Grill Chicken - "Chicken Dishes!"

Grilling Whole Turkey

Great tips and techniques to grill perfect turkey.

BBQ Chicken Wings

One of my favourites, delicious and sticky chicken wings!

Baked Barbeque Chicken

All you need to know to get perfect baked BBQ chicken.

Grilling Chicken Breast

Get succulent and juicy chicken breasts everytime.

"Pre-cooking Your Chicken!"

Let me show you the route of pre-cooking your chicken before you get it on the grill.

Pre-cooking ensures that the chicken gets cooked fully but I got to warn you it isn't the most tastiest way of grilling chicken!

Right...let's get to it!

There are mainly two ways of doing this, either by boiling or pre-cooking it in the oven.

How to BBQ Chicken - "By Boiling first!"

This has been done for many years and is used by many avid grillers.

You simply boil your chicken, marinate it and then plonk it on the grill.

The problem with this is, yes you do get a dull taste.

Only the caramelized outside of the chicken has a good taste but once you get past that the taste becomes dull.

You might want to try and season the chicken while it is boiling, with a stock and fresh herbs to give it taste.

Chicken pieces: Boil for 35 minutes and grill for 10 -15 minutes. Set the temperature to medium.

Whole chicken: Boil for an hour and grill for 30 - 40 minutes. Set grill on a low heat.

Great...let me show you the other method...

How To Grill Chicken
"By Oven Pre-cooking"

How To Grill Chicken - "by Oven Pre-cooking"

A tastier option involves marinating your chicken, baking it in the oven and then grilling it.

Place your chicken in the oven and pre-cook until golden brown, then place on the grill it to caramelize the outside.

How to Grill Chicken pieces: Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 45 minutes. Grill for 10 - 15 minutes on a medium heat grill.

Whole chicken: Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 90 minutes. Grill for 30 - 40 minutes on a low heat grill.

Tips: Marinate your chicken overnight in the fridge, to let the flavours sink through. Use a sugarless marinate.

Oven pre-cooking is a tastier option but it's still not the best!

Grilling Chicken - "Without pre-cooking!"

This involves putting raw chicken straight onto the grill, definately the tastier option but the most difficult to get right.

Here are my tips and techniques so you won't go wrong. Let me show you how to prepare perfect chicken right off your grill!

You ready? Let's do it!

There are two ways of doing it, yes two!

1) Direct heat: Conventional way of grilling, heat is directly under the food.

2) Indirect heat: Grills the food slower , keeps it moist. Heat comes in contact with food indirectly.

How to Grill Chicken - "With Direct Heat!"

  • This method works great for chicken pieces and buffalo wings!
  • Light up your grill as you normally would, for a great illustration.

(Visit lighting a charcoal grill!)

  • Wait till the grill is of a medium heat. (charcoal 70% grey)
  • Smear a little oil or cooking and spray on the grill grid. (prevent any sticking)
  • Place the chicken pieces on.
  • Keep flipping regularly to prevent them from burning.
  • Grill for a good 40 minutes, then smear over your favourite BBQ sauce.

(Visit barbecue chicken sauce for great recipes!)

  • Grill for a further 10 minutes with the sauce over the chicken.
  • Once chicken is cooked through you may serve straight away.

Tips: Avoid flare ups, fat dripping through to the coal will cause flare ups. Keep a spare water bottle handy to put out any flare ups!

You can cover the grill grid with aluminum foil to completely prevent any fat from dripping through.

Always use sauces and marianates that contain no sugar, sugar burns with the high heat of the grill.

Perfectly grilled chicken breasts enjoy!!

How to Grill Chicken - "With In-Direct Heat!"

  • This method works great for doing whole chickens.
  • Light up your grill using an indirect grilling technique.

(Check out indirect grilling method for a full illustration.)

  • Get the grill to a medium heat. (charcoal 80% grey)
  • Lightly oil the grill grid with olive oil or cook and spray.
  • Place the chicken on the grill grid over the aluminum foil tray. (as explained in indirect grilling method!)
  • Close the lid and grill for a good hour.
  • Add a few more charcoal briquettes, 20 or so. (keep a constant heat!)
  • Then smear over your favourite chicken sauce and a little fresh lemon juice. (keeps it moist!)
  • Close the lid and grill for a further 30 minutes.
  • Once done let the chicken settle for 10 minutes before serving.

Tips: Make sure any fat dripping through goes into the foil tray so no flare ups occur. Only use sugarless sauces as sugar will burn.

Awesome...you now know how to grill chicken! So...this Sunday get the grill out and cook some up!!

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