Grilled chicken is a favorite meal, especially during the summer. It can be tricky at times, but once you have perfected your grilling technique, there is nothing quite so good as delicious barbecued chicken. With or without sauce, it gives the chicken a wonderful smoky flavor. First, you must prepare the chicken for the grill. Choose whether you want to cook several of the same pieces (breasts, thighs, or drumsticks) or you want to grill all the different sized pieces. Cut up the pieces if you are working with a whole chicken.
Take your kitchen shears and trim off all the loose skin and large pieces of fat. Doing this will reduce the chance of flare ups that will scorch your chicken. After you have finished with the trimming, rinse the chicken well with running water. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
Seasoning comes next. How you season will depend on the grilled chicken recipes you follow. Some people keep it simple with just salt and pepper. Others want everything in their spice cupboard. A good compromise is a dry rub. It is made of herbs and spices with a little brown sugar thrown in. Apply it liberally to your chicken pieces. Get as much on the actual meat as possible, as the skin may act as a barrier.
You can cook your chicken right away or you can let it sit for a bit with a rub. The flavors will work their way into the chicken. Always be sure to keep your chicken at the right temperature if you let it sit for safety.
While healthy grilled chicken recipes may advocate removing the skin altogether, this may result in some dry chicken. As long as you cut off excess fat and skin, you should be fine. Your chicken will not have a lot of excess fat this way.
For spicy grilled chicken recipes, all you need to do is add some heat to your rub. Chili powder or other spicy ingredients will add that kick you are looking for. Taste a little of the rub when you mix it up to make sure it isn’t too hot if you are sharing food with people who are heat sensitive.
It is time to prepare the grill. Before you begin, make sure the grill is clean. Scrub the grill and make sure there is not pools of old fat down in the coals. This will cause flare ups while you cook. Preheat your grill before your chicken gets anywhere near it. If you are making chicken pieces that vary in size, you will get better results if you make one side of the grill hotter than the other. Keep the smaller pieces on the cooler side and move the larger pieces over as they get done.
All that is left is putting your chicken on the grill. Keep a careful watch on the chicken as it cooks so you can prevent flare ups and overcooking. Do not be shy about moving the chicken back and forth from the heat to the cooler area to achieve the best chicken.
Tags: chicken recipes, Cooking, Food, grilling
