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Grilling Perfect chicken Version 1.3 By Bill Wight Editor of the BBQ-List FAQ |
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Copyright 2004 All commercial rights reserved.
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[What do I have to do to grill perfect chicken?]
Next to hot dogs and hamburgers, Americans grill more chicken than any other meat. Unfortunately, most Americans grill chicken like I used to--chicken that is black on the outside and still pink next to the bone. When I took an interest in learning how to become a better griller and I did some reading on the subject and asked some experts on the BBQ mailing list some questions, it became pretty obvious that I was grilling chicken completely wrong. Grilling perfect chicken is not rocket science. Believe me, if I can grill perfect chicken, so can you. So follow along and let me help you become a master griller of chicken.
[I see pictures of perfectly-grilled chicken in magazines and cookbooks. Why can't I get chicken to look like that?]
Food photography is an art. The photographs you see in magazines and cookbooks are done by 'professional food stylists'. Yes, that's right professional food stylists. These are people who specialize in making photographs of foods appear as perfect as possible. The photo at the top of this page was made not be me, but a professional food stylist. Can you make grilled chicken look as good at this? Yes, after you follow the tips and techniques in this article, you will be able to make chicken as pretty as the legs in the photo above. Will you be able to photograph it and have it look as good? To do that, you will probably need a professional photo studio and four years at the Brooks Institute of Photography.
[How do I get great-looking grill marks on my chicken?]
To get great-looking grill marks on chicken you will have to grill individual pieces rather than a whole chicken. The secret in getting great-looking grill marks is to get really good at grilling chicken. When you have mastered all the basics, then you can play around with making your grilled chicken look like the photos in magazines. To get great-looking grill marks, you need to have a very clean and oiled grill. You also need a medium-low fire so the chicken cooks slowly. The great-looking grill marks are achieved by letting the chicken sit on the grill until it is cooked halfway through. Then you turn the chicken, once and only once, to get the grill marks on the opposite side. Since you must leave the chicken on the grill for about 10 minutes, the fire must be a medium-low, so the chicken gets cooked slowly. To get cross-hatched grill marks, then you must cook the chicken on one side one quarter of the way through, and then rotate it 90 degrees and let it continue cooking. Then turn the chicken over and repeat the process on the other side. By following the tips and techniques in this article, you will be able to make grilled chicken that looks great and tastes even better.
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[What is grilling?]
Most experts on the subject of grilling would define it as cooking directly over a fire, with the item to be grilled above the fire. Grilling is the oldest form of cooking, used long before we had backyard grills (actually, long before we had backyards). Grilling is still used today in many parts of the world as the primary method for cooking food. In the western cultures, however, grilling over a fire has mostly moved outdoors, used more as a form of recreational cooking, then the main way we cook our everyday foods.
Some traditionalists would argue that the only cooking method that qualifies as 'grilling' is when the meat is cooked on a rack directly over the burning coals of a wood or charcoal fire. They would say that if you placed the meat on the rack where it was not directly over the coals and put a lid in place and cooked the meat using the indirect method, then this is not grilling but roasting. For the purposes of this FAQ, we will not be so traditional or restrictive in our definition of the term 'grilling'. We will use the term to cover any cooking we do where the meat, vegetables or fruit are on the meat rack and we have a fire, either gas, wood or charcoal below the grate and with the grill cover on or off.
When meat is grilled, the high heat produces chemical reactions in the outside layers. These reactions cause the surface to turn brown and many complex chemicals to form. It is these chemicals that give us the rich and unique taste we have come to associate with grilling meat. This process of browning is termed the Maillard reaction, named after the food chemist who first described it. The chemical reactions that take place when meat is browned are quite complex. Over 3,500 volatile chemical compounds have been identified as a result of the Maillard reaction.
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[I heard that grilling meat can give me cancer. Is this true?]
Some years back, scientists reported finding carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals and agents) in grilled meat, specifically meat grilled over a very hot (500F+) fire. OK, so scientists found some carcinogenic chemicals that result from grilling meat. What does this mean? What the media at the time did not report was that for these carcinogens to be of concern, a person would have to consume thousands of pounds of grilled meat a year. You are at a much higher risk of getting cancer by just living in a city or pumping gas into your car than you are by grilling meat. Life is a risk. Every day you get up and without thinking about it, take an number of risks. You eat prepared food, you drive in a car, you smoke a cigarette, you get on an airplane, you take a prescription drug. All of these activities carry a risk of death with them. We have decided that we can live with these risks. Grilling food will not give you cancer. Living will give you cancer.
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[So, what's the secret to grilling perfect chicken?]
In the last few years, I have learned ten 'secrets' to grilling perfect chicken. Here they are:
1) Be organized.
2) Use a Weber Bar-B-Kettle grill with a dome lid.
3) Use charcoal (lump or briquettes) for fuel and water-soaked hickory, oak or mesquite wood chips for flavor.
4) Trim excess fat from the chicken.
5) Flavor the chicken with a brine, marinade, rub, baste/mop, glaze or finishing sauce, or any combination.
6) Do not use a sugar or tomato-containing mop or basting sauce on the chicken until just before the chicken comes off the grill.
7) Use an accurate meat thermometer and remove the chicken from the grill when it is perfectly done—160F in the breast, or 170F in the thigh.
8) While grilling the chicken, eliminate flare-ups:
- by using the indirect heat method and the dome cover on the grill,
- by using the direct heat method, but preventing the flare-ups by keeping the heat of the coals at the right level,
- by using the direct heat method with moderate heat from the coals but using the dome lid to snuff out any flare-ups.
9) Don't be in a hurry. It will take some time to get the charcoal going and you'll have to do some preparation before the chicken is put on the grill. Figure 35-45 minutes to get to coals burned down and up to one hour to cook the chicken if using indirect heat.
10) Keep your grill clean. Nothing will give you nasty-tasting and looking chicken quicker than a dirty grill, with last week's chicken residue caked to the meat rack and last year's rancid grease sitting in the bottom of the grill.
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Before I go any further, I'd like to define a few terms. The thing that sits outside on your porch, patio, deck or in your backyard and burns gas or charcoal and on which you cook steaks, hamburgers, chicken and chicken, is not a barbecue, it is a grill.
Barbecue or barbeque or BBQ or Bar-B-Que is a method of cooking that some people think is altogether different from grilling. Barbecue is the art of hot smoking meat and it is not what we are discussing here, which is grilling. To learn all about barbecue and more about grilling, see the
BBQ List FAQ However, if you want to call the process of cooking meat over a fire 'barbecue', go right ahead.Here are some terms we will be using:
Brine A method for increasing the water content in the meat and thereby making the meat more moist and tender. Brining can also impart salt and flavor into the meat.
Baste A liquid that you apply to the meat in the last 5 minutes or so of grilling. A baste usually contains sugar or may be tomato ketchup based. A sugars in a baste will usually burn if left on the grill for more than a few minutes. any barbecue sauce can be used as a baste.
Dipping Sauce A table sauce that is used on the finished meat as you eat it.
Direct heat Exposing the meat to the direct heat and flames of the fire. Placing the meat directly over the coals of the fire.
Dry rub A mixture of dry spices and herbs that you rub into the meat, salt and pepper being the simplest.
Finishing Sauce A sauce that is usually applied in the last few minutes of cooking or applied immediately after the meat has been removed from the grill.
Glaze A liquid containing some form of sugar that is applied to the meat just before or just after it has finished cooking.
Indirect heat Not exposing the meat to the direct heat and flames of the fire. Placing the meat so that it is not directly over the coals of the fire.
Mop Similar to a baste, but usually thinner and usually not containing sugar. Applied to the meat as it cooks to keep the outside of the meat from drying out.
Marinade A liquid that contains an acid component, a flavor component and an oil component that is used to flavor the meat before it is cooked. Marinades that do not contain an enzyme do not tenderize meat.
Paste rub A thick paste of spices and herbs that you rub onto the outside surface of the meat.
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[Can you tell me a few indispensable tools I will need for grilling?]
Here are the tools that I use almost every time I grill:
Spring-loaded barbecue tongs--about 16 inches in length. I like the toothed ends where both tong ends are the same. I don't like the newer ones where one end is toothed and the other is like a little spatula. I use the tongs for moving and adding charcoal as well as adding, moving, turning and removing the chicken around on the grill.
A digital meat thermometer--I like the Polder, which is also available at Radio Shack (Cat. No. 63-1022). This unit has a nice readable display, a long-life AAA battery, and a very sharp and thin meat probe. Best of all, Radio Shack often has them on-sale for $19.95. Don't bother buying their extended warranty. Just keep the probe cord dry, unkinked and undamaged and the unit will give years of trouble-free use. I wash just the solid metal meat probe and never get the armored cable wet. You must also be careful not to let the display be exposed to direct sunlight or let the plastic get too hot as it will melt if you attach the magnetic bottom of the unit right to the outside of the grill.
Tip: My Friend Steve made me a wooden thermometer holder that protects the Polder unit from the heat of the lid. Cut a 3-inch square of 1/2-inch plywood and epoxy onto one side four little round metal magnets. On the other side of the piece of wood, epoxy on for large metal washers, about 1-inch in diameter. When the epoxy has set, you put the magnet side onto the kettle lid and then let the feet magnets of the Polder (or Radio Shack) unit attach to the metal washers. Now you can attach the Polder unit to the lid without melting the case.
Grill brush--to get the grill clean--I like the kind with the brass bristles. The Grill Wizard is also a good grill cleaning brush.
A long wooden-handled large fork and a spatula--are handy for checking doneness, breaking loose meat stuck to the grill and for transferring the cooked meat to a serving platter.
Basting brush and mop--You should have one of each. Both should have long handles. A mop is used for thinner sauces and a basting brush for thicker ones and for honey, butter and oils. These are available in barbecue stores, kitchen shops, supermarkets and discount stores. They are available from $2 to $9. Always slip back the sleeve covering the top part of the mop or brush when you put these into the dishwasher after use. This will clean the top portion of the mop or brush.
Spray bottle--not for putting out grease fires or damping down a flare-up! A spray bottle is ideal for applying thin mops, such as apple juice, beer or wine, which do not contain ingredients that would clog up the sprayer nozzle.
Drip pans--these accessories come in many shapes, sizes and materials.
Cooking pans--nice aluminum, stainless steel or porcelain roasting pans are a handy grilling item for moving meat to and grom the grill.
OK, let's take on these chicken grilling secrets one at a time and go into a little more detail.
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A note about buying chicken
Don't expect to make perfect grilled chicken from that old bird that's on sale at your supermarket for $0.49 a pound. There is usually a good reason why a market will sell chicken that cheap and the reason is not that it is a perfect grilling chicken. I have found that buying chicken at my local supermarkets or warehouse store can be a hit or miss proposition. Make sure that the label does not say "stewing chicken" as this is the oldest and toughest of the chickens available--an old layer long past her prime. This type of chicken will make some good stewed chicken or chicken soup, but you don't want to grill this old girl. The label should say "fryer" or "Young Chicken". Talk to your butcher and ask his advice on which chicken brand in his case will give the best grilling results. When I buy a whole chicken, I like to limit the weight to 3 and 1/2 pounds or less. I've found that a general rule is the bigger the bird, the older the bird.
To make the very best chicken, try to get fryers that have never been frozen, and don't freeze them yourself. Buy the chicken the day before you're going to grill it. Freezing the chicken will cause ice crystals to form in the cells of the muscle tissue. When this happens, the cells burst and when the meat is thawed and cooked, a lot of the juices will run out that wouldn't run out if the meat had not been frozen. Unfortunately, the poultry producers have have done some spin on us. They are allowed to transport chickens at a temperature of around 32F and yet not have to call their chicken 'frozen'. However, any meat kept at 32F is going to be frozen.
Some grillers and barbecuers like to use free-range chickens. By all means, if you can find them and they are not priced too high, they are definitely a better chicken to grill than the assembly-line chickens from the supermarkets. They have a better taste and much less fat.
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1) Get organized.
The point of this entire exercise is to get you the novice griller up to the level of expert. One thing that characterizes an expert chef or griller over the novice is the expert is organized when he or she begins to cook. If you have ever had the opportunity to see a real grilling expert in operation, you will note that he or she is very organized. they have everything they need nearby. So get you stuff together, have everything you are going to need near your grilling station. A table or TV tray set up next to your grill is a good way to proceed. Have all your tools, your mops, bastes, and seasonings on your grilling table and ready to go before you start. If you like to use a water spray bottle for fire control, have it filled and ready to go. Make sure you have a clean cutting board set out and that the knives that you will be using to slice the meat are clean and sharp. Make sure your grill, either charcoal or gas is level and in good working order and set up in a place that is safe and convenient for use. Make sure you have enough wood or charcoal or if you are using a gas grill, make sure your propane tank has enough fuel to cook your meal.
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2) Use a Weber Kettle grill with a dome lid.
[I have $3,000 Weber Summit gas grill. Can't I make perfect grilled chicken on it?]
Yes, you can get good results on a gas grill by following one of the cooking methods given below and the section on using gas grills at the end of the document. I personally don't think chicken done on a gas grill ever tastes as good as chicken grilled over coals. I read where one grill expert said that the source of heat does not make a difference. I used to own a very nice gas grill (the one I used to burn my chicken on). I gave it to my son-in-law and got a 22 1/2-inch diameter Weber Bar-B-Kettle Grill. I bought the Weber on sale at Wal-Mart for less than $60, about 1/5th the cost of my gas grill. I couldn't be happier with the Weber. Sure, it's more work to grill using wood or charcoal for the fuel, but heck, that's half the fun--if you want easy, go out to dinner.
The Weber Kettle Grill (preferably 22 1/2" diameter) is, in my opinion, the best grill on the market. It's simple, inexpensive, easy to use and in the hands of an experienced cook, like you can become, will turn out the best grilled foods possible. You can use any good covered grill and accomplish similar results but the Weber gives you lots of control of the grilling process because of its top and bottom adjustable vents. The dome lid is indispensable because we can combine both grilling and smoking to give the chicken that great smoky taste. The Weber kettle will actually let you do some real barbecuing (hot smoking) if you learn a few tricks. I am a competition barbecue cook and am on a competition barbecue team that has cooked at the Kansas City American Royal barbecue contest. Our team uses an $8,000 professional smoker. However, I have smoked chickens on my Weber kettle that were just as good as any chicken our team can turn out our competition smoker.
If you need more grill area, then check out the larger Weber Bar-B-Kettle grill models or do like it did, get a second Weber Kettle grill.
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3) Use charcoal (lump or briquettes) and water-soaked hickory or mesquite wood chips.
For perfect grilled chicken, using charcoal is the way to go. I don't believe, despite what the gas grill manufacturer's ads say, that you can get as good a tasting product on a gas grill as you can from charcoal. And further, you can get the very best tasting product if you use hardwood chunks rather than charcoal briquettes. Burning wood down to coals is more difficult than using charcoal, and most of us do not have access to chunks of hardwood or we don't want to invest the time and effort it takes to learn how to make and control a wood fire in a grill, so we'll just concentrate our discussion on using charcoal and later in this FAQ, on using gas.
[What brand of charcoal do I use?]
That's a good question. I have made excellent-tasting chicken using supermarket-branded as well as Kingsford briquettes. I have also made excellent chicken on premium brands of briquettes and also on lump charcoal (actual pieces of pure hardwood that are turned to charcoal). So try the charcoal available in your area and use the cheapest brand that gives you the best-tasting end product. Kingsford and many other brands of mass-produced charcoal briquettes contain coal and other ingredients to promote an easy lighting and longer-burning product. Some brands of charcoal briquettes are made from pure hickory hardwood with corn starch (a binder) as the only additive. Some of these brands are: "Holland", "Nature Glo", "Wildfire", and "Kroger". Learn more about charcoal here
Tip: Keep your charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal in a sealed medium-sized plastic trash can. This will keep the moisture out of the charcoal. Using charcoal that has a lot of moisture in it will make starting the charcoal difficult and keeping the fire going much harder. Charcoal briquettes that get wet often fall apart and are ruined.
[Can I use self-starting briquettes or starter fluid to light my charcoal?]
Some experienced grillers believe that self-starting briquettes and starter fluids will give your meat a petroleum taste. Others say that by the time the coals are gray and ready to use, the petroleum products are long gone. My personal experience over several years is that if you use either self-starting briquettes or charcoal lighter fluid and let the charcoal burn until they are covered with a gray ash coating before you put the meat on the grill, there will be NO taste of the petroleum distillates left. I often use charcoal lighter to start my charcoal and I've never had a single bad taste experience. Do your own experiments and find out for yourself. Just be sure that if you do use self-starting briquettes or lighter fluid, that all of the briquettes are covered with ash before you put the meat on the grill. Remember, that one briquette off to the side that did not get started still has lighter fluid it it. so make sure that all the briquettes are going before you put the meat on the grill.
[If I don't use the self-starting briquettes or lighter fluid, how do I start the charcoal?]
There are several ways to do this, all easy.
1) Get a charcoal lighter chimney (about $10).
2) use paraffin fire starter sticks,
3) get an electric charcoal starter, and
4) use a gas burner.
I often use the chimney method--it's the slowest but it's also the cheapest. Just two full sheets of newspaper crumbled into a rope-shape and wadded into the base of the chimney starter. Make sure that there is not too much newspaper or you will reduce the air-flow of the chimney and you will not get the charcoal to light. Follow the manufacturer's directions on how to use the chimney (put the charcoal in the top section above the rack, crumpled newspaper in the bottom and light the paper, then 30 minutes or so later, dump the glowing briquettes in the Weber). This method is easy and requires no electricity, gas nor paraffin sticks (also petroleum). If you're in a hurry to get your charcoal lighted, then the gas burner is the quickest method. Your small propane torch will not work, we are talking about a weed burner type. Or you can set the charcoal-filled chimney (without newspaper) over a gas burner.
[Do I need to add anything to the fire to get more taste?]
To add the necessary and unmistakable taste of hickory, oak or mesquite to your chicken, you must buy a bag of chips of either flavor wood. Don't buy a big bag as the flavor won't last more than about a year. So buy enough for one season. Which to buy, hickory, oak or mesquite? Buy all three and see which one you like best. The taste of hickory is quite different from mesquite and oak is somewhere in the middle. I have found that apple and other fruit wood chips do not add enough flavor during the grilling process to bother with. So I recommend using hickory, oak and or mesquite chips.
Soak a few handfuls of the chips in water for about an hour before you put the chicken on the grill. Distribute the chips as evenly as you can, but don't waste much time doing it. Put the meat on the grill and put the lid in place. Putting flavor wood chips on your charcoal fire and then not putting the lid in place is just wasting the flavor wood chips. These flavor wood chips will give your chicken a wonderful smoky, tangy taste that you cannot get any other way.
You can also soak sprigs of fresh herbs from your garden in water and throw them on the fire. Rosemary, bay, sage, basil, thyme, dill, tarragon, and fennel will all give your grilled chicken an extra flavor dimension.
In using hickory, oak or mesquite chips, it is important that you do not use too many at one time. Adding too many chips to your charcoal fire will cool the fire down too much and the resulting smoldering of the chips will produce soot that will make the outside of the chicken turn black. You will have to experiment as only experience can tell how many soaked wood chips to add to a charcoal fire. For a fire in my Weber Kettle that uses 50 briquettes, I will put about a handful of wet chips on the coals. Remember, it is better to have too few chips rather than too many. When you put the chips on, they will begin to burn slowly and give off a white smoke. Don't worry that the white smoke goes away in a few minutes. The chips will not last very long but they will have flavored the outside of the chicken nicely. You can add a second handful of chips when you open the lid and turn the chicken.
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4) Trim excess fat from the chicken.
Unlike roasting a chicken where the fat provides a lot of the flavor, we don't need any excess fat on the grill. The fat will only cause us problems. So take a pair of kitchen scissors and trim off all the fat you can find. The less fat there is on the chicken, the less fat there is to cause the fire to flare up. I don't know what chickens are like in other areas, but most of the brand-name chickens we get in Southern California, are very fat. So I always spend a few minutes and remove as much of the fat as I can before I do anything else to the chicken.
Tip: DO NOT
, I say, DO NOT, parboil the chicken before grilling to remove the fat. Parboiling chicken will remove most of the flavor as well as the fat. You might as well just leave the chicken in the pot and make stewed chicken.![]()
5) Flavor the chicken with a brine, marinade, rub, baste/mop or glaze/finishing sauce, or any combination.
Here we come to the only complicated part of this process. Easy there, like I said earlier, it's not rocket science. You just have to make some decisions and experiment to find the way to make your chicken perfect for you. Remember, what gives me a 'perfect' grilled chicken may not be 'perfect' for you. What I will attempt to do here is to give you some basic techniques to help you grill chicken without burning it and to improve the taste of your chicken, the rest is up to you.
You will not get the perfect grilled chicken if you put it on the grill naked (nothing done to it). Your grilled chicken will be just grilled chicken if you skip this step (albeit not burned chicken). You do not need to do all these steps. I have made great-tasting grilled chicken with just a dry rub. You can also combine these steps.
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Brining
Brining a chicken is simply submerging the whole bird, or chicken pieces, in a brine for about 12 hours. Be sure to do the brining below 40F, in the refrigerator or in an ice chest under the ice. Why should I brine a chicken? Well, to get the perfect grilled chicken, brining is the way to go.
[What's in the brine?]
The brine is mostly water, some salt at a minimum and some sugar and spices and herbs and onions and garlic at a maximum.
[What does the brining process do for my chicken?]
The brining process forces water into the muscle tissues of the meat by a process known as diffusion and osmosis. This additional moisture causes the muscle tissues to swell and hold more water. The resulting water in the muscle tissues will make the meat more moist and tender. Any spices, herbs or other flavorings you add to the brine solution will get taken deep into the meat with the water. See section 10.5.4 of the BBQ-List FAQ version 2.0 for more information on brining (brining a chicken is similar to brining a turkey).
[What do I use for a brine?]
As a general starting point, take one gallon of water and add 1 cup of salt (Kosher or non-iodized is best), 1/2 cup of sugar and then the rest is up to you. Sliced onions are nice, a few cloves of crushed garlic add a nice flavor and then there's the spices and herbs.
Try this modified brine from an expert in brining:
Dan Gill's Poultry Brine
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 1 | gallon | cold water | add: |
| 1 | cup | salt (Kosher) | |
| 1/2 | cup | molasses | |
| 1 1/2 | tablespoons | garlic | crushed or minced (or garlic powder) |
| 1/2 | tablespoon | onion powder | |
| 1/4 | cup | black pepper | |
| 1/2 | cup | lemon juice | |
| 1/2 | ounce | maple flavoring | (the real stuff) |
| 12 | ounces | ginger ale | |
| Alternatively, use: | |||
| 1/2 | tablespoon | ginger | (ground, or minced) |
| -- in place of the garlic and onion |
Or try this modification of Bill O'Reilly's brine:
O'Reilly's Chicken Brine
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 1 | gallon | water | |
| 3/4 | cup | salt | |
| 2/3 | cup | sugar | |
| 3/4 | cup | soy sauce | |
| 1 | teaspoon | tarragon | dried |
| 1 | teaspoon | thyme | dried |
| 1 | teaspoon | black pepper |
Here's Don's famous spicy brine:
Don Havranek's Jalapeno Chicken Brine
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 1 | gallon | water | |
| 1 1/4 | cups | salt | |
| 3/4 | teaspoon | garlic powder | |
| 3/4 | teaspoon | onion powder | |
| 1 | teaspoon | Liquid Smoke | |
| 1/4 | cup | brown sugar | packed |
| 1 3/4 | teaspoons | oregano | |
| 3/4 | teaspoon | black pepper | |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | cayenne | |
| 1 3/4 | tablespoons | olive oil | |
| 1 | bay leaf | ||
| 3/4 | tablespoons | pickling spice | |
| 2 | whole | jalapenos plus juice | canned jalapenos in Embasa Escabeche juice |
| --snap jalapenos in half | |||
| 3/4 | teaspoon | celery salt |
Warm the water in a large pot and add the salt and spices. Stir until dissolved. Cool in refrigerator.
Use only cold brine on the chickens. For whole chickens, Don brines them for 16 hours. For cut up parts, 4-6 hours is fine. Rinse the chickens well in cold water. Coat the chicken with olive oil before putting it on the grill and sprinkle with black pepper.
For all three brine recipes, put the water into a large pot and heat it. Add the ingredients and stir until dissolved. Allow brine to cool in the refrigerator. It is important not to add hot, warm or room temperature brine to the chicken. To prevent bacteria growth, the brine must be below 40F when it is added to the chicken and the brining process must also be carried out below 40F.
[How do you actually brine the chicken?]
I like to put the whole chicken, halves, quarters, or the cut up parts, into doubled new kitchen trash bags and add the cold brine. I tie the bags closed with a twisty and put the bag in an ice chest partly filled with ice. I then cover the chicken bag with more ice and leave it for 12 hours for a whole chicken or halves. If you've got the room, you can also do the brining in your refrigerator.
After removing the chicken from the brine solution, rinse it well inside and out with cold running water. This removes any excess salt that is on the chicken surface. It is very important to rinse the chicken after brining. The chicken is now ready for grilling or another flavor adding process.
The brining process is not necessary to get perfect grilled chicken. It is one way to make really outstanding grilled chicken. The brining process gives you more latitude in the grilling process—if you slightly overcook the chicken, it will still be good if you have brined it first. The brining process will get flavor deeper into the meat than a non-brining process.
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Marinades
[What is a marinade?]
Here is a summary of what Jim Tarantino, in his book, "Marinades" says:
(I highly recommend Jim's fine book, ISBN 0-89594-531-2)
"Marinades are made up of three parts with three specific flavor roles. The first is acid, such as wine, vinegar, citrus juice, or yogurt, acting as a softening agent. The second is oil, which adds flavor and moisture. The third is the aromatics that give the marinade its aroma and flavor.
"First of all, marinades do not tenderize food. They soften and denature it. Tenderizing occurs in food when muscle tissue is separated, torn, or bruised. Tenderizing, for example, occurs when a cook pounds a chicken breast or a veal scallop with a kitchen mallet. Marinades soften or denature tissue with their acid ingredients.
"Marinades do not penetrate deeply into muscle tissue. When a marinade hits the surface of meat or poultry, the muscle tissue softens and expands; in some cases this stops penetration."
Jim Tarantino's Basic Chicken Marinade
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 1/2 | cup | orange juice | fresh |
| 1/4 | cup | lemon juice | fresh |
| 1 | teaspoon | Dijon-style mustard | |
| 1 | teaspoon | Worcestershire sauce | |
| 1/4 | cup | canola oil | |
| 3 | cloves | garlic | minced |
| 1/4 | cup | parsley, fresh | chopped |
| 1 | teaspoon | oregano, dried | crushed |
| 1 | dash | kosher salt | to taste |
| 1 | dash | black pepper | to taste |
Combine the orange and lemon juice, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a glass bowl. Whisk in the oil a little at a time. Add remaining ingredients.
Chicken breasts should marinate 3 to 4 hours. Wings 4 to 6 hours.
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Here is a really simple marinade that makes surprisingly good chicken.
Simple Grilled Chicken Marinade
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 4 | tablespoons | soy sauce | |
| 4 | tablespoons | white wine | |
| 2 | tablespoons | vegetable oil | |
| 2 | tablespoons | cornstarch |
Mix all ingredients and pour marinade over chicken. Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, preferably 2 hours.
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For another quick and simple marinade, I like to take "Wishbone" brand Zesty Italian dressing and coat the chicken pieces and let them marinate in the refrigerator for about two hours. Longer than two hours and the chicken tends to get mushy.
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Here is another good chicken marinade:
Harold McGee's Master Recipe for Poultry Marinade
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 1/2 | cup | olive oil | |
| 4 | cloves | garlic | peeled and lightly crushed |
| 1 | tablespoon | rosemary or thyme | fresh, minced |
| 1/4 | cup | juice lemon | fresh |
| black pepper | freshly ground, to taste |
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Add garlic and rosemary and let cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain oil through a sieve. Add lemon juice and pepper and stir to mix. Makes enough marinade for 1 chicken, butterflied or cut into parts. Marinate 3-4 hours.
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Here is another good marinade that I really like:
Mustard-Herb Marinade for Chicken
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 1/2 | cup | Dijon Mustard | |
| 2 | tablespoons | dry mustard | |
| 2 | tablespoons | vegetable oil | |
| 1/4 | cup | dry white wine | |
| 2 | tablespoons | tarragon | dried |
| 2 | tablespoons | thyme | dried |
| 2 | tablespoons | sage | dried, crushed |
Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Let stand 1 hour. Add chicken and coat well. Let chicken sit in marinade 3-4 hours. Pat dry with paper towels. Use the remaining marinade to baste chicken just before removing from the grill.
Note: if you have them use fresh herbs in place of the dried ones. Put the ingredients in a blender and puree the marinade.
Recipe by: "Mesquite Cookery" by John "Boog" Powell
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Here is my recipe for a spicy Mexican style chicken. It makes El Pollo Loco chicken into an also-ran.
Lime-Cumin-Jalapeno Grilled Chicken
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 4 | large | chicken breasts* | skinless, boneless |
| Marinade: | |||
| 3 | tablespoons | lime juice | freshly squeezed is best |
| 1/2 | cup | canola oil | |
| 1 | teaspoon | cumin | ground |
| 2 | whole | jalapeno chiles | |
| 1 | bay leaf | fresh is best | |
| 2 | sage leaves | fresh is best | |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | salt | |
| 1/8 | teaspoon | black pepper | freshly ground |
* leg quarters work well also
Place all marinade ingredients in blender jar and blend to a uniform mixture.
Make diagonal slits with sharp knife about 1/8" deep and 1/2" apart on both sides of each skinless breast or skinless leg quarter.
Place chicken breasts in non-metallic dish and cover with marinade. Cover dish with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Let breasts marinate for 2 hours, turning every 1/2 hour.
Grill over medium heat coals using the direct or indirect methods. For the best flavor, use mesquite flavor wood chips.
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I really like Indian food and just about anything that has a "curry" flavor. Here is a recipe for tandoori chicken marinade. Now I realize that you can't make real tandoori chicken in a backyard grill, but this comes pretty close:
Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 4 | each | chicken breast halves | skinless boneless OR |
| 4 | each | chicken leg quarters | skinless |
| Marinade: | |||
| 1 | cup | yogurt, plain | low-fat |
| 4 | cloves | garlic | minced |
| 2 | each | Jalapeno chili peppers | seeded and minced |
| 2 | tablespoons | ginger root, fresh | grated |
| 2 | tablespoons | lemon juice | |
| 2 | tablespoons | vegetable oil | |
| 1 | teaspoon | cumin | ground |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | salt | |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | coriander | ground |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | turmeric | ground |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | paprika | ground |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | cayenne pepper | ground |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | cinnamon | ground |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | cloves | ground |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | allspice | ground |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | black pepper | freshly ground |
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a blender bowl and blend to a uniform puree. Place marinade in a shallow glass baking dish large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Add chicken pieces, turning to coat both sides. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
For this recipe, do not use a dry rub, go right from marinade to grill. Grill over very hot coals using indirect method. Do not add any flavor wood chips for this recipe. Tandoori chicken made in Indian tandoor ovens is subjected to 700-800F temperatures and cooks quickly.
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Here is the recipe for some of the best chicken I've ever had. This recipe is from my Pakistani friend's wife Jasmine. They live in Karachi:
Jasmine's Chicken Tikka
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 2 | pounds | chicken legs, | thighs or breasts |
| 1 | teaspoon | salt | |
| 1/4 | cup | plain yogurt | |
| 1 | teaspoon | red chili powder | |
| 1 | teaspoon | coriander seeds | roasted, ground |
| 2 | teaspoons | garlic | minced |
| 2 | teaspoons | ginger | fresh, grated |
| 2 | tablespoons | lemon juice | or white wine vinegar |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | black pepper | freshly ground |
| 1 | dash | red food coloring | for traditional color |
Remove the skin and make 2-3 deep cuts in each chicken piece. Roast the coriander seeds in a hot cast iron skillet. After cooling, grind to powder. Mix all dry ingredients with the lemon juice or vinegar and make a paste. Put this paste onto chicken pieces and leave them for at least 4-5 hours to marinate. Better if left in refrigerator over night.
Take out the chicken from the marinade and rub each piece of chicken with a few drops of vegetable oil. Do not use a dry rub. Grill over medium heat coals using direct method.
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If you like an Asian-style grilled chicken, try this one:
Grilled Chinese Chicken
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 2 | cloves | garlic | minced |
| 2 | tablespoons | rice wine vinegar | |
| 2 | tablespoons | hoisin sauce | |
| 1/4 | cup | soy sauce | |
| 1 | teaspoon | sesame oil | |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | fresh ginger root | grated |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | hot chili paste | or crushed red pepper to taste |
| 4 | each | chicken breast halves | skinless, boneless OR |
| 4 | each | chicken leg quarters | skinless |
| 1 | teaspoon | 5-spice seasoning | (see recipe in rubs section) |
Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a shallow glass dish large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Stir well to mix. Add chicken breasts, turning to coat both sides. Marinate 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature or 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator, covered. Drain chicken from marinade.
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I also like Indonesian and Thai curry-style chicken. Here is a recipe I developed:
Thai Curry-Style Grilled Chicken or Satay Chicken
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 1 | pound | chicken breasts | boneless, skinless |
| 1 | pound | chicken leg quarters | skinless |
| Marinade: | |||
| 1 | lime | juice from | |
| 2 | tablespoons | peanut butter | |
| 1/3 | cup | coconut milk | |
| 1/4 | cup | honey | |
| 1/4 | cup | plum wine | |
| 3 | tablespoons | yellow Thai curry paste | (recipe below) |
Make the marinade:
Add the marinade ingredients to the bowl with the curry paste and mix well.
Prepare the chicken:
Make slits about 1/4 inch deep across both sides of the breasts or the smooth side of the leg quarters. Place chicken pieces in the glass bowl and coat all sides with the marinade. Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Grill over medium coals using direct or indirect method.
This marinade also makes very tasty chicken satay. Just cut the chicken breast into 1/4" thick by 1" wide by several inches long pieces. Thread the meat onto soaked bamboo or metal skewers. Place the skewered meat in a glass baking dish so that the meat lays flat. Pour on the marinade and make sure that each piece of chicken is covered. Marinate for 1-2 hours and then grill.
Serve with a spicy peanut sauce. For a spicy peanut sauce recipe Click here
Yellow Thai Curry Paste
| Amount |
Measure |
Ingredient |
Preparation Method |
| 1 | teaspoon | cumin seeds | |
| 1 | teaspoon | coriander seeds | |
| 1 | teaspoon | cayenne | powdered |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | cinnamon | ground |
| 1 | tablespoon | turmeric | |
| 1 | teaspoon | salt | |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | cloves | ground |
| 1 | tablespoon | lemon or lime zest | grated |
| 2 | tablespoons | shallots | chopped |
| 1 | tablespoon | garlic | chopped |
Place the cumin and coriander seeds in a pan without adding any oil. Dry fry them, stirring, over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until they are slightly browned, and give off a roasted aroma.
Mix the curry paste ingredients together and place in a spice or coffee grinder and grind to a thick paste. Put curry paste to a bowl.
Put remaining curry paste in a tightly sealed jar and store in the refrigerator for future use, up to one month.
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Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey Chicken
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 2 | each | frying chickens | halved* |
| 1 | cup | Jack Daniel's whiskey | |
| Whiskey sauce: | |||
| salt & pepper | to taste | ||
| 1 | pound | white mushrooms | sliced |
| 6 | green onions | chopped | |
| 2 | tablespoons | butter | |
| 2 | ounces | Jack Daniel's whiskey | |
| 2 | cups | brown sauce | (see instructions) |
* under 2 1/2 pounds are best
Place the chicken halves in a shallow pan and douse with whiskey. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the pieces; marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.
FOR WHISKEY SAUCE: Sauté the mushrooms and green onion in butter until tender. Add whiskey and brown sauce and simmer until flavors have blended and the alcohol has evaporated. Keep warm until serving time.
BROWN SAUCE - To make Brown Sauce; thicken beef bouillon or homemade beef stock with cornstarch or roux in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauce should be consistency of gravy.
Grill over medium coals using the indirect heat method.
Serve the chicken halves with the whiskey sauce.
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You can marinate whole chickens, halved chickens and cut up chickens.
After the marinade, you can go directly to the grill or follow up with another flavor enhancement process.
Tip: I DO NOT recommend that you poke the chicken meat with a fork or other sharp instrument to get the marinade deeper into the meat. This really has limited effect and causes the meat to lose the juices you are trying so hard to keep in.
Tip: If you wish to save the used marinade for use as a baste or mop while the chicken is grilling, then put the marinade in a small sauce pan and bring it to a boil for several minutes. This will kill any bacteria that are in the marinade. Remember, the last application of the marinade as a baste may not get much heat from the grill before the meat is removed. So always heat the used marinade before you use it as a baste.
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Rubs
[What are rubs?]
Rubs are simply spices and herbs that are rubbed onto the surface of the meat. You actually don't have to rub the meat, you can sprinkle on the rub. The rub can be dry or have some liquid in it to form a paste. The liquid can be water or oil or natural moisture, say from lemon juice or from puréeing spices with fresh herbs, peppers, onions or garlic.
The rub will give the outside of your chicken the most taste enhancement of all the treatments discussed here. In my opinion, the rub is the most important flavor component to grilling perfect chicken. To skip the rub is to miss the best opportunity to turn your chicken from good to great.
The simplest rub is just salt and pepper. But that won't get you grilled chicken that will have your friends saying, "This is the best chicken I've ever eaten."
For a simple yet great-tasting finished product, you can use some commercial rubs. I always have some of Paul Prudhomme's Cajun Spice Blends in my spice drawer. I like his "Poultry Magic" and I also like his "Seafood Magic" spice blend on chicken. Just liberally sprinkle on the spice blend and rub or pat it onto surface of the chicken. If you're doing a whole chicken, just do the outside. Be sure to get in all the places, under the wings and between the legs and body.
Tip: Remember, with skin-on chicken, the rub will be mainly on the skin, so the flavors will not be very intense if the chicken eater removes the skin before eating. It is possible to get some rub under the skin if you work at it a little. So if you like your chicken with the skin on, then try to get some of the rub under the skin.
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Here is a favorite rub from the classic barbecue book "Smoke & Spice"
Wild Willy's Number One-Derful Rub
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 3/4 | cup | paprika | |
| 1/4 | cup | black pepper | ground |
| 1/4 | cup | salt | |
| 1/4 | cup | sugar | (see note) |
| 2 | tablespoons | chili powder | |
| 2 | tablespoons | garlic powder | |
| 2 | tablespoons | onion powder | |
| 2 | teaspoons | cayenne |
Notes : I prefer to leave out the recipe's 1/4 cup of sugar when I use this rub for grilling because of the tendency of the sugar to burn.
This is an all-purpose rub, good on steaks, ribs, pork chops, and chicken.
Adjust the chili powder to suit you taste.
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Here is a very tasty rub recipe from barbecue champion John Willingham:
Willingham's Poultry Dry Rub
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 4 | tablespoons | salt | |
| 1 | tablespoon | black pepper | freshly ground |
| 1 | tablespoon | lemon pepper | |
| 1 | teaspoon | onion salt | |
| 1 | teaspoon | mild chili powder | |
| 1 | tablespoon | cayenne pepper | |
| 3 | tablespoons | brown sugar | (see note) |
| 1 | teaspoon | white pepper | |
| 1 | tablespoon | marjoram | dried |
| 1 | tablespoon | sage | dried |
| 1 | tablespoon | cornstarch |
In the top of a double boiler, combine all ingredients accept the cornstarch. Heat over simmering water until the ingredients are warm to the touch (about 160F). Stir continuously during heating. As the sugar dissolves, it may form a crust.
Transfer the heated mixture to a glass bowl and cool to room temperature. Break apart the crusty mix and rub the mixture between your fingers so that it becomes granular again. Add the cornstarch and stir to mix. Use immediately or keep in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in a cool dark place.
Notes : I prefer to leave out the recipe's 3 tablespoons of sugar when I use this rub from grilling because of the tendency of the sugar to burn.
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Here is one of my favorite rubs. I originally made this for smoking chicken but it is equally good for grilling. This method uses all the flavor enhancing techniques.
Lemon-Pepper Rub and Mop for Grilled Chicken
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Preparation Method |
| 10 | each | chicken breasts | boneless, skinless OR |
| 10 | each | chicken leg quarters | |
| Marinade: | |||
| 1 | cup | Wishbone Zesty Italian dressing | |
| Rub: | |||
| 4 | tablespoons | lemon pepper | |
| 1 | tablespoon | Willingham W'ham regular seasoning | see note |
| 1 | teaspoon | thyme | ground |
| Mop: | |||
| 1 | cup | apple juice | |
| 1 | cup | vegetable oil | |
| 2 | tablespoons |