Make The Best Grilled BBQ Chicken In Your Neighborhood With This Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to grill chicken like a pro? ›

Place your chicken breasts on your preheated grill, and close the lid. It's important to keep the lid of your grill closed while your chicken is cooking so that no heat escapes. Cook your chicken breast on the grill for 6-8 minutes on one side. After 6-8 minutes flip your chicken breast and cook for 6-8 minutes more.

The good news is that pretty much any cut of chicken is well-suited for barbecuing. Generally speaking, legs and thighs will hold up better to long, slow cooking than will breasts, but as long as you cook your chicken to the proper temperature (160°F for breasts and 170°F for thighs) all should work out deliciously.

The excess fat drops off, so you get a lean piece of protein that can be served with a side of vegetables (they also taste great on the grill!). Plus, very few nutrients are lost during the grilling process. Grilled chicken is also tasty. It locks in moisture without having to add oil or butter.

When it comes to classic side dishes, mac and cheese, and coleslaw are always crowd-pleasers. Mac and cheese is a creamy and indulgent side dish that pairs perfectly with the smoky flavors of BBQ chicken. You can make it even more exciting by adding some bacon bits or jalapeños for some extra flavor.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a little paprika. Since you are using an oven instead of a grill, turn on the BROILER. Cook each side of the chicken until golden brown… it will look beautiful. When it's done, pull it out, drizzle a little olive oil and lemon juice on it, let it rest for 10 minutes.

Season the chicken skin with salt and grill skin side down over moderately low heat until the fat has rendered and the skin is nice and crisp. Keep the heat low — if it gets too high, the fat will sear and not cook slowly and melt away. Flip the chicken and grill for a few minutes skin side up until cooked through.

For thicker cuts, you want to close the lid to keep the temperature high and even. Large steaks, chicken, and roasts have much more depth for the heat to penetrate, and closing the lid will give the heat time to sink in and cook the meat through in much the same way an oven does.

So, the Chick-fil-A engineering team invented it. The patented high-tech grill cooks the chicken quickly and keeps it moist by locking in flavour. How? With a hydraulic system to lift the lid and lower it – but gently so it doesn't put too much pressure on the chicken and lose its juices.

A lemon-herb marinated boneless breast of chicken, grilled for a tender and juicy backyard-smoky taste, served on a toasted multigrain bun with green leaf lettuce and tomato. The grilled chicken sandwich pairs well with Honey Roasted BBQ sauce.

Why is Chick-fil-A chicken so moist? ›

But don't just take it from me — this is the (not-so-secret) secret that's fueled the love affair so many people have with Chick-fil-A. It's the pickle brine! Well before being fried to perfection, the chicken breasts are brined with pickle juice for super-juicy, tender meat. People go wild for this chicken.

Brine Before Grilling to Prevent Dry, Rubbery Chicken

Brining is simply submerging the chicken in a salt-water solution before grilling.

Grill in Zones

"On a gas grill, turn one or two burners on and leave the others off," Lilly says. "For charcoal, light your coals, then push them all to one side of the grill." Use the hot side of the grill for searing and the cooler side for cooking meats (and other foods) all the way through without burning.

Chicken on the bone or large, un-pounded breasts should be grilled more slowly over medium-high heat so the outside doesn't burn while the inside reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.