Grilling Chicken

Grandslam11

Grandslam11

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I learned a ton of info on the steak grilling post a while back. I honestly prefer chicken over beef in most scenarios but hardly ever get it right on the grill. 9/10 times my chicken is chewy. I just recently got a meat thermometer so hopefully that will help.

What do yall look for when picking chicken in the grocery store? I always buy fresh, boneless, skinless breast.

Do you prefer to grill thinner cut chicken breast or thicker cut? Do you cook on high heat or low heat? Do you marinate before hand?

I learned from this site to cook my steaks only using salt/pepper with the grill as hot as I could get it. No marinating. That has been some of the best cooking advise i have ever gotten. I now prefer my steaks over most restaurants.

Now lets hear how to make that confidence while grilling chicken.
 
If you're buying boneless skinless breasts try either wrapping them in bacon then grilling or putting it in a brine before grilling. When I'm grilling chicken I like to set my coals off to one side 350-400 degrees. Place them in the grate directly over the coals for a couple of minutes to get good char marks then move them off to the side away from direct heat. I feel like its very easy to over cook chicken on the grill no matter if it's gas or charcoal.

My favorite way is to take skinless breasts pound them flat without destroying them so they'll cook more evenly. Trim away any hanging meat then rub a little weber honey garlic powder with McCormick roasted garlic and herb seasoning on them. Grill at 350 served on brioche bun with lettuce and tomato.
 
Boneless skinless breasts are the least flavorful cut you can possibly get. Bone-in with skin on is the way to go. Whole Chickens is even better. Spatchcock is one of my favorite methods.
https://www.abeautifulplate.com/how-to- ... a-chicken/

A Brine and a marinade are totally different. A brine (salt and water) imparts moisture and breaks down muscle fibers, marinades impart flavor. Brined meat should be rinsed off and dried before cooking. Even with a brine, if you cook a chicken breast over about 150 degrees its going to dry out. I know the food Nazis insist that you have to cook chicken to 165.....Don't. I shoot for 150-155 for the breast and 160 for the legs/thighs.

I agree with Mud creek, get some good grill marks/slight charring early and move to indirect heat.
 
I have been doing boneless skinless chicken breast(BSCB) for years (my wife though a country gril, hates chicken on the bone, skin or dark chicken meat). I do BSCB dry seasoned, brined, with sauce, plain just about any way you can do BSCB on the grill(gas, charcoal or smoker) I have. Meat wise I just buy the ones on sale-- large family pack, 4 to pack etc with out regard to thick or thin small or large breast. Get a good sale on them and I have bought a bunch (like 40-50 breast) seasoned, brined, grilled smoked and I vac seal in 4 finished breast per bag for future use. Biggest thing I started a several years ago was cooking to temperature and timing vs cooking to I think its done(usually results in dry tough chicken).

BSCB -- what I do: Dry season, marinade, brine as you choose.

Grilling -- get the grill hot 450-550 degrees -- grill on each side 2-3min (do a 45degree turn at 1-1.5minutes not a flip over but turn get some good grill marks). Adjust temp in grill to 350-400 and/or have a indirect heat area on your grill (gas I lower all burners and let temp settle, charcoal I adjust vents and have indirect cooking area). Now its just time and Internal Temp (IT) of the BSCB and you check those as you see fit. IT for BSCB you looking for 160-170, keep going into 190-200 degrees and you will have dry tough BSCB(chop that up and add BBQ sauce for BBQ chicken samich).

Smoker-- for BSCB I get the smoker rolling all vents open it hits 250* I load it up and smoke a way. Pull the BSCB at IT of 160-165. I usually smoke I have on chicken, pork butt, beef, turkey some combination of 2 items or all four or just several of 1 item. I run the smoker at 225-275(most times try to settle on 250) and check IT along the way. If just doing BSCB on the smoker not to bad check IT after 2hrs and forward, watch where the BSCB thins for drying out. Smoking or grilling meats of different animals with different fat levels at the same time requires more monitoring. Meaning smoking a 9lb pork butt and 10 BSCB---don't expect the BSCB to take the same amount of time as the BUTT..or be as forgiving in temp/time changes as a Butt.

Remember add BBQ sauce (not a mop) -- the last 5-10 degrees or so for the meat--it will prevent or lessen the BBQ sauce burning vs caramelizing on the meat grilling or smoking.

Here is the link to USDA safe internal temperature of meats. But also remember when you take the meat off the grill/smoker to rest the IT will rise 3-5 degrees. I have had no issues pulling BSCB at 160-165 IT, let it rest 10-20min and yum yum up. Also doing a whole chicken, beer can, split or bone in chicken parts is easier too. BSCB will dry out on you real quick..same with a pork tenderloin or beef tenderloin.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fs ... t/ct_index
 
Also wanted to add my favorite way for chicken is spatchcock, wife will eat the breast (I de-skin, debone) and I get the wings, thighs, legs and all goodness of the skin and bones. I think best part of the chicken -- bone in skin on thighs.
 
BamaProud":enbkeal0 said:
Forvols":enbkeal0 said:
Here is the link to USDA safe internal temperature of meats.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fs ... t/ct_index
Click to expand...

Food Nazis! :) ;)
Click to expand...

Agree-- but getting into cooking to temp and developing your favorite of done-ness/rareness across different meats/animals/foul method..good start for a beginner or even seasoned griller/smoker that always cooked to "yeah I think its done". (Most always that statement equates to its really OVER done).
 
BamaProud":1uavbny7 said:
I good fast reading thermometer is really important for Chicken.

This is what I use:
https://www.thermoworks.com/Classic-Thermapen
Click to expand...


Yep absolutely agree. Also recommend the maverick for a remote stick it in an leave it grill and food temp probe. With that remote probe (giving grill and food temp) smoking wise you aint looking which equates to better smoke and better temperature stability because you aint opening the lid to look (you know if you're looking you aint cookin).

But 10 ways to skin a cat... I now don't use probes etc for doing BSCB on the grill (done them so much)..but I still use temp probe (fast read or stick it and leave it) when smoking BSCB or whole chickens, Butts, porkloins, sausages, beef roast, etc on a smoker. Want to keep the smoker lid closed and solid temp.
 
Forvols":24qp9xk0 said:
BamaProud":24qp9xk0 said:
Want to keep the smoker lid closed and solid temp.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

This is a problem for me. It takes a few seconds for my digital thermometer to read which causes me to lose grill temp.

Pounding the breast to a uniform thickness is probably a simple technique that I have never personally heard of. I tried it last night and I either got lucky or it worked. It was some of the best chicken I have ever made.

I still did not brine though. Is there any certain salt/water formula I want to use? How long do you typically let it brine for? Also you said to wash it off and pat it dry, doesn't that just wash all the salt/flavor off?

After brining and cleaning, do you typically just use salt/pepper as a seasoning?
 
A brine to me is like an internal rub for the meat. You should want your brine to taste like you want your chicken to taste imo. It keeps it moist but it helps hold flavor too. If I brine I go lightly on the rub.

As for flattening it tenderizes it and also makes breast cook evenly on the grill. I also like to flatten them for fried chicken sandwiches.
 
Grandslam11":129zoiqd said:
Forvols":129zoiqd said:
BamaProud":129zoiqd said:
Want to keep the smoker lid closed and solid temp.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

This is a problem for me. It takes a few seconds for my digital thermometer to read which causes me to lose grill temp.

Pounding the breast to a uniform thickness is probably a simple technique that I have never personally heard of. I tried it last night and I either got lucky or it worked. It was some of the best chicken I have ever made.

I still did not brine though. Is there any certain salt/water formula I want to use? How long do you typically let it brine for? Also you said to wash it off and pat it dry, doesn't that just wash all the salt/flavor off?

After brining and cleaning, do you typically just use salt/pepper as a seasoning?
Click to expand...

For the smoker I use a Maverick ET732 remote smoker temperature probe (actually have 2 of these cause when I smoke its usually a mix of meats and several)-- reads grill temp and you have a probe you put in the meat, so I don't have to open the smoker lid to take temps, until late into the smoking if I have multiple pieces of meat on. For the grill, since temps recover quicker I use a instant read probe. I have never pounded out BSCB to same thickness (grilling or smoking), but see where it could help. Here is a link for a maverick ET732: https://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Digital ... robe&psc=1


Brine wise do a search on this forum for brine and a member here TAFKAP-- He mixes the brine by weight of the meat, that's a good idea, keeps the salt at a good level to do its job in a brine and not overly salt the meat. Brine -- you rinse the meat to remove excess salt after the brining. Then season as you want, use your own spice mix or commerical. Also do an internet search for chicken brine recipes or turkey or what ever. You will get a bunch.
 
Grandslam11":1ieph4o8 said:
I learned a ton of info on the steak grilling post a while back. I honestly prefer chicken over beef in most scenarios but hardly ever get it right on the grill. 9/10 times my chicken is chewy. I just recently got a meat thermometer so hopefully that will help.

What do yall look for when picking chicken in the grocery store? I always buy fresh, boneless, skinless breast.

Do you prefer to grill thinner cut chicken breast or thicker cut? Do you cook on high heat or low heat? Do you marinate before hand?

I learned from this site to cook my steaks only using salt/pepper with the grill as hot as I could get it. No marinating. That has been some of the best cooking advise i have ever gotten. I now prefer my steaks over most restaurants.

Now lets hear how to make that confidence while grilling chicken.
Click to expand...

1) Quit buying boneless-skinless chicken breasts for grilling. They're the blandest, driest piece of meat on a chicken, and it's near impossible to get it moist and tender.
2) If you must have boneless/skinless, get thighs instead.
3) In fact, just get thighs instead

Brine your chicken for at least an hour before you cook it. If you have a kitchen scale, use it. A good rule of thumb would be to calculate 1.5% of the meat's weight, and use that much salt. For example, 3 lbs. of meat would need 0.72ounces of salt. Toss it around to coat, and let it sit. If you're using a seasoning with salt in it, then adjust your salt.
 
We have been grilling boneless skinless thighs here lately, and they turn out great every time and no matter how we do them. They are always moist and tender, and not near as sensitive to occasional accidental over cooking.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
I don't even recall seeing boneless, skinless thighs in our local grocery store. I will have to keep my eyes open more.

What is the preferred cut on meat for grilling? Is it bone-in, skin on breast? I am certainly a white meat guy. If I go bone it, would I still let them soak in a brine?
 

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