Who doesn’t love chicken? I will always love my steaks but having chicken once in a while is really refreshing. Grilled chicken is one of my personal favorites, and is almost always a sure hit for people of all ages. I especially love the crusty, brown exterior of a perfectly grilled chicken it kind of adds just a bit more of that oomph we’re looking for when grilling. Besides the fact that chickens are delicious, they are also low fat and very easy to grill. If you’d like to learn how to grill chicken properly, I have here some tips to help you out.
5 Easy Steps on How to Grill Chicken
Step 1 – Pick the part of the chicken you want to grill and start prepping.
You can choose a cut up chicken parts with bones or get the boneless ones. While it will not affect on how you grill and prepare your chicken, boneless pieces will definitely grill faster. If you want parts with bones in them, don’t forget to look for the clumps of fat and unnecessary skin. You will need to trim these off, as it will help lessen the possibility of flare-ups. I like boneless chicken for grilling as it is faster to cook and yummier. If it’s a boneless chicken breast, you’ll notice that it’s wider on one side. There’s an easy fix for this. Grab a plastic wrap and cover your chicken breast then start pounding it into an even layered chicken breast with a mallet or something heavy and sturdy. But don’t pound it out too much or it will be more prone to drying out.
Step 2 – The second step in learning how to grill chicken is to brine your chicken.
Brine will keep the meat juicy and moist. It is a salt and water solution that reshapes the proteins in the meat that helps it retain moisture better when cooking. This is a crucial part for your chicken to still be juicy even if you overcook it slightly. Keep your chicken soaked for as short as 30 minutes to an hour or 2 and you should be good to go. Don’t brine your chicken too long or it will give your chicken a rubbery texture.
Step 3 – Get your grill going.
While your chicken is soaking, you can already start preparing your grill. Be sure to use a clean and oiled grate for better results. Skinless chicken breast does not have fat protecting it from the heat so it will stick to your grates if you don’t oil the grill up properly. Also, make sure that there is no grease in the bottom of your grill or this might cause flare-ups when you start grilling. Preheat your gas grill on high for 10 minutes, have a 2-zone fire. If you are using charcoal, fire it up till there is a good amount of ash, then move your coals to one side of your grill.
Step 4 – Start grilling your chicken.
With anything, the larger pieces will cook longer than the smaller pieces. Make sure to put the larger pieces of meat closer to the side with the higher temperature, while the smaller pieces as far as possible from the high temperature. Use thongs to place your chicken on the grill and make sure to leave a bit of space in between meats. When you pick your chicken up to move, bring it to a corner you are not using and give it a good shake. This way, the grease can burn off harmlessly. You may still encounter flare-ups despite our efforts to avoid them, so if you do get a large flare-up just remove the chicken from the grill entirely and let the fire die down. Keep your chicken on the grill for 5 -15 minutes, then check if your chicken is ready for turning. Once you get that nice brown color and firmer meat, it is time to flip the chicken. Once you get the markings on the other side as well, finish on lower heat. The time it takes for your chicken to finish greatly depends on how big/fat it is. As mentioned, boneless chicken will cook relatively fast compared to the ones with bones. You can choose to glaze your chicken with barbeque sauce when the chicken is nearly done. Lather on several layers of sauce, as it will give the chicken a thick sticky coating.
Step 5 – Check your chicken for done-ness.
You can use a thermometer to see if the chicken is finished cooking. It should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. But for smaller pieces you can slice it open and check that it does not have any pink area. After you check if its done, remove the chicken from the grill and cover it and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
And there it is. I hope this has helped you learn how to grill chicken! There are a lot of recipes online if you want to try out your grilling skills. But these steps should give you a general idea on how you should grill your chicken to keep it moist and juicy.
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