Finally learned to grill chicken (+pr0n)

IlliniQ · Apr 13, 2014

I used to always hate grilling chicken. Seemed no matter what I did, I either dried it out horribly or left the center raw. I never really knew how to manage the heat, and always felt that chicken was too much hassle to fight with.

But, since getting into smoking, I finally got a handle on the use of low/indirect heat on the grill, as well, and made some of the best grilled chicken I've ever eaten as a result. All it took was realizing I needed to sear the meat, then cook indirect.

I used a whole chicken, broken down into pieces. Seared them for about 7 minutes and then moved them to the cool side of the grill and added a few chunks of cherry to the coals.

Then I let this smokin' hot redhead do the work for about 30 minutes

I grilled some zucchini and broccolini to go with it

Added a little sauce for the last 10 minutes or so

Finished product looked pretty good, I think...

Now I actually look forward to grilling chicken again...and this plate didn't stay full for very long

93vpmod · Apr 13, 2014

Congrats on a fine meal! Your bird looks great.

Bludawg · Apr 13, 2014

Good lookin chicken

AaronPo · Apr 13, 2014

That's some good lookin yard bird!!

peeps · Apr 13, 2014

Good lookin' chicken! I'm in the same boat and slowly learning to do decent chicken. Still lots to learn though...

IlliniQ · Apr 13, 2014

peeps said:
Good lookin' chicken! I'm in the same boat and slowly learning to do decent chicken. Still lots to learn though...

Yeah, I've got plenty to learn myself. At least "stop transforming chicken into charcoal over prolonged direct heat" was a good start... :tsk:

Letting it go slow with indirect heat not only picks up more of the smoky flavor from the wood and coals, but also leaves a much wider margin of error for when to pull the chicken off the grill

1911Ron · Apr 14, 2014

I love it when the light goes on for me too. Chicken and the rest look good!

sliding_billy · Apr 14, 2014

Very nice looking cook.

THoey1963 · Apr 14, 2014

There is nothing wrong with that chicken at all. It looks perfect.

It took me a little bit to cook chicken on my gasser, but once I mastered it, I still had a couple mistakes later. I think chicken is just a fickle beast.

Then I tried it on WSM and the first two cooks had great meat, but the skin was ugly enough that you didn't want to eat it. Finally I got it down, or I got lucky once. We'll see next time.

Quint · Apr 14, 2014

Great looking dish, took me some time to master chicken parts on the grill also, whole chicken is still hit or miss for me even on the smoker. Breast is always done before the thigh and when the thigh is done breast is dry.

Nhfefx · Apr 14, 2014

Baggie of ice on the breasts 1/2 hour before helps with that
Sounds funny but it works
On my turkeys especially!

Guando · Apr 14, 2014

Looks great! Chicken can be a pain sometimes when it should be easy... Chocked down some dry chicken through the years. Great job.

bassmaster16 · Apr 14, 2014

Looks good to me.

Fwismoker · Apr 14, 2014

It's sure fun to smoke and grill chicken! Try cooking indirect and sear.

Zin · Apr 14, 2014

Great looking chicken and meal, and the Red sure is hot, whats here name?

cholloway · Apr 14, 2014

Nice cook.
Next time brine your chicken pieces. You won't be disappointed.

IlliniQ · Apr 14, 2014

Zin said:
Great looking chicken and meal, and the Red sure is hot, whats here name?

Fireball II (a nod to Alton Brown...)

cmohr74 · Apr 15, 2014

cholloway said:
Nice cook.
Next time brine your chicken pieces. You won't be disappointed.

I was just going to hit on this. Chicken looks awesome to me, but brining will take those to the next level. www.patiodaddiobbq.com has a great home-made brine recipe. Best of luck to a fellow Chicago Suburbanite.

ITBFQ · Apr 15, 2014

^^^^ Listen to Dan... he is the man!

Fwismoker said:
It's sure fun to smoke and grill chicken! Try cooking indirect and sear.

This is what I do, and it works just as well as what you did. I especially like to do this with wings. Let them sit in some cherry and apple smoke for a while, then sear to finish. Yum!

Brew&Cue · Apr 15, 2014

I'll chime in here too as I also am a firm believer in indirect heat with chicken. On the weber OTS the chicken goes over a water pan and grate temp stays between 325 - 375. I don't sear or add sauce but I use copious amounts of kosher salt on the skin and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for 1 to 4 hours - makes for fabulous crispy skin. Just a little fresh ground black while on the grill and remove when breast IT is 170.

Glad you found a successful technique - maybe I will try searing a little before it goes to the indirect side.

Finally learned to grill chicken (+pr0n)

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