Barbecued Chicken on the Grill
Along with hot dogs and hamburgers, barbecued chicken is about as classic as it gets when it comes time for grilling.
But chicken takes longer to cook than either hot dogs or hamburgers, and loves lower cooking temperatures, so it’s easy to mess up, either under-cooking, over-charring, or both.
The trick to good barbecued chicken?
Patience.
Done right, it will take at least an hour, and even up to 2 hours. Remember that barbecue is slow and low, grilling is hot and fast. You can grill a chicken breast, but chicken thighs, legs or wings are far better barbecued.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 pounds of your favorite chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings, breasts), skin-on
- Salt
- Vegetable oil
- 1 cup barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade
METHOD
- 1 Salt and oil chicken pieces: Coat the chicken pieces with vegetable oil and sprinkle salt over them on all sides.
- 2 Prepare grill: Prepare one side of your grill for high, direct heat. If you are using charcoal or wood, make sure there is a cool side to the grill where there are few to no coals.
- 3 Sear chicken on hot side of grill, move to cool side: Lay the chicken pieces skin side down on the hottest side of the grill in order to sear the skin side well. Grill for 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot the grill is (you do not want the chicken to burn).
- Once you have a good sear on one side, move the chicken pieces to the cooler side of the grill.
- If you are using a gas grill, maintain the flame on only one side of the grill, and move the chicken pieces to the cooler side, not directly over the flame. Reduce the temp to low or medium low (between 250°F and 275°F, no more than 300°F).
- Cover the grill and cook undisturbed for 20-30 minutes.
- 4 Turn over and baste with barbecue sauce: Turn the chicken pieces over and baste them with with your favorite barbecue sauce. Cover the grill again and allow to cook for another 15-20 minutes.
- Repeat, turning the chicken pieces over, basting them with sauce, covering, and cooking for another 10-30 minutes.
- NOTE that timing will depend on your grill set-up, the size of your chicken pieces, and how cold your chicken pieces are to start with! If you are grilling smaller pieces of chicken on a charcoal grill, they may be done much earlier. The goal is to maintain a low enough grill temp so that the chicken cooks "low and slow".
Full Recipes>>Barbecued Chicken on the Grill