Barbeque chicken

Now that the nice weather has arrived, it is time to bring out the charcoal grill and BBQ some chicken.
There must be a million recipes for BBQ sauce so I'll not bother with that. Or just select your favorite bottled BBQ sauce from the market. The only time I make my own BBQ sauce is when I'm cooking for a crowd.

Some tips:
1. For chicken you need a low and slow fire. Chicken skin is all fat, of course, and it burns and creates "flare-ups". So, move chicken to the edge of grill and/or use a spray bottle of water handy.

2. Naturally, you do not want to taste the charcoal lighter fluid, so be sure that your charcoal has a "white coating" BEFORE you put the chicken on the grill.

3. Many people like to brine their chicken before cooking it, so, mix up 1 1/2 liters of water, add 2 TBLSP of salt. stir to dissolve all salt. Add chicken pieces and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours. The brine will dramatically flavor the chicken. Brine also tenderizes the meat. Then grill.

4. White meat cooks MUCH faster than dark meat. So, start your dark meat 15 minutes before putting the white meat on the grill.

5. Use the "two zone" method. 1st, sear and brown the chicken pieces over the hottest part of the fire. Turn chicken over and brown the other side. 2nd, move chicken to the cooler side of the grill, cover the BBQ grill with the lid and "bake" the chicken. This often takes 40 minutes or more depending upon the size of the pieces. Check chicken every10 minutes or so.

6. Do not, repeat do not, use BBQ sauce until chicken is done. BBQ sauce has a lot of sugar and will burn quite easily.

7. If you have an instant read thermometer, use it to insure chicken is properly cooked 165 F (74 C.)

Re: Barbeque chicken

Bakerman, They look lovely! It’s a shame l didn’t have your recipe yesterday!

Re: Barbeque chicken

Angel, there is always next weekend.

What goes best with BBQ chicken ? OMG almost anything but in the U. S. we commonly serve corn-on-the-cob, baked beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, pineapple slices (grilled when chicken is almost done). The list is endless.

Gotta run now and get my chicken on the grill. Cooking for the little kids next door. Their momma is about to go nuts. I'll give her a welcome break. ,Yummy.

Re: Barbeque chicken

I can’t wait to put my new kettle bbq together and give it a go. I can always set up my smaller ones but the problem there would be keeping Holly away. I would have to set up a barrier, and all I have that might be too big for my tiny garden are sections of her run (used when she was a puppy). Mind, looking at one piece now (the others are already in the shed), I could set up a square. Hmmmm..........can’t wait.

Re: Barbeque chicken

Thanks for the tips bakerman. Have you even used lemon juice instead of brine to flavour/tenderise chicken? My good old Madhur Jaffrey cookbook uses this technique.

Also, has anyone ever used bbq sheets? We use them on our gas bbq to prevent flare ups from dripping fat and they also help reduce over-searing. Not sure how well they'd work on charcoal/timber bbqs. They also make cleaning a whole lot easier (can be hand washed, or put in dishwasher or even a normal clothes washing machine)