Show me a man who says a woman can’t grill and I’ll show you a woman who can grill better than him. Of course I am referring to myself. I am a woman who can grill. In fact, I can surprise you about how well I can grill. Grilling is not simply putting food over some hot coals and keeping a watchful eye on it until it is done. There is an art form to grilling. You have rubs, brines, marinades, seasonings, and glazes that can take an average piece of grilled chicken to a whole new level.
A lot of people get intimidating by grilling. I was raised in a household where we grilled just about every week in the summer time. Therefore, grilling came easy to me. As my passion for cooking has increased I started learning how to brine and make sauces and stuff, so it just made grilling more exciting to me. In this blog entry, I am going to share with you a basic recipe for making brine for your chicken and my basic grilling technique. I promise you that it is super easy and you will become more confident in the way you grill. Later, I am going to share with you my Pineapple Tequila Glaze for the grilled chicken that is guaranteed to make you look like a superstar behind the grill. Let’s start with this BBQ Grilled Chicken.
Basic BBQ Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 whole Frozen Chicken Quarters
- 8 cups Water
- ½ cups Salt
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 2 Tablespoons Ground Black Pepper Or Peppercorns
- 2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Seasoned Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Liquid Smoke
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- Extra Seasonings And/or Lemon Juice, For Sprinkling On The Chicken Prior To And During Cooking
Instructions
- Take your frozen chicken quarters and rinse them in water. Place the chicken in a large plastic container and set aside. In a separate large bowl, mix together the water and all of the seasonings. Whisk until the seasonings are well mixed. Pour the brine over the chicken and make sure that the chicken is completely submerged in the water. Also, if you have one, take a flavor injector and inject the chicken quarters with some of the brine. If you do not have a flavor injector, take a fork and make small holes in your chicken pieces so some of the brine can fill the chicken. Soak the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. The longer, the better. (“That’s what she said” – Michael Scott from The Office).
- Before you are ready to grill your chicken, go ahead and fire up the grill accordingly. If you are using a charcoal grill, make sure that the coals are slightly gray before adding your meat.
- Now that your grill is about ready, get out your container with the chicken and drain off (and discard) the brine. Place your chicken on a platter and season with salt and pepper or whatever seasoning you want. What I like to do is squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top of the chicken before grilling because it enhances the flavor of the meat. You can allow that lemon juice to sit on your chicken for about 10 minutes while you are checking on your grill.
- When the grill is ready, go ahead and place your chicken on top of the grill. If you are using a charcoal grill, if you cover the grill with the lid it is going to slow cook your chicken. If you keep the lid up then it is going to cook your chicken much faster, which is what I did. So you are going to grill your chicken for about 5 minutes on each side. Try not to continuously flip the chicken because you may cook them unevenly.
- Use a digital thermometer to check to make sure that the chicken is completely done before removing it from the grill. The temperature should read 165 F. But, I would take it off the grill when it reads 160 F because you don’t want the chicken to be dry. Once you are finished with your chicken, dress with whatever glaze or sauce you want and enjoy!
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