Grilling Chicken For The Best Results
Posted by Christine Szalay-Kudra on July 5, 2010
Chicken is an incredibly versatile meat, and it only gets better when the weather starts getting warmer and you can break out the grill. We are always ready for a break from the usual stir-fried, pot pie, and baked methods of cooking by that point, so grilling is a welcome change. It does not matter whether you favor charcoal or gas. A great grilled chicken is the same everywhere.
Birds that have been grilled well have a crisp, burnished skin, and are never burnt on the outside or raw on the inside. The meat is moist and juicy, and the flavor will be lightly tinged with smoke. Do not expect good grilled meat to be underdone in the middle or dry. Having trouble attaining this ideal? Here are a few tips that could help you fix the problem.
There are multiple ways to prepare grilled chicken recipes, from use of different cuts to various glazes, marinades, and rubs. No matter what recipe you are using, you can adapt it to create a delicious result. Just make sure you follow a few simple rules to turn out tender, moist meat with a crisp, delicious skin.
Depending on what part of the bird you are cooking, you will need the right grill temperature and cooking time to make sure that it turns out well. That is because poultry is much less forgiving and offers less leeway when cooking with too much heat than beef or pork. Both of those meats have a lot more fat, and their fattiness helps preserve moisture, even when the heat gets too high.
You need to think about the temperature the bird is on the inside, since it dries out pretty quickly above the minimum safe temperature for this meat. One option that can be a big help is buying an instant read meat thermometer and keeping it close to hand while you are grilling. This is a particularly good idea for large, bone-in cuts that can be hard to predict and have wide temperature variances.
You might have to take a few tries to figure out the timing of the grilling process, but there are lots of simple grilled chicken recipes out there that you can use and work with, so you will probably eat fairly well while you are working it out. This learning process is one you are going to look forward to and is easier than you think to achieve.
If you will be grilling a whole bird, you will need to butterfly it so that it will cook evenly throughout. This is best on birds that are between three and four pounds. You use sharp shears to remove the backbone of the bird, then press firmly on the breastbone to flatten it for even cooking.
There are, of course, options for people who do not want to deal with the extra hassle of bone-in pieces or whole birds. Choose boneless breasts and thighs for even quicker grilling times. Just remember that they are thin and consistent in texture, making them easy to overcook. Carefully watching these pieces and staying attentive is the secret to getting great boneless chicken on the grill.
There are so many leek recipes you can make. A classic is leek and potato soup. This is a rich, hearty thick soup that will keep you warm in the winter. The mild onion flavor is a great addition to the rest of the dish.
