With the 4th of July weekend coming up, I have been thinking of having an old school backyard cookout like when I was a kid. Going through the recipes here on the blog, I realized that I have never written a post about how to grill up perfect classic BBQ chicken.  You know — on the bone, with skin, slathered in BBQ sauce (preferably homemade) and served with plenty of napkins.

There is something to be said about the convenience of the boneless, skinless chicken breast… well, it’s convenient for a quick weeknight meal. I know that all too often grilled chicken beyond said breast can end up burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. Here are a few simple solutions to ensure that you get that tasty, juicy, tender picnic style BBQ chicken.

BRINE IT

Just like your Thanksgiving turkey, brining your chicken before grilling will ensure that the bird is will stay tender and juicy. I like to use a dry-brine when grilling larger or putting a whole chicken on the rotisserie, but for grilling cut up chicken I prefer a more traditional wet-brine like my Chicken Brine recipe below.  Whether wet or dry, brining uses salt to deeply season and introduce more moisture into the meat. Contrary to what we have been led to believe, all cuts of meat benefit from a generous early salting. It won’t dry them out, trust me. Without getting too technical, it is true that the salt will initially pull the moisture from the meat. However, the effect of reverse-osmosis then pulls that flavorful moisture back into the meat seasoning it throughout. Additionally, the salt will help break down tougher muscle proteins and make the meat deliciously tender.

DRY IT

Just like when you remove meat from a marinade, you should always pat it dry with paper towels to remove any moisture. The brine or marinade has done its job at this point. Leaving the chicken wet before it hits the grill will steam the meat and prevent caramelization. That wonderful bit of char and tasty smoky caramelization of the meat is the very reason we grill, otherwise you just may as well bake it in the oven.

GRILL IT

Now here is where a lot of backyard grillers get into trouble. Unlike a steak or a burger, you can’t turn the heat up to 11 and give it a flip in a few minutes and pull off a perfectly seared mid rare piece of meat (over-simplification noted). First, we don’t want mid rare chicken. Secondly, the skin contains fat which will render out causing flare-ups and overcooking or burning the outside before it has begun to cook in the inside. The trick is to set your grill up with two zones — one side for searing the skin over direct medium to medium-high heat and the other side for finishing the chicken on a closed grill with indirect heat.

SAUCE IT

A general rule is not to sauce anything until a few minutes before it comes off the grill because the sugars in the sauce will cause it to burn. However, since we are finishing our chicken with indirect heat, we can sauce to our heart’s content. Two things we have to balance here: layers of sauce will insure that delicious sweet and smoky tangy-ness that we want in BBQ chicken BUT every time you open the grill cover, heat escapes and the longer it will take to cook the chicken. I recommend saucing the chicken every 15 minutes or so. Of course, you can use store-bought or try my Classic BBQ Sauce with some variations and develop your own signature sauce.

Oh! The most important tip… make more than you plan on serving because cold BBQ chicken eaten out of the fridge the next day is one of the best things ever!

~Jeff