Great Chicken on the Grill

For a long time I have worked on the art of preparing great barbecue/grilled chicken, so I'm here today on AC to share with you the knowledge I have gained. As you may realize, barbecuing or grilling chicken can be as simple as throwing the meat on the grill, cooking it, then covering with sauce, or you can season it to give it some tang and taste. I'm for the latter, and I'll share with you now the recipe or process I have developed. Some ingredients are optional and you may include them or discover others that you like, however, the most important ingredients that I use are cayenne pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Additional favorites that I will include when available are things like fresh basil, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, lime or lemon pepper and other seasonings.

It's good to get the chicken marinating a while before throwing it on the grill. Find a mixing bowl big enough to hold all your chicken. Whether drums, thighs or breasts is your choice. First, you can pour your liquid ingredients like the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and so forth across the chicken. Try and distribute it evenly, as with the rest of the ingredients. Two lemons will probably suffice. With the olive oil and vinegar, just use enough so that eventually all the chicken will be coated and there will still be some residing at the base of the bowl. Eventually, this excess liquid will mix with the seasoning and can be poured on the chicken later on in the grilling.

If you have some vinaigrette salad dressing, this can work great as well in place of the oil and vinegar. Newman's Own works perfectly.

I've also tried adding a dash of Worcester sauce, though its more suitable for steaks than chicken.

Now for the seasonings. Fresh Basil can be great if its available. Chop it up and sprinkle in the bowl with the chicken. Garlic can add a lot of flavor to the meat. I usually dice it up as fine as I can on a cutting board and throw it in. Same for rosemary. All these ingredients help the chicken, but are not necessarily essential. One ingredient that I'm a big fan of, however, is the cayenne pepper. Cayenne is a hot spice, but I like it. It mixes well with the grilled taste. Along with the tang of the lemon/lime juice, and oil/vinegar, it makes the great marinade that I've developed. Dash the cayenne across the chicken. Avoid using too much at first, you can add more after mixing things up, or once you get the hang of this recipe.

At this point, you'll be free to start mixing things up and getting the chicken coated, or you can add any other ingredients that you're interested in. Sometimes, dried garlic, onion powder, garlic powder and other spices can be added in addition to or in lieu of some of the other ingredients. Like most things, there's no completely "right" way to do it.

It's good to let the chicken marinate at least 30 minutes before grilling. Get the grill heated up. Often, the best strategy for grilling is to sear the meat and then slow cook it. With chicken, you really don't have to be a perfectionist. I'll just set the grill on high, maybe throw the chicken on there, let them get some grill lines on them, move them around, and then turn things on low, close the lid, and let them cook for a while. I would try to offer better grilling advice, though our grill is kind of mediocre, and you just have to get used to it. Suffice to say, its good to cook the chicken for a while on low until they're done. Over cooking dries them out, so that's something to avoid.

Towards the end, pour some of the excess marinade across the chicken while on the grill, and give it just a little more time to cook.

When all is done, take them off the grill and bring them back inside. They're pretty much good to go at this point with or without barbecue sauce. For barbecue chicken, toss them in a bowl with the sauce while they're still hot from the grill and let them cool. The sauce will travel inside the chicken as they cool.

And there's how to make great barbecue/grilled chicken. You can make the process as simple as you want to, though, when I have the time, I'll try and make it as good as I can. The essence, though, of this recipe is the mix of the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and cayenne. It gives it a real zing. Grill slow and enjoy!