In culinary school I learned how to barbecue chicken "the right way." It involved closely monitoring a live fire on a charcoal grill, keeping the flame low and painstakingly checking the temperature. If it was too hot, the skin would burn. And if I kept it on too long, the chicken would be dry and stringy-kind of like eating dental floss. (Find our favorite, easy BBQ chicken recipes here.)
Of course if the results were perfect, it was a pleasure to eat. But you don't have to go through all that hoopla to enjoy delicious chicken. (Get our 8 simple tips for fool-proof roasting on the grill here.)
Here are a few secrets to great barbecued chicken:
- My favorite way to get juicy barbecued chicken is to put beer in the cavity during cooking, and you can do that a few ways. You can buy a fancy contraption that will hold a can of beer inside the bird while it cooks upright or you can balance the bird on the beer can yourself. Or you can do as we do in our Beer-Barbecued Chicken recipe (see the recipe below) and just pour beer into the cavity. If you don't want to use beer, water or chicken broth will work too.
- If you're not barbecuing a whole bird, experiment with dark meat. It's more tender than chicken breast and more forgiving if you overcook it.
- Sometimes the secret to good barbecue is in the sauce. Check out these recipes to find a good barbecue sauce to serve with your chicken and you'll be set.
- For more must-have grilling know-how, check out EatingWell's 13 Essential Grilling Tips to learn whether you should use gas or charcoal and why you shouldn't skip marinating your meat.
Here's a delicious barbecue chicken recipe to get you started. (Want something to eat with it? Check out our delicious recipes for sides and desserts including, Country Potato Salad.)
Beer-Barbecued Chicken
Active time: 15 minutes | Total: 1 3/4 hours | Equipment: Kitchen string, metal or foil drip pan
Here's our spin on the roast-a-chicken-on-top-of-a-can-of-beer technique that's popular with barbecue aficionados. To simplify things, we just pour a little beer inside the chicken as it cooks. The beer keeps the meat juicy and a smoky-flavored spice rub both under and over the skin gives it extra flavor. Barbecuing poultry with the skin on helps prevent the meat from drying out. To keep calories and fat in check, remove the skin before serving.
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (see Shopping Tip)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile (see Shopping Tip)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 4-pound chicken
1 12-ounce bottle beer, preferably pale ale or American lager, divided
1. Preheat a gas grill (with all burners lit) to 400°F or build a fire in a charcoal grill and let it burn down to medium heat (about 400°F).
2. Combine paprika, oregano, salt, brown sugar, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle chile and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Remove giblets from chicken (if included) and trim any excess skin. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat. Rub the spice mixture under the skin onto the breast meat and leg meat, a little on the skin and inside the cavity. Tuck wings under the body and tie the legs together with kitchen string.
4. If using a gas grill, turn off one burner (leaving 1 to 2 burners lit, depending on your grill). If using a charcoal grill, move the coals to one side. Wearing an oven mitt, carefully place a drip pan under the grill rack on the unheated side. Place the chicken breast-side down on the rack over the pan. Pour half the beer into the cavity (it's OK if some drips out into the drip pan).
5. Close the lid and roast undisturbed for 45 minutes.
6. Turn the chicken breast-side up. Pour the remaining beer into the cavity. Cover and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone registers 165°F, 30 to 45 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes before removing the string and carving.
Makes 6 servings.
Per serving (without skin): 173 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 76 mg cholesterol; 2 g carbohydrate; 25 g protein; 1 g fiber; 656 mg sodium; 250 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Iron (15% daily value).
0 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 3 1/2 lean meat
Shopping tip: Smoked paprika and ground chipotle chile can be found in the spice section of well-stocked supermarkets or online at penzeys.com.
By Hilary Meyer
EatingWell assistant editor Hilary Meyer spends much of her time in the EatingWell Test Kitchen, testing and developing healthy recipes. She is a graduate of New England Culinary Institute.
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