Which parts of the Chicken are best to grill?
what are the best and easiest parts of chicken to grill...
the thighs always seem to create toooo much smoke and flame
i found this grilling recipe http://www.recipecarousel.com/blog
has anyone tried it or perhaps a better option
thanks in advance
lou
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19 Comments:
I like to grill a whole chicken, butterflied and marinated.
huneybumper at 8:11AM on 07/01/09
I'm a fan of beer can chicken because it always comes out moist and flavorful. I usually brine it before grilling which contributes to the moistness. If you want to do boneless breasts, I would brine or marinate them to help keep them moist and tender. If you're having trouble with flare ups (I don't mind a bit of smoke though), try cooking those thighs over indirect heat and not directly over the coals. Gas grill--turn off one burner and cook there instead of over a lit burner--should help hopefully.
dhorst at 8:28AM on 07/01/09
@dhorst - you're the grill momma, aren't you! good tip with the gas grill.... my oh always does the grilling but occasionally i'll pull out the charcoal grill and do my chicken or lambburgers over the indirect heat....
i like doing whole chickens -- i guess is the answer....
pooch at 9:03AM on 07/01/09
Bone in thighs and legs. Bone in is far better for your BBQ value and is moister meat. I marinate most anything I grill even veggies.
JerzeeTomato at 9:19AM on 07/01/09
I prefer dark meat so I do leg/thigh sections. For ultimate moisture retention, keep the 2 pieces together but if you want a "finished" look on both parts, cut them at the joint.
If you're grilling breasts on the bone, be very careful not to overcook them or they turn to sawdust.
Jerz - I don't ever marinate but I do a "baste" for veg. Italian baste of Olive oil, smashed garlic, herbs, S&P and a light vinegar like rice wine or champagne. I grill most veg dry until they are partially cooked, then baste. This requires additional cooking on either side but they require no pre-cooking. For my sweet potatoes, I do a baste of maple syrup, corn oil, S&P.
therealchiffonade at 9:43AM on 07/01/09
I agree with everyone regarding the thigh/legs. Breast meet is just so hard to keep moist. I am getting all kinds of ideas, though. I brine pork chops and turkeys, but it never occurred to me to brine chicken. I'm going to do that this weekend since my MIL likes breast meat. And butterflying the whole chicken! I've had a butterflied lamb on the grill. Do you cut down the breast or cut through the back?
janaatwg at 10:34AM on 07/01/09
Definitely NOT boneless, skinless breasts -- unless you enjoy eating slabs of wood (though I've been assured in previous posts that if you brine first, it definitely helps). I'm a fan of the bone-in legs and thighs, myself...I marinate them for a long time in soy sauce, , sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, honey, garlic & ginger and then cook them over indirect heat (definitely keep one side of the grill flame-free) and you'll have moist, succulent meat.
juliebugsmama at 10:59AM on 07/01/09
I really only do whole chickens beercan-style, but that's mostly because it's pretty easy and I usually have no problem finding really cheap whole chickens. Skin-on bone-in is best for grilling, but if you do have to do boneless/skinless breasts for some reason (need to use it up, someone in your home requests/demands it), I would try this method for making sure you don't end up with slabs of wood. I haven't tried it yet, but pretty much anything I make from that blog is pretty good, so I have faith that she's worked out a pretty good system for making skinless/boneless breasts taste pretty good.
joyyy at 11:16AM on 07/01/09
Find a different website to get recipes from? Because when you keep linking to that very same website, it makes me suspicious of your motives.
As for the chicken, if you want a meal, a whole chicken is best. If you wants snacks, I love dumping a whole bunch of wings on the grill.
If you're seeing too much smoke and flame, either you've got problems with your method, or you're a little too squeamish about a little smoke and flame. It's not like cooking in your kitchen. On the grill, even if you're doing indirect cooking, there may be some smoke or flame from things spattering onto the coals.
dbcurrie at 12:57PM on 07/01/09
Whole chicken. PS @pooch-I finally posted that savory bread pudding receipe link. Hope you saw it.
KB in Toledo at 1:37PM on 07/01/09
@KB - thank you so much for following up..... i'll check back to that post....
have a good weekend!
pooch at 2:52PM on 07/01/09
wing it!
Poultrygeist at 3:13PM on 07/01/09
Whole chickens, spatch-cocked or beer-butt style.
Or thighs.
CJ McD at 4:12PM on 07/01/09
@dbcurrie - me? That's not my website, I just find it has useful answers to questions I see asked. What, like you don't have any favorite food blogs?
joyyy at 4:59PM on 07/01/09
@joyyy, not you, the OP. For a while, he/she was just posting random stuff with links to that same site, and a bunch got removed. Now, there's more of a question around it, but it's always the same site, whether he's posting a question or answer. And the link is just to the home page, which means that if you go there, you'd have to spend some time hunting around to find the alleged grilling recipe he's asking about. It's not quite spam in this case because there is a question, but based on all the other posts that got removed, there's some reason he links to that site so often.
Honestly, I'm fine when someone links to articles or recipes or just interesting sites in general. And I know everyone has favorites. If it wasn't for people sharing their links, I wouldn't know about most of the sites I go to, but I get suspicious when the post seems like nothing but a wrapper around a mention of the site.
dbcurrie at 5:23PM on 07/01/09
oooh haha. That makes much more sense. I hadn't recognized it in the original post, but I do link to that blog more than the others I read so I thought that was to me. Don't mind me. I'm slow :P
joyyy at 5:29PM on 07/01/09
For me beer, very tender. But if you ask what is my favorite part of grilled chicken to eat it would have to be the skin.
pjracz10 at 6:28PM on 07/01/09
Cut them in half and grill them...but beer can is good to.
Ribster at 8:31PM on 07/01/09
boneless, skinless thighs--minimal flare ups, cooks evenly and quickly, but still has great flavor and moisness. Great for marinating.
wings--i love wings from the grill--great skin to meat to bone ratio for maximum flavor. The only drawback is that you need so many wings to fill you up. sigh. oh well, that's what costco is for!
if you are worried about the flare ups, consider how much oil you use in the marinade--doesn't matter what cuts you use if there is alot of fat dripping onto your grill you will get flare ups.
wookie at 2:48PM on 07/02/09