01 Sep The Best Grilled Chicken- EVER!

The Best Grilled Chicken- EVER!

With Labor Day fast approaching, I thought I would share with you a delicious, juicy, and healthy way to grill chicken on the BBQ. With this cooking technique, taught to me by my good friend, Arkansas native Jimmy Bilger, you spend a lot less time “hands-on” cooking, and more time able to enjoy your friends and family. Say “goodbye” to charred and burnt BBQ and “hello” to fall-off-the-bone, finger-lickin’, perfectly cooked chicken. Hooray!

INGREDIENTS:
Adjust the quantity of chicken to the number of guests. I always make extra because I use any leftovers to make chicken soup. All cuts should be bone-in, skin on.

6 chicken legs
6 chicken thighs
6 chicken breasts (Cut them in half across the bone so they will be approximately the same size as the thighs.)
Dry Rub of your choice (My fave- Santa Maria Style seasoning from California Rancher)
High heat grill spray

PREPARATION:
1. Generously season with dry rub, rubbing into the chicken and under the skin when possible.
2. Spray high-heat grill spray on grill, or pour sunflower oil on paper towel and rub on grill grate. (Jimmy likes to mix the chicken parts in a large bowl with olive oil and toss with dry rub. I’m usually a huge fan of adding healthy fats to food. However, because we are cooking on high heat for the first 10-20 minutes, and the smoke-point of olive oil is low, I prefer to go oil-free for this cooking technique.)
3. Pre-heat grill to high.
4. Grill chicken on high heat, 5-10 minutes per side, turning often to prevent burning. Chicken should have nice grill marks, but not fully cooked.
5. Move the chicken to one side of the grill, placing the dark meat on the top rack over the breasts, so that the drippings from the legs and thighs baste the breasts as they continue to cook.
6. Turn off the heat from directly underneath the chicken, while maintaining the heat on the opposite side of the grill.
7. Close the grill lid and adjust heat on the far side of the grill so that an internal temperature of 325°-350° is maintained.
8. Cook for an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

This is great for entertaining because the longer you cook it (within reason), the softer is gets. If your guests aren’t ready to eat, just turn the heat down to 200°, make sure the dark meat is positioned so it’s basting the white meat, and keep the lid closed. It’s absolutely delicious!

Live Young, Darnell 🙂