# OK, I give up -- how do you barbecue chicken so that it cooked through? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653 "2009-08-07T16:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/21 "2009-08-07T20:32:32Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Cook’s Illustrated has a summer special magazine out on “American Classics”, one of the recipes being The Best Barbecued Chicken. > > It’s basically the method **silenus** details above… except the times are longer. Much longer. Step 1 is 30-35 minutes, with half-open lid. Step 2 is 20 minutes, flipping every 5. Step 3 is about 5 minutes. Although they sauce in 2 & 3 both. It all depends, of course, on how hot your fire is and how big your pieces of chicken are. We tend to go for smaller pieces around Casa Silenus, hence the shorter cooking times. YMMV, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/22 "2009-08-07T20:36:45Z")
We zap them in the microwave first just long enough to get them nicely warm on the inside. Boneless and cut in half also helps, of course. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/23 "2009-08-07T20:44:43Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Anybody have tips for boneless chicken breasts on the grill? > It’s seems to take some type of magic to cook them thoroughly, not dry them out, and not curn the outside to a crisp. You could try [brining](http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/ND01_ISBriningbasics.pdf) them beforehand. If they’re getting burned on the outside before they’re cooked through on the inside I think the advice to the OP to use lower/indirect heat, and to be sure not to not apply any sugary sauces until the very end of cooking applies - and maybe try bone-in/skin-on breasts as Bill Door suggests. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/24 "2009-08-07T21:07:08Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > We zap them in the microwave first just long enough to get them nicely warm on the inside. > > Boneless and cut in half also helps, of course. We do this with pork steaks, too. Put in a dish with a little moisture - water or marinade- cover with saran, microwave a few minutes (the saran keeps the moisture in) and finish on the grill with the BBQ sauce. You get a done inside and crispy edges. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/25 "2009-08-08T01:15:06Z")
Coals on both sides of the bird to control the chicken and then cook it standing up [beer-butt style](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/252492/beer_butt_chicken_on_the_grill_a_simple.html). You should be using a cooking thermometer. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/26 "2009-08-08T01:21:39Z")
> [@Jimson\_Jim](#): > > After a while you may like grilling so much you move up to [one of these.](http://images.netshops.com/mgen/digimarc.ms?img=master:CG010.jpg&h=368&w=368) Forget that - [_This_](http://www.biggreenegg.com/) is what you should be looking forward to. You’ll never have dry chicken again! ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/27 "2009-08-08T03:25:02Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Coals on both sides of the bird to control the chicken and then cook it standing up [beer-butt style](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/252492/beer_butt_chicken_on_the_grill_a_simple.html). You should be using a cooking thermometer. I recommend this as well. I use one of [these](http://bayouclassicdepot.com/0880_beer_can_chicken_cooker.htm), you can get something similar at Target etc. Rub the chicken with spices, stick it on this with the beer can 1/3 full (you can use water in the can, its still good). Cook on medium-low for a while (use a meat thermometer in the breast), and the result is moist, tasty chicken with very little hassle. ETA: you “dirt cheap grill” may not have sufficient height to close the lid on a stand-up chicken. Oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/28 "2009-08-08T07:05:47Z")
Instead of regular charcoal, I’ve recently been using lump charcoal. It’s basically charred pieces of hardwood instead of artificially bindered pellets of carbon. I’ve read it burns hotter and I think it tastes better. It at least seems more natural a fuel. They sell it along with the regular charcoal. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/29 "2009-08-08T07:23:38Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > We zap them in the microwave first just long enough to get them nicely warm on the inside. > > Boneless and cut in half also helps, of course. Yep- nuke then char. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/30 "2009-08-08T23:16:58Z")
I have had consistent perfect results with a beer can cooker and indirect heat. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/31 "2009-08-08T23:38:23Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Was barbecuing chicken thighs last night, and they ended up with super-charred skins and with a little bit of meat close to the bone still being pink (well, the smaller ones cooked through). Some facts to help frame the situation: > > - Bought a 3.6 lb bag of MatchLight charcoal. The directions said to use 3 lbs of charcoal (why not sell a 3 lb bag 😕). I went crazy and used the whole 3.6 lbs. > > - I only waited a few minutes after spreading the charcoals to throw the chicken thighs on the grill. Each averaged about 1/2 pound before cooking, and – FWIW – the pack was really bloody. My wife had poured some type of vinaigrette salad dressing + spices over the chicken a few mintues prior. They were all pretty fatty, which led to Crazy Flames o’ Hell once it melted and dripped down (I’m sure the oil from the dressing contributed, too). > > - I liked the effect of the open flame on the chicken at first … until I saw what it was doing to the skins. “Crispy” is great, but the skins were getting charred way too quick. > > - So after about 3 or 4 minutes, I moved the most-charred pieces to the far edges of the grill surface and closed the cover (vents left fully open). I cooked the chicken this way for about 20-25 minutes more, opening the cover every few minutes to adjust chicken placement, turn them over, move pieces around, and what have you. No piece stayed on the edge the entire 20-25 minutes … all the piececs spent some additional time over the center of the grill. The more charred pieces stayed over the center a lot less time than the less-charred pieces, though. > > - After cooking the chicken, the charcoals still had lots of glowing-orange areas. Needless to say, the grill was still lplenty hot – I could have thrown down some thick burgers right then and there and cooked them through with no problem. > > Is it really supposed to cook through in exactly the way oven-roasted or fried chicken does? Is a little pink (even if it’s close to red) near the bone acceptable? I ate it with no reservations last night since the pink was not pervasive throughout the cooked meat. > > In sum – how do you do barbecued chicken right? First off don’t use matchlight unless you like the taste of lighter fluid. Get a charcoal chimney. Secondly cook with the lid closed. This limits the oxygen and therefore prevents flareups. No oxygen, no flareups. > [@Sampiro](#): > > Try parboiling it. Boil it til it’s just about done, then grill it. OG no. Just cook it right, no need to boil it. > [@zombywoof](#): > > You could try [brining](http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/ND01_ISBriningbasics.pdf) them beforehand. If they’re getting burned on the outside before they’re cooked through on the inside I think the advice to the OP to use lower/indirect heat, and to be sure not to not apply any sugary sauces until the very end of cooking applies - and maybe try bone-in/skin-on breasts as Bill Door suggests. Winner! I did chicken thighs twice last week on a Weber kettle. I brined one set and did a marinade on the other set. In both cases they were perfectly cooked. I prefer brined as it is juicer, but to each his own. Here is how to brine chicken 1 cup Kosher salt Dissolve in 1 quart hot water Add 3 quarts of cold water to make 1 gallon. Add chicken and place in fridge for 2-12 hours ( I like the long end of the scale, YMMV) How to cook bone in Thighs, legs etc: Start your charcoal, not too much. When it is ready to cook, you want a bare single layer (a few gaps is fine) When ashed over, spread and place grill on unit. If you want to add more smoke flavor place some pre-soaked wood chips on the charcoal. Place chicken on the grill AND CLOSE THE LID) Turn the chicken every 10 minutes. Keep the lid closed except when turning the chicken. Chicken will be done in 30-40 minutes.\* If by chance you didn’t get enough heat into the chicken and it isn’t quite done, 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave will fix that. Bone in breasts will cook the same way, but might take a few minutes longer. \*time depends on what temp the bird was when you put it on, and the temp of your grill. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/32 "2009-08-09T00:13:57Z")
Start watching America’s Test Kitchen on PBS on a regular basis. Subscribe to their magazine Cook’s Illustrated as was mentioned earlier in this thread. You will learn the secrets of barbecued chicken. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653/33 "2009-08-09T21:48:39Z")
Just by coincidence, I grilled chicken last night. Start up the coals, then split them 50/50 to either side of the kettle. Seasoned\* chicken parts go in the center of the grate. Ignore for 45 minutes. Apply BBQ sauce, if desired. Leave it alone for another 15 minutes. Eat. - Something dry - salt & pepper, lemon&herb spice mix, etc. No oily dressings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-how-do-you-barbecue-chicken-so-that-it-cooked-through/505653.md?page=1)