Barbecue Chicken Recipes For the Grill and Oven

From My Barbecue Chicken Recipes

I once read this somewhere: "What Westerners call smoking, Southerners call BBQ and what Westerners call BBQ, Southerners call grilling. Northerners don't make these distinctions because they just can't cook."

That is hilarious!! (Sorry, Northerners.)

I use this bit of humor to make a point that I hope will make this page more user-friendly. When I use the term "barbecue chicken recipes", I mean chicken with BBQ sauce on it. For some people, as noted above, the word "barbecue" or "BBQ" can mean just grilled meat. If you're looking for grilled chicken recipes (with or without rubs, glazes, and sauces) please see my grilled chicken recipes page.

Now that we've cleared that up, let's get on with the barbecue chicken recipes, shall we?

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One of the great things about poultry is that it's cheap and plentiful. So there are a variety of barbecue chicken recipes that you can try out and customize to your personal taste. Just remember...

The USDA says raw poultry should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165F. So you're going to need a good instant-read food thermometer. Invest in one and it will make preparing your chicken much easier and safer.

Preparing Your Chicken

When preparing chicken for barbecuing, I like to give it a good scrubbing with lemon juice. Lemon does wonders in getting the chicken clean and removing that slimy film.

Next, you have the option of seasoning your chicken with a rub, a marinade, or brining it. Rubs and marinades add flavor. Brining adds moisture (and flavor too, depending on the ingredients in your brine).

I like to brine my chicken before barbecuing. After brining, I rub it with a salt-free or very low-sodium rub, since the brining process has already provided enough saltiness. Then I brush on the BBQ sauce during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.

Here's the barbecue chicken recipe I use to brine and barbecue 1 whole fryer, cut into 8-10 pieces:

What you'll need:

• 1 whole fryer cut into 8-10 pieces
• Brining solution:
  - 2 quarts cold water (i.e., 8 cups)
  - 1/4 cup kosher salt (or 3 tablespoons table salt)
  - 1/4 cup brown sugar
  - 1 small onion, sliced
  - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  - 2 bay leaves (optional)
  
• Low sodium BBQ rub (see my BBQ Rub Recipes for my low sodium rub)
• BBQ sauce
• Cherry or Apple wood - 2 small chunks or a handful of chips soaked in water
• A large container to hold the chicken while brining

BBQ Sauce (I created this just for my BBQ'd chicken):

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon of your favorite barbecue rub
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• a pinch of salt

Brining Instructions (Updated)

1. To create your brine for this and most other barbecue chicken recipes, mix the salt and sugar in a cup of hot water and stir to dissolve.

2. Place your chicken in a non-reactive container like a glass baking dish or plastic bowl. I simply use a resealable plastic storage bag.

3. Put all the dry ingredients together with the chicken. Add the 7 cups of cold water to the chicken and then add the remaining cup of water containing the salt/sugar.

Make sure all pieces are fully submerged in the brine and refrigerate.

The rule of thumb for brining is: 1 hour per pound of meat/poultry. For brining chicken pieces you typically start with a 1 hour brine as well. I find that brining pieces for 1-1/2 hours works for me.

More Updates:

While the chicken is brining in the refrigerator, soak your wood chips/chunks. (You can soak your wood chips/chunks if you like but it's not necessary. The wood absorbs very little water so I personally have stopped doing it. Plus, the additional moisture on your coals might cause the temperature to temporarily dip, even if only a slightly).

When your chicken is done brining, remove it from the brine, rinse and rub with your BBQ rub. Now let the chicken come to room temperature (about 30 minutes). Putting ice-cold chicken on the grill will result in the exterior getting cooked before the inside is done.

While you wait, start your charcoal and set-up your grill for medium high, indirect heat (400F). Depending on the size of your grill, use the 2-heat zone or 3-heat zone method.

Once the coals are ready, it's time to barbecue. Ladies and gentlemen: Start your chickens!!

Cooking Your Chicken (Updated)

1. Sear your chicken on the grill directly above the coals for 3 minutes per side.

2. Move your chicken away from over the coals and place the pieces over the indirect heat side of your grill, skin-side up. Again, this indirect heat portion of your grill should be about 400F as the temperature is going to slowly decline as you cook.

3. Now add your wood chunks/chips to the coals and close the lid. Cook for 10 minutes.

4. After 10 minutes, rearrange the chicken by moving the pieces that were on the hotter side of the grill to the cooler side. And the pieces that were on the cooler side of the grill - move them so that they're now on the hotter side. Turn the pieces over, if necessary. Cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Finally, start basting the chicken with your BBQ sauce for another 10 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F. I usually check the breasts and thighs. You can remove the chicken from the grill when the meat reaches 160F, as its internal temperature will continue to rise for a few minutes after cooking.

After taking the chicken off the grill, tent it loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for about 8 minutes. That's it!

You'll find even more barbecue chicken recipes below!

Recipes:

1. BBQ Chicken Wings
2. Baked BBQ chicken

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