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| Blogs > rm_rustypmcg > Now We're Cooking |
Charcoal Grilled Chicken
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Charcoal Grilled Chicken There are two secrets to tasty chicken on the grill. The obvious one is low, slow, even heat. The second isn't as obvious: It's brining the chicken ahead of time. Twenty-four hours before grilling time, make a batch of salty brine big enough to totally cover your chicken pieces. Use one cup of salt for each gallon of water. You can add other flavors to your brine. Sugar is a good one, but it's hard to dissolve sugar in cold water, so you'll have to take the time to heat the water, and then allow it to cool, too. Citrus juices work, too. But be careful -- they can very easily overpower the natural flavor of the chicken. I prefer to save the citrus for an optional<b> glaze. </font></b>I usually use garlic powder, or substitute garlic salt for up to half the regular salt. No, that's not very creative, but sometimes simple is better. Use cut-up chicken pieces, with the skin on, of course. Cover the pieces completely, and put it all in the fridge overnight. If you're short of fridge space, use a cooler, but make sure you have enough ice to keep it under 45-degrees (F) until cooking time. What happens is the juices in the chicken tissue and the salted brine outside the chicken slowly reach equilibrium, and in the process, any added flavors migrate into the chicken tissue as well. And when it comes time to cook the meat, the salt that has migrated into the tissue will keep juices in the chicken. To properly grill the chicken, you're going to need a grill that has enough space so the chicken does not have to sit directly above the hot coals. If you want, you can use that space directly above the coals to cook some steaks for people who don't like chicken. Get some hickory chips, and soak them in plain water for about an hour before cooking time. Drain them, and place them on top of the hot coals to create smoke. Close the lid on the grill, and let the inside of the grill heat-up like an oven. Make sure you leave both the bottom vent and the top vent open, otherwise you'll smother the fire. Put an aluminum foil pan under where the chicken will sit to catch any grease. Set the chicken on the grate skin up, with the thickest parts of the chicken pointing towards the side of the grill where the fire is. If there isn't enough smoke, add some more chips on top of the hot coals before closing the lid. Close the top vent so it's only 25% open, and close the bottom vent to 50% open. Do NOT open the lid for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, open the lid, and put a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the biggest piece without touching bone. If the temperature is under 120-degrees, close the lid, and don't come back for another 15 minutes. Once the internal temperature of the chicken reaches about 140-degrees, stoke the hot coals to bring the heat up, and then flip the chicken, skin side down, to the grate on top of the hot coals to make the skin crisp. After taking the chicken off the grill, let it sit in a single layer for five minutes before serving. Optionally, instead of crisping the skin, at that point you can slather-on barbecue sauce, or a<b> glaze. </font></b>Now you can enjoy the juiciest chicken off the grill that you've ever had! |
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That really sounds delicious... only I worry about so much salt... does the salinity of the water stay in the meat? and btw .... I love a man that cooks and I have always believed that the cook should never wash the dishes... too bad you live in the NW... take care....m.
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