The history of barbeque goes a long way. From the ancient period till this day, barbeque has been an excellent cuisine delight to mankind. It started millions of years ago when humans learned how to create a fire. From then, they got to know cooking the meat on fire makes it taste much better than eating raw meat. It also makes the food more healthy by removing the bacterias and burning out the excessive fat on the meat.
The classic barbeque that we know nowadays, dripping with sauces, originated in the Caribbean. The word barbeque came from a Caribbean word called ‘’Barbacoa.’’ Since then, it has been a favorite to all.
When you coat a chicken with spices, herbs, and other sauces and barbecue it on a grill, then it is called a barbeque chicken. In my career of being a chef, I have made barbeque chicken many times. I had to face many questions regarding barbequing chicken.
Here I will be answering 27 23 basic questions regarding BBQ chicken that will help you to kick start your journey to barbequing the best chicken:
How Long Do You Marinate The Chicken For BBQ?
You should marinate your chicken before barbecuing it for at least half an hour. For best results, keep it overnight.
Marinating helps to infuse the taste better into the chicken. When you marinate a chicken with spices and sauces, the chicken takes up the flavors of those ingredients and gives off a great taste. Even if you marinate the chicken for ten minutes, you will still get a better result in case of taste than not marinating at all. Not only in barbeque, before cooking any dish, marinating your chicken is really important. To make the spices go deeper and give off the best test, you can put a cut across the chicken pieces. Make sure to have an acidic ingredient in the marinating spices with other spices and herbs.
Is It Best To Cook Chicken Before BBQ?
It is better to stay safe by pre-cooking your chicken before barbecuing it. So I would suggest to cook it a bit before the BBQ.
Sometimes grilling doesn’t make the chicken wholly cooked. At least there remains room for doubt. So you can cook your chicken before the bbq. Some people fear that it might lessen the smoky, charry flavor but trust me, it will not. In fact, it is more healthy and safe.
Sometimes there are many bacterias outside the chicken meat, which does not go away even after washing them. Instead, it might spread them on your hands. Cooking kills away every germ in meat. So I prefer cooking my meat or, more specifically, chicken beforehand.
How Do You Keep Chicken Moist On The Grill?
You can keep the chicken moist and juicy by marinating the chicken in a brine solution for half an hour before putting it on the barbecue.
Brine solution means a mixture of water and salt, where the consistency of salt is high. It means that in a brine solution, the water contains a very high amount of salt. Here, you can mix one-fourth cup of salt in four cups of water. I would suggest that you use kosher salt here for better results. Simply mix the salt into the water and make a solution.
After that, put your chicken pieces into the solution for half an hour. Do not stress yourself, thinking this might make your dish too salty. It will not make the dish salty at all. But, keep in mind that you cannot keep it for more than half an hour, or else it might turn salty.
Also, keep in mind to use less salt while using salt further in the dish.
What Temperature Do You BBQ Chicken At?
It entirely depends on how you want to make your chicken taste. But the temperature should be between 225 Fahrenheit to 400 or 450 Fahrenheit.
The more the heat, the more the crispiness of the chicken. It will give off a charry flavor. To glaze the chicken pieces, you should put the sauces at the end, or else the sauces will dry out due to the heat.
You will not get your desired amount of glaze. If you cook it at low temperature slowly, then the connective tissues on a lump of meat get collagen; thus, it brings moisture, and the meat remains soft and juicy.
What Goes Good With BBQ Chicken?
It is all up to one’s preference what and how they want to eat a dish. With a bbq chicken, you can always choose various items from salads to even rice or loaves of bread. It all depends on how much you want to eat.
Here I will be talking about the top 5 dishes that I prefer personally-
- Bread or Butter Nun:
I always prefer loaves of bread with bbq chicken. To be more specific, butter nun is my favorite item with BBQ chicken.
- Baked Beans:
It is a classic dish that goes well with chicken bbq. The sweet flavor of the beans with the spicy chicken bbq gives off one of the tastiest flavors.
- Coleslaw:
Coleslaw is something I can eat with any dish even; I can eat coleslaw itself. This is one of my favorite side dishes. The mayonnaise based sweet one or the tangy vinegar based one both are irresistibly good to eat with bbq chicken. It balances with the spicy, smoky flavor of the barbecued chicken.
- Potato wedges:
This is another of my favorite side dishes. These spicy deep fried wedges are great with BBQ chicken. You can always add some mayonnaise with it to balance out the sweetness and spice.
- Rice:
Being a South Asian, I can assure you that you can never go wrong with rice. Rice goes really well with barbecued chicken. If you are planning to eat lunch or dinner in a full feast mode, then rice is the perfect companion to your bbq chicken.
How Do You Make BBQ Chicken Taste Better?
There are many ways to make the BBQ chicken taste better. I will be mentioning the methods I use while cooking, i.e., marinating, seasoning, brining, keeping the skin, simple salt and pepper rub with olive oil.
- Marinating:
As mentioned before, marinating helps the bbq chicken to taste a lot better. You can marinate the chicken in chicken broth to make it healthy, but I always prefer the oils and spices.
- Seasoning:
One of the crucial parts of cooking a barbeque chicken is the seasoning—salt, peppers, chilies, fresh herbs, garlic, etc. Using them while barbecuing makes the chicken taste a lot better.
- Brining:
We also mentioned this earlier. By brining the chicken half an hour before cooking the bbq chicken, you can keep the juiciness of the chicken. It removes the rubner like hardness from the meat.
- Keeping the skin:
Keeping the skin while barbecuing the chicken gives off a great taste. It makes the outer part crispy and gives off a tremendous charry flavor to the chicken. It also keeps the juiciness of the meat intact.
- Rubbing salt and pepper with olive oil:
Suppose you do not want to use fancy spices or they are, for some reason, unavailable at the moment. In that case, you can always rub some salt and pepper with olive oil over the chicken and still get a super tasty barbeque chicken.
What Drinks Do You Serve With BBQ?
Drinks with BBQ go a long way. You cannot have a BBQ meal without a good drink. Here is the list of drinks that I prefer or recommend with bbq chicken that can be made easily at home-
- Carbonated drinks:
Carbonated drinks such as colas are great to have with barbeque chicken. They help in digestion as well.
- Iced tea:
Those on the healthier side can stick to easy iced teas.
- Lemonade:
Chilled lemonade is my favorite. A glass of chilled lemonade goes well with everything.
- Fruit juices:
You can make easy fruit juices with a juicer at your home and have them with your bbq chicken.
How Do You BBQ Chicken Without Burning It?
The most important thing to check is to keep the heat measurements in mind. Then comes some other factors such as removing fats from the chicken, the thickness of the meat etc.
The most crucial part is to check the temperature. Sometimes people tend to turn the heat up too much, making the chicken charry on the outside but undone in the middle. Also, the chicken needs to be at room temperature before cooking, or else the fibers of the chicken meat will dry out, and the barbeque will lose its juiciness.
Uneven level of thickness of the chicken meat can also cause the meat to burn on one side and undone on the other side, especially in the center part of the meat. We need to press them down with our hands or kitchen tools to make sure the heat is evenly spread throughout the meat.
Can I grill raw chicken?
The direct answer to this question would be yes. Yes, you can grill the raw chicken without pre-cooking it. Though it is not one of the healthiest ways. But it can definitely get the job done.
You can always take the chicken out of the fridge and put it on the grill. This is not the method that I follow myself or would suggest anyone to do so. But it is a time consuming process. You need to let the meat defrost first. Or else the meat will dry out and the bbq will not be juicy.
What meat or what piece of the chicken goes on BBQ first?
Not every piece of chicken takes the same time to be cooked. Different pieces take different amounts of time. This is why it is important to put different pieces at different times. Or else, some pieces will be over burnt and charry and others will be undone or still raw on the inside. That is you need to know which pieces take less time to cook so that you put that first and get it done with or put it later after putting the one that takes the most time.
The breast piece takes about 5 minutes to 6 minutes to cook and it needs direct heat. You need to apply heat for 5 minutes to 6 minutes ( sometimes a bit more or less depending on the size of the chicken piece ) on both sides.
If it is a leg piece then you need to directly apply heat for nearly about half an hour. It can vary according to the size of the chicken.
The whole chicken takes about the same amount of time as the leg piece which was about half an hour. It needs indirect heat.
So according to the time, you can either put the ones that take the most less time in the end if you are planning to cook them all together or you can put the breast piece at first and get it done with.
How Long Does It Take To BBQ Chicken?
Different sizes of chicken pieces or chickens take different times to cook. But usually a whole chicken takes about half an hour, sometimes even two hours.
The cooking time usually depends on your preference. If you want a fully charry meat then you have to keep it for a longer time on direct heat. But you have to keep in mind that sometimes the central parts remain uncooked so the heat should be gradually risen instead of directly putting the chicken on fire.
If you are not cooking a whole chicken and planning to cook a certain piece like breast piece or leg piece, then you need to cook for a certain amount of time as mentioned in the previous point which is about 5 minutes to 6 minutes.
We all need to have patience during the process. It takes a lot of time and it is a slow process.
How Do You Grill Chicken On A Gas Grill?
Some steps that need to be followed to grill chicken on a gas grill. Though it is not a contemporary way to cook on a gas grill, you can do it anyway. Here are some tips you need to keep in mind while using a gas grill to barbeque a chicken-
- Moderate your flame heat easily by using the gas ignition key or switch.
- Avoid closing the lids unlike the charcoal ones.
- To avoid dryness of the meat keep at least one of the burners at a low temperature.
- Keep turning the chickens so that the heat is distributed evenly and the meat is also cooked properly.
These are some basic tips that I follow if I ever use a gas grill. The smokey flavor from cooking in such a grill is lesser than the traditional ones but in our modern days we are dependent on modern gadgets so we gotta get familiar with them and know their ways to use them.
Can You Freeze BBQ Chicken?
The straight and simple answer to this question would be an affirmative one. Yes, you can freeze your BBQ chicken.
You can eat your leftover BBQ chicken by keeping it in the refrigerator for a minimum of four days to five days. For that, you need to allow the chicken to cool down at room temperature first. If you do not plan to eat them within this period of time then you will need to put them in the freezer instead of a refrigerator.
For that you will need a zip lock bag and a vacuum sealer or a vacuum-sealed bag. You can keep your favorite barbecued chicken leftover at least for 3 months, sometimes even for four months. If you are planning to put the chicken in the fridge before cooking as sometimes we change our mind and do not feel like cooking, then you will need a zip lock freezer bag and keep it in the freezer.
You can not only put the raw chicken meat this way but you can also season the chicken meat with spices and sauces of your desire and store them for about three to four months.
Can You Eat BBQ Chicken During Pregnancy?
The straight and forward answer is yes. Yes, you can eat barbeque chicken or any barbecued food during pregnancy.
There are many germs and bacterias both outside and inside of food items which we cannot see with bare eyes. That is why it is important to cook them adequately. Or else it can cause many diseases.
During pregnancy a woman tends to get sick easily. If the meat is not thoroughly or properly cooked then it is easy to get sick from bacterias like E. coli and it can cause harmful reaction to the baby leading the pregnant mother to feel nauseated, vomiting, dizziness and many other complicated issues. So it is best to eat only home made food during pregnancy.
Can You Reheat BBQ Chicken?
You can reheat your BBQ chicken but only for once.
You can keep the leftovers of your favorite dish of barbecued chicken for as long as 3 months in the freezer then reheat it to eat it again. But there is a small catch. You cannot reheat the second batch of leftover chickens. To reheat your chicken you need to heat it thoroughly with a very high temperature. You can use a foil paper to reheat your leftover BBQ pieces.
Can You Bake BBQ Chicken?
Yes, you can bake BBQ chicken. Here is a small and simple way of baking BBQ chicken described below-
- The first step is common in every case. You just need to prepare your chicken. To keep it juicy make sure to brine it properly as described above. You can add orange juice instead of water to create the brine.
- Create the marinate mixture. You can add olive oil or avoid it if you want to stay on the healthy side.
- After marinating the chicken, rub all your spices on the chicken and put it on the oven to bake it. Leave the temperature around 325 Fahrenheit.
- After you are done baking your chicken in the oven, rub your preferred sauce or sauces over the chicken.
After following the above mentioned steps you will get your desired baked BBQ chicken.
Can You Eat BBQ Chicken On Keto?
Many people often get confused if they can eat barbecue chicken during their keto diet. The answer is yes. They can eat barbeque chicken.
Barbeque chicken can be a great delicacy for the people on keto diet. In keto diet, people tend to avoid all kinds of carbs, which means sugar intake is a big no. Sometimes the sauces used to make the BBQ hide a lot of sugar inside them. That is why it is necessary to use keto-friendly sauces to make the BBQ chicken.
I would suggest the people on keto diet not to eat store bought barbeque chickens. It would be wise for them to only eat homemade BBQ chicken where they can check the ingredients and change them according to their needs and preferences.
Can You Make BBQ Chicken On A Tin Can?
In our previous article, we talked about tin can BBQ. From the previous article we learned that we can make chicken bbq on a tin can.
You can take small pieces of chicken at a time, for example, leg piece, breast piece or thigh and mix them with spices and herbs. Then place them on the grill and barbecue them. After some time you will get your desired smoky chicken. The reason behind taking the pieces small is a tin can not the same size of a charcoal grill. It is small in size. You can not expect to cook a whole chicken on a tin can BBQ. That is why it is necessary to keep the chicken size small or more specifically the pieces small.
Can You Make BBQ Chicken On a Brick Made Grill?
A brick made grill is kind of a grill where you make a grill with bricks. It is very much possible to cook chicken BBQ in brick made grills.
Brick made grills are those which are made using bricks. You need to put bricks in such a shape that it forms a shape like a grill. Then put a net under it. This will be the base to put the charcoal which will help to cook the chickens. There is no specific type of bricks that is needed to make such kind of a grill.
The charcoals used in this grill are the same as any other grill. So the smoky flavor remains the same. In this process, you need hand fans to keep the flames on. It is a manual process and takes a lot of time.
Can Dogs Eat BBQ Chicken?
It is not advised to give BBQ chicken to dogs or even cats. Pet dogs are especially vulnerable. They can’t eat just anything. You need to be extra careful about them in case of feeding anything. There are many reasons-
- Dogs are prohibited from taking sugar. It causes many diseases. Sometimes sugar can cause the death of a dog. Sauces in a BBQ chicken contain high levels of sugar. Eating barbecued chicken means consumption of high level sugar which might be poisonous or deadly for a dog.
- Consumption of too much fat is harmful for dogs. A barbecued chicken contains high level fats and oils. It can cause their organ failure. That is why barbecued chicken or any other barbecued meat is prohibited for dogs. It can cause vomiting, diarrhea and many other diseases which can lead to death.
- Vinegar is one of the ingredients used in BBQ. vinegar is really harmful for dogs. It can upset their stomach.
- Spices used in the BBQ chicken can be really hot. They can be too hot for your dogs to handle. That is why it is advised not to feed them BBQ chicken or any kind BBQ meat.
But there can be few exceptions, if you cook the chicken in a healthy way such as cook with suger free sauces and less spicy; to be more specific if you cook them with just a classic salt and pepper rub then dogs can eat it.
Can you make BBQ chicken in an air fryer?
Yes, you can make barbeque chicken with an air fryer. In fact it is more healthy.
There are many ways to make BBQ chicken. From the classic charcoal grill, gas grill to air fryers; we chefs have seen many ways of cooking it. People are different so are their preferences. Some prefer the age old classic way, some prefer the DIY method at home and some prefer to take it to a healthy level. In the modern age, people are suffering from various kinds of diseases.
That is why, day by day they are becoming health conscious. They are trying to make every food healthy and every consumption healthy. For such reasons, methods of cooking have been changed and new devices are being launched to cook food. Such an invention is the air fryer.
You can now cook any food without oil to make it healthy. In the air fryer, it takes about 20 minutes to cook. Frist, you put the skin side then take it out and change the sides. That is how you get your desired air fried BBQ chicken.
When is it best to apply sauce on BBQ chicken?
The best time to apply sauce on a BBQ chicken is at the end of the BBQ.
To make a BBQ chicken we first marinate it and then start to cook it afterwards. The main goal is to keep the BBQ chicken as juicy as possible. No one likes to taste rubber-like hard food. You will not find a single one that does not prefer a juice barbecued chicken.
But the process is not as easy as it sounds. Many factors work behind it. You need to keep in mind many things while cooking. Even in the pre cooking and post cooking stage. Besides, the application of the sauce is an important step to make the barbecued chicken juicier and avoid any kind of dryness among many other steps. You need to put sauces with a brush on top of the chicken at the very end of the whole barbecuing process, or else the heat will soak the sauce and make it dry.
How Do You Cook Chicken On A BBQ?
There are many ways to cook chicken at a BBQ. Here I will be briefly sharing an easy way for cooking chicken on a BBQ-
- Firstly you need to prepare all your ingredients that are needed for the barbeque, such as cleaning the chicken, cutting it properly, getting the spices and sauces ready.
- Mix all the spices and herbs and marinate the chicken for as much as possible.
- Prepare the grill before cooking.
- Make sure to dry the chicken before you put them on the grill. Or else it will dry out after being cooked. You can use a kitchen towel or tissue for that.
- When the grill is heated enough, put the chicken pieces on it. Cook it for a few minutes or hours according to your preference. Make sure the temperature is not too high. Keep flipping the chicken now and then to get it done evenly.
- Check if it is done cooking by a fork and if it is done then take it out of the grill and serve it with your favorite side dish and favorite drink.
There are many more ways to be followed if anyone wants to make a BBQ chicken.
Final Verdict:
There are many questions regarding barbecuing a chicken. Some need to be described elaborately and some need precise and brief answers. Here I tried to explain every question as precisely as possible.
