Let's hear those BBQ chicken recipes

[DCS]

I can do a decent brisket and ribs, but for some always fall short on the BBQ chicken.  It is either too dry or under cooked and just doesn't taste like BBQ chicken to me.

[TXHuntress]

That's something we haven't mastered either. One of my uncles makes the best BBQ chicken, and I think it's the combination of the smoking and his sauce that make it so good. 

[DCS]

Back in the day, all I would use was one of these, load it full of charcoal, throw the chicken on it, smother it with BBQ sauce and it turned out great.

[Big Tony]

That's ^ how I do it. I need to get one of them thermometers you can stick in the meat and leave it with the wires going to the outside of the grill to a digital read out. I used to make fun of those folks but it comes in real handy on Chicken. There's a fine line between under done and over done.

[DCS]

What temperature do you shoot for?  And, yes your are dead on, on that fine line between under cooked and over cooked.

[Big Tony]

I would say 165 - 170 internal temp

[DCS]

Here is how the chicken turned out last night.

What I did.

Marinated chicken in Italian Salad dressing over night. Used charcoal and hickory, turned every 30 minutes and basted with Italian Salad dressing about every 30 minutes.  Started out with charcoal and added hickory to it about every hour.

Cooked for 3 hours.

I am using a barrel cooker with a water pan.

The result.

It turned out OK, could have cooked a little bit longer, the Italian Salad dressing kept it moist and tender, but was little overwhelming and it was a little over smoked.


What I will do next time.

Will go with this recipe:

Debbie's Marinade



(original recipe)

1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne (this is usually too much)

1 teaspoon garlic



I usually just dump a bunch of the above ingredients into the bag however it looks right. This weekend I probably used less cayenne and put more Soy Sauce and more fresh garlic than the above. Sometimes I'll add season salt to the mix too.


Will use more charcoal and less hickory.

[Big Tony]

You have to be carefully using Hickory on smaller less dense pieces of meat. When I smoke Turkey's or Chickens, I use charcoal and one stick of wood at a time.
My wife does the Italian dressing thing in the oven. I've never tried it on the grill. But to be perfectly honest, I don't get excited about it.

[DCS]

The salad dressing thing was OK, but not what I am looking for.

[newgulf]

a lot of people dont realize that you need to flip the chicken once an hour and what this does is keep the moisture moving thru the chicken. a lot depends on how big and thick the chicken is and what type of pit you use i dont think you will ever really make great chicken on the grill it can be good but you dont get the constant heat and the thru and thru smoke flavor and steady internal temp you need. it makes a difference and the main thing is dont get in a big hurry thats the main reason people mess it up its not hard but it takes time to get it right

[newgulf]

you also want to make sure your coals are burnt down pretty good and not flaming because the grease falling from the chicken will catch fire and you can ruin it all real fast

[dirtydon]

I used to Marinate and then baste when cooking the Beef Long Ribs with Wishbone Italian Dressing. It often caught on fire but I just shot it with my water pistol and scraped off the char when serving.. made it tender and tasty. I like that dressing, bet it would work good on short ribs and probably fajitas too.

[newgulf]

it'll work on it Dirty!

[David P.]

I just use half chickens or quarters only and hand rub them with your favorite sause,(Stubbs is hard to beat).Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours and throw it on the grill at a very low temp.Brush it with more sause whenever you turn it(which should be often)And bring it to an ionternal temp of 160-170 degrees.If it starts to get to brown before reaching that temp then wrap with foil,bank yout fire to one side of the grill,and place it on the other side and check it every 30 minutes or so.Come out moist and tender every time with a little BBQ bark on the outside! Use very little wood on poultry or it will turn black on you.

[David P.]

Nov 10, 2014 15:06:39 GMT -6 dirtydon said:

I used to Marinate and then baste when cooking the Beef Long Ribs with Wishbone Italian Dressing. It often caught on fire but I just shot it with my water pistol and scraped off the char when serving.. made it tender and tasty. I like that dressing, bet it would work good on short ribs and probably fajitas too.

Use the oil free dressing and the flame ups will be greatly reduced! I use it on my venison fajitas!