Grilled BBQ Chicken Recipes - Tips and Hints

BBQ chicken recipes are wonderfully varied. We've experimented with savoury grilled chicken, marinades that lend a touch of sweetness to the meat, and spicy barbecue chicken... and overall, each recipe really isn't that hard. Once you're familiar with how to marinade chicken or use a spice rub, you just need to pick your flavor and pop it on the grill. It does take a bit of experience to grill chicken well, though, so here are a few tips.

• Improperly cooked chicken is responsible for many food-borne illnesses every year. Sure, you can cook your chicken to charcoal to make sure it's really done, but get a meat thermometer instead. Stick it in the thickest part of the chicken to test - make sure it doesn't touch bone! The internal temperature of the meat has to be at least 174 degrees F to kill off all the bad bacteria. When grilling chicken at medium heat, start checking the temperature after about 30 minutes.

• You could pre-cook the chicken in your oven to make sure it's truly cooked before barbecuing it... but it's less flavorful this way. But if you're worried about food-borne illness, this is the way to go. Marinate or rub the chicken with a spice mix first, bake it in the oven, and then finish it on the BBQ.

• Consider removing the skin before marinading or grilling. Chicken skin contains a lot of fat, which can drip down into the barbecue and cause flare-ups. And flare-ups can cause your food to burn too. If you want to leave the skin on, have a water spray bottle handy to put out any flames.

• To marinate chicken, put the chicken pieces in a big ziplock bag with the marinade and turn a few times to coat. Then put in the refrigerator 6-8 hours or overnight. You can marinate for less time if you need to, but try for at least 2-3 hours. Turn the bag once halfway the marinating period.

• Half an hour before you're ready to grill, take your marinated chicken out of the refrigerator to warm up to room temperature.

• Make sure your grill is pre-heated before you put the chicken on.

• Oil your grill. Pre-heat it first, then soak a piece of paper towel in oil. Grab it with tongs and use it to grease your grill.

• Get a basting brush. It's usually best not to baste the chicken with more sauce / marinade until it's almost done - the sugars in sauces burn easily, and besides, it takes only a few minutes to get that nice glaze on top of the chicken (much better than having a burnt, crusty piece of chicken!).

• For super-moist, tender chicken, cook over lower heat for a longer time. When we have the time, we often cook chicken breasts around 250-270 degrees F, and the result is deliciously tender and tasty chicken.

Check out these BBQ chicken recipes:

Basic Grilled BBQ Chicken
The simplest, quickest way to get chicken breasts ready for the grill.

Barbecue Pizza - with Chicken
Recipe for barbecue pizza - includes delicious bbq chicken as a topping.

Pulled Chicken BBQ Recipe
Pile it high on a bun for a simple but mouthwatering meal.

As you experiment with your own grill, you'll probably create your own special BBQ chicken recipes. Pair them up with some great barbecue potatoes or whip up a great side salad with our BBQ salad recipes.