BBQ CHICKEN

 INGREDIENTS

4-5oz BBQ Sauce 

1 whole chicken, quartered into parts (or use 2 breasts and 2 thighs)

DIRECTIONS

1. Add chicken sections and BBQ Sauce to a zip-top bag and marinate in your refrigerator for a minimum of 5 hours or up to overnight. Make sure the sauce is evenly distributed on the chicken by moving it around in the bag before you place in your refrigerator. To avoid the potential for cross-contamination, always place raw chicken (even if it’s in a sealed bag) on the lowest shelf of your refrigerator and in a rimmed container.

2. After the chicken is marinated, remove it from the bag and place in a rimmed casserole dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Allow marinated chicken to come to room-temperature while you prepare your grill or smoker.

TIPS

For gas grills -

• Preheat your grill to high-heat on one side and low heat on the other.
• Grill the chicken on the high heat portion of the grill for two minutes on each side, making sure to protect chicken from flare-ups by moving it away from any direct flames.
• After the parts are grilled on each side, move chicken to the low-heat side of the grill and lower the cover.
• Cook chicken for approximately 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the thigh is 156°-165° and the internal temperature of the breast is between 146°-156°. 

For charcoal grills -

• Using a chimney starter, prepare a full chimney of briquettes or hardwood lump charcoal.
• After your coals are ready, place them to one side of your charcoal grill to create a 2 zone cooking set-up. The side with the “coal bank” is your high-heat side and the other side without the coals is your low-heat side.
• Grill the chicken directly over the coals for two minutes on each side, making sure to protect chicken from flare-ups by moving it away from any direct flames. After the parts are grilled on each side, move chicken to the low-heat side of the grill and cover the grill with the lid.
• Allow the chicken to cook for approximately 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the thigh is 156°-165° and the internal temperature of the breast is between 146°-156°.
• When using a charcoal grill, it’s a good idea to check the coals every 30 minutes or so. If you notice your heat starting to drop below 325°, you can add a couple briquettes or a large lump to get the temperature in the kettle back up. Ideal temperature for your charcoal grill should be about 325°-350° for the duration of the cook.
• Make sure to us a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken prior to serving. 

For pellet-smokers -

• Pre-heat your pellet smoker on the “smoke” setting for 5-10 minutes or until you are confident you have a fire in the “fire pot”.
• Increase the smoker temperature to 225° and arrange the marinated chicken parts on the grill grate.
• Smoke at 225° for 1 hour, then increase the smoker temperature to 350° and continue to roast the chicken for approximately one 1 more hour or until the internal temperature of the thigh is 156°-165° and the internal temperature of the breast is between 146°-156°.