It turns out you can grill very tasty and juicy chicken. Alan Banks, the grandson of a man who was a chef in the Navy and cooked for admirals and other important people, editor of GrillFAQ.com, shares his secrets.
Step one. The chicken should be of room temperature (let it stay outside the fridge for at least 30 minutes). Wipe it dry with a paper towel.
Step two. Cut the chicken so that it looks like a butterfly. Usually, we cut it in the middle, but Alan advises to cut them back, so the chicken is juicier.
Step three. Heat up the grill. If you cannot hold your hand over the grill for longer than 8 seconds, it’s ready.
Step four. Spray some oil on the chicken.
Step five. Now it’s time to put the prepared seasoning on the bird and send it to the grill! You will also need lemon or lime juice and Italian tomato dressing. Instead of this dressing, you can take any tomato sauce with herbs and garlic or cook it yourself.
Now it’s time you put the seasoned chicken on the grill. The back usually requires more time to cook than the brisket (2/3 of the time for the back and 1/3 for the brisket). Cook it until ready, adding lemon or lime juice and Italian dressing every 10 minutes.
Step six. This step is for those who have special thermometers for cooking. If you have one, the temperature of the hip should be about 76.7 degrees and the brisket should be 71.1 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can rely on your own experience and cut the meat where it takes the longest time to cook (hips).
Step seven (most important). The final touch for a juicy chicken and the family secret of Banks is foil and a portable small fridge (the one where ice and drinks are held), or just something very, very cold. Take the chicken off the grill just a couple of minutes before it’s ready, wrap it in foil and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. During this time, the juice of the chicken goes back to the chicken. If you cut it right away, all the juice will be on your plate, not in the meat. The rule of “foil, cold, and 30 minutes” works with any grilled meat. If you cook ribs on the grill, they should also be wrapped in foil and cooled for 30 minutes. So, if you’re patient enough to wait half an hour before you cut the meat, each piece of your chicken will be juicy.
Tomato sauce
- Choose the juiciest tomatoes, cut them a little bit, and pour boiling water on them. Peel off their skin, cut, and remove the seeds. Then put them in a blender to make a puree.
- Add some olive oil to the pre-heated deep pan, pour your tomato paste, add some salt, pepper, and dry basil or a mixture of Italian herbs. Then add some garlic. If the sauce is sour, add some sugar or honey. If you like spicy food, you can use dry or ground chili peppers.
I think that such a homemade tomato dressing will be much better than the one from the shop, and it’s very good not only for grilled chicken but also for pasta. Plus, you can store it in the fridge for a long time.
Enjoy your meal!
