Dustin's Tips For How To Grill Chicken

By Addie

As our inaugural "How To Grill" post, we decided to start with Dustin's tips on grilling chicken thighs and drumsticks, though these tips also will work for most any cut pieces of chicken, like wings and chicken breasts. Let's get grilling!

SWEET PEA CHEF

Ingredients

• What you'll need: Good quality chicken (separated into thighs, drumsticks, breasts, etc.), a gas or charcoal grill (ideally with the ability to set and read temperature), a meat thermometer, salt and pepper (BBQ sauce is optional).
• Leave the skin on the chicken for added flavor and juiciness. Even if you don't like to eat it, you can always take it off after grilling.

Preparation

Step 1

Make it simple and just sprinkle a healthy serving of salt and pepper on the raw chicken before placing on the grill.

Preheat your grill before adding the chicken -- have two areas on your grill - one for high, direct heat and one for lower heat. You will first place the chicken directly above the high heat to sear, then move it to the lower heat.

Use tongs (like the ones pictured) rather than a spatula for better control when flipping the chicken.

Place the chicken over the high heat for approximately 5-8 minutes or until well-browned and crispy. The longer you leave it there, the crispier it will get.

Once seared, flip the chicken and place over the area of lower heat. Close the cover to the grill at this point and leave the chicken, untouched, until the internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees, approximately 5-10 minutes, depending on your grill.

If desired, you can spread on your BBQ sauce at this time. Either use a brush or add some sauce to a deep dish and roll the chicken around to cover. If removing the chicken to add sauce, place back onto the grill for a minute or so. Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!