5 BBQ Chicken Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Your BBQ is lit, the chicken is ready, and you're all set. Yet, the result often ends up with dry meat, a burnt exterior, or a bland crust. Sound familiar?
After years in top kitchens and hundreds of chickens later, Terry knows exactly where things go wrong. These are the five most common mistakes when barbecuing chicken and how to easily avoid them.
Chicken straight from the fridge onto the grill
This is the most common mistake and has the biggest impact on the final result. Cold chicken on a hot grill cooks unevenly: the outside is done while the inside is still cold. You dry out the outside before the inside reaches the right temperature.
Chicken directly from the fridge onto the grill. Outside burns while inside is still raw.
Remove chicken from the fridge at least 30 minutes before grilling. Room temperature ensures even cooking.
This is also the perfect moment to apply your rub. Apply the rub while the chicken warms up, so it can adhere well before the meat goes on the grill.
Only direct grilling over high heat
Many people place chicken directly over the flame at high temperatures. The result is always the same: black on the outside, raw on the inside. Chicken needs time to cook evenly, and direct heat doesn't provide that time.
The professional approach is always to start indirectly and then finish briefly with direct heat at the end for a crispy bark.
Chicken over direct flame on high heat the whole time. Outside burnt, inside raw.
Start indirectly at 180°C. Last 5 minutes briefly direct for the bark. Always use a thermometer.
Always create two zones on your BBQ: one half with coals for direct heat, the other half without for indirect. This way, you always have control and can quickly switch if things go too fast.
Not resting after grilling
Your chicken is done, everyone is waiting, and you carve it immediately. Understandable, but a big mistake. If you carve chicken immediately, all the juices will run out, leaving you with dry meat. The juices need time to redistribute themselves throughout the meat.
Carving immediately after grilling. All juices run out onto the cutting board instead of staying in the meat.
Rest chicken under aluminum foil for 5 minutes after grilling. Juices redistribute, and meat becomes noticeably juicier.
Resting time is about one-third of the cooking time. Chicken wings 5 minutes, chicken thighs 8 minutes, whole chicken 15 minutes. Drape foil loosely over it so the bark doesn't soften.
Too little rest time for the rub
You apply the rub and place the chicken on the grill five minutes later. The result: a superficial taste that comes off while eating, instead of a rub that has penetrated deep into the meat and formed a firm bark.
Spices need time to draw moisture from the meat, bind to the proteins, and penetrate. This time is almost always underestimated.
Applying rub and grilling immediately. Spices only on the outside and fall off.
At least 30 minutes rest time, preferably overnight in the fridge. The longer, the deeper the flavor.
Carolina Gold and Jamaican Jerk: at least 4 hours. Memphis BBQ and Korean: at least 2 hours. Shawarma: at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Tex Mex: at least 2 to 4 hours. Resting time in the fridge, take meat out 30 minutes before grilling.
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5
Cooking by feel instead of temperature
The color, the firmness, the moisture that comes out — people use all sorts of tricks to determine if chicken is cooked. No trick is reliable. Chicken is done at an internal temperature of 74°C. Period.
Without a thermometer, you're always guessing. Taking it off too early is dangerous. Too late is dry meat. A meat thermometer costs a few euros and gives you certainty every time.
Cooking by feel, color, or time. Results in raw, dry, or unsafe meat.
Always use a meat thermometer. Cook until 74°C internal temperature, measured in the thickest part.
Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, never against the bone. Bone conducts heat differently than meat and gives a distorted reading. For a whole chicken, measure at the thigh, not the breast.
5 more quick tips for perfect BBQ chicken
Now that the technique is right, the rub?
Avoid mistake number 4 and give your rub the time it needs. Freshly mixed to order, ready for the perfect bark.
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