How to BBQ Chicken

Chicken has a bad reputation for being a bland, dry meat and lots of people think that the BBQ should only be used for steak and burgers, but we disagree!

When done properly, chicken is one of the most simple yet delicious things you can cook on the BBQ. 

BBQing chicken gives it a gorgeous smoky flavour that you can't get in the home oven, and if cooked to the right temperature, it should be the juiciest chicken you've ever tasted.

I'm going to show you how to BBQ perfect chicken three ways:

1.  Delicious chicken kebabs

2. Tasty chicken thighs

3. Juicy chicken breast

If you want to cook perfect BBQ chicken, we recommend watching the whole video, but if you just want to see certain sections, you can fast forward to the following chapters:

00:00  Introduction 

00:10  BBQ setup 

00:28  Chicken kebabs 

02:04  Breast & thighs 

04:24  Target temperature for chicken 

05:44  Resting chicken breast 

06:08  Tasting the results

Whether we're BBQing chicken kebabs, chicken thighs or chicken breasts, the first job is to set up the BBQ, which will be the same for all three types of chicken.

Put around half a chimney starter's worth of unlit charcoal on half of your BBQ's charcoal grate. Then half fill a chimney starter with more charcoal, get it lit then pour it over the unlit charcoal on the chimney grate once it's ready. 

Not sure when the charcoal is ready? Watch 'How to Light your Charcoal BBQ'.

Put the cooking grate back on. We always want to leave half of the charcoal grate empty so we have a 'hot zone' for direct cooking and a 'cool zone' for indirect cooking.

1. Cut a packet of regular skinless, boneless chicken thighs in half to give yourself nice long strips of chicken thigh.
2. Load them onto the BBQ skewers, alongside peppers and onions, folding the chicken backwards and forwards as you load it on to make sure the chicken cooks evenly.
3. We're going to grill the skewers on direct heat, so take the lid off your BBQ.
4. Place the chicken skewers on the direct heat (ie. directly above the burning charcoal) side of the cooking grate of your BBQ.
5. Wearing heatproof gloves, turn the skewers frequently to make sure they don't burn. Use the vents on your BBQ to increase or decrease airflow and therefore temperature as needed.
6. Use a meat thermometer to probe the chicken (making sure not to touch the skewer). I like to take my chicken thighs to 82°c.
7. If you find you get all the char you want on your chicken before it hits temperature like I did, just move the chicken skewers to the indirect heat (not above the burning charcoal), and put the lid back on your BBQ to let them come up to temperature more slowly.
8. Once the chicken on the skewers is up to 82°c, pull them off the BBQ and enjoy!

1. Dry brine your chicken breast and leave it for around 3 hours.
2. Dry the chicken off by dabbing with kitchen roll and then brush on a small amount of rapeseed oil to help with the maillard reaction.
3. Use tongs to place the chicken breasts on the direct heat on the cooking grill of your BBQ and close the lid. Direct heat means directly above the hot charcoal.
4. Flip the chicken breasts over once they are charred to your liking. Use the BBQ vents to increase/decrease airflow if they are cooking too quickly or slowly.
5. Once the chicken breasts are charred all over, move them to the indirect heat (ie. not directly above the burning charcoal) of the BBQ, with the thicker end of the breast closest to the heat, and close the lid.
6. Use your meat thermometer to regularly probe and check the internal temperature of the chicken breasts.
7. I pull my chicken breasts off the BBQ when they hit 65°c and then cover them with a loose piece of foil to rest for at least 5 minutes. The resting is a really important step here, don't skip it!
8. Serve with your favourite salad and enjoy!

Why 65°c?

The reason most chicken breasts end up dry is that they're overcooked. The safe temperature for cooked chicken where bacteria dies immediately is 74°c, so most people will cook their chicken breast to 74°. 

However, you can cook to lower temperatures as long as you hold it at that temperature for a longer period of time to kill the bacteria, as shown in the USDA graphic below.

For me, pulling chicken off the BBQ at 65°c and holding it there for 5 minutes gives the perfect balance between a chicken breast which feels properly cooked, while also being tender and juicy.