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This is the chicken I grilled this week. I brined it in tequila, water, sugar, salt, lime juice, cumin, coriander, and mint (adapted from the "Cumin, Coriander, and Lime Brine" from Mastering the Grill: the Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking by Andrew Schloss and David Joachim), then put on a rub (Meathead's "Memphis Dust") before grilling it on indirect heat for about half an hour, then direct heat for another ten minutes (fifteen for the drumsticks) until they got up to temp (170 deg F). In the last four minutes or so, I brushed on some lime honey-butter (adapted from the "Orange Honey-Butter Sauce", also from Mastering the Grill).
That probably sounds like a lot for grilled chicken. But first, it's not as bad as it might sound (I already had the rub, and putting the brine and sauce together are super easy), and second, look at that chicken! It was moist, flavorful, and whether you flavor it or not, I think the butter at the end really gave it a nice color and texture.
3 comments:
Wow! That chicken looks fantastic. Grilling chicken is a challenge. I think I've just recently gotten to the point of grilling chicken satisfactorily . . . like it won't be pink in the middle or charred on the outside. I aspire to more. That book looks like a fantastic resource. I might have to see if my local library has it before I add it to my Amazon Wishlist.
The key, I think, to getting it done and not burnt is cooking indirectly for longer. Having a good meat thermometer is essential.
(I've got a Pyrex "Professional" digital thermometer/timer, which is great for monitoring a slowly rising temperature, like pork butt. For smaller parts, like this chicken, it worked fine, but I sort of covet a smaller-probe instant-read thermometer.)
I had my chicken on the non-lit side of the grill until I got a temp of 150, then put it on the direct side until it hit 170, which conveniently was at about ten minutes. I speculate that if you put the chicken on direct heat before it's up near 150, you're going to have problems getting the center cooked through before the outside gets overcooked.
Very niice post
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