GRILLING TIPS
Grilling chicken perfectly is no small task. We've all been there. Burnt chicken, dry chicken, undercooked chicken, plain, boring chicken. Maybe you've tried carefully marinating your chicken for hours or patiently, slow cooking on a low heat grill, only to have the same results. It's a challenge, but when you finally make that perfect chicken, it's amazing! Crispy skin on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside! Ahhhh, perfection!
At El Pollo Loco, we have over 30 years of experience grilling perfect chicken, 24/7! It's our passion and we're happy to share a few pointers to help you perfectly grill chicken at home. Follow our tips then join us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know how it goes!
- Invest in a meat thermometer. An essential tool for preparing perfectly grilled chicken. Use your thermometer to check the internal temperature by placing the thermometer into the meat where the leg and thigh come together or into the thickest part of the breast meat, taking care not to touch bone.
- Grill over a medium flame. Experiment with the flame setting on your grill. Cooking on a high or medium-high temperature causes flare-ups and can result in chicken that is charred on the outside, yet not fully cooked on the inside. Not a pretty sight! Remember, if flare-ups do occur, lift the chicken off the grill for a moment and move it to another area of the grill; reduce the flame slightly and return your chicken to the grill.
- Flip and rotate the chicken properly. Begin cooking the chicken by placing it on the grill skin side down. This captures the juices and keeps your chicken from drying quickly. As you grill, turn the chicken three times. First when the skin appears dry and the chicken becomes rigid. Second when the edges become golden brown. And finally the third time when the internal temperature reaches about 165° F. If desired, finish by cooking the chicken, skin side down, with a higher flame to crisp the skin.
- For barbecue chicken, apply BBQ sauce towards the end. What's the point of adding BBQ sauce in the beginning if most of it is going to cook off? Who wants to waste good sauce? not us! To get a really good BBQ flavor, baste with your favorite BBQ sauce before and after the last turn. Grill marks that appear as you cook the basted chicken signal that sugars in the sauce are “caramelizing,” producing the most intense flavor. Ooooh that's good!
- Monitor the chicken’s temperature. Your chicken is done when an internal temperature of 180° F is reached as indicated on your meat thermometer. Quickly remove the chicken from the grill, cut into individual pieces and enjoy!
Remember-- Grilling is an art, not a science, so keep on practicing. Or, just head over to your nearest El Pollo Loco and let us do the work. You do the enjoying!