• Get to Know Your Grill
• Keep the Lid Down
• If I Can Grill These, So Can You!
• Hamburger Patties
• Hot Dogs
• Steak
• Chicken
• Other Foods
• Potatoes
• Corn in the Husk

How to Grill:

Preparation of chicken for grilling is the most exacting of any dish I work with.

But it is still far from gourmet cookery.

The chicken pieces should be wrapped in foil, each package about the size of your hand. Be sure to crimp the edges, keeping the juices in. Crimping also helps you avoid what I call fireball fryers. I discuss this phenomenon in Safety: Fire.

As with every other grilled food, I prefer to pre-heat the grill for at least a minute or two.

Place the foil-wrapped chicken on the grill, leaving room for at least one more packet. You'll be using that open space when it's time to flip.

Leave the packets in place for 30 minutes over a medium flame, with the lid down. When you lift the lid, there should be a whole lot of sizzling going on inside the packets. Flip the packets, putting packets which were in hot spots on cool spots, and those that were in cool spots on hot spots.

After another 30 minutes, the chicken should be ready. Remove the packets with spatula or tongs, put them on a plate, and take them inside. Obviously, something that's been heating over flames that long will be very hot, so be very careful about unwrapping the packets!

I'd also cut into the largest piece of chicken. If it isn't done all the way through, re-wrap and put it on the grill for another 5 minutes, or heat it on the stove, and test it again.

(That 30 minutes is for summer grilling. When it's five below zero, you might want to either use a high flame or leave the chicken under the hood longer.)

Next: You've Grilled It, Now Serve It

Copyright © 2005-2010 Brian H. Gill