With summer in full swing, we are officially in the heart of barbecue season. That makes it a great time for a tried and true classic, barbecue chicken. Many people are intimidated at the prospect of preparing this summer staple. Common complaints are of the outside of the chicken burning before the inside is fully cooked. Or, dry chicken. Our recipe takes you step by step through the chicken cooking process to get you perfectly grilled, classic barbecue chicken!

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs of cut up chicken legs and thighs
  • Black pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • 24 oz Barbecue Sauce
  • Olive oil

Directions

Follow this simple recipe exactly as it to amaze your guests. Add your own spin to it by using your own blend of seasoning, making your own barbecue sauce or, if you want to be a legend, you can brine your chicken for a few hours before grilling it (join our mailing list for brining instructions).

Prep your chicken by seasoning all pieces on all sides with garlic and pepper (and/or seasonings of your choice).

Prep your grill by oiling (so the chicken won’t stick) and sectioning it off into 2 zones (direct heat and indirect heat, scroll down to learn how) and heating to 350º.

Place the chicken pieces on the grill over the direct heat zone for 2 minutes to sear. Turn once after 2 minutes to sear on opposite side. After both sides are seared, move chicken pieces to the part of the grill over the indirect heat zone. Cover grill and cook for 35 minutes. Brush chicken with BBQ sauce and let it cook for 5 minutes. Turn and sauce opposite side and cook for 5 minutes. Chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165º. Continue to sauce and cook chicken longer if necessary.

Serve chicken!!

To create your 2 zone cooking area:

On a Charcoal Grill

Evenly distribute your coals under half the grill and leave the other half with a very thin layer of coals. The half of the grill over the evenly distributed coals will be your direct heat. The thin layer of coals will be your indirect heat.

On a Gas Grill

Preheat the grill to the desired temperature. Turn off 1 burner on a 2 or 3 burner grill, or 2 burners on a 4 burner grill. The part of the grill over the burner(s) left on will be your direct heat. The part of the grill over the burner(s) that has been turned off will be your indirect heat.

For more great recipes, tips and tricks, visit the “tidbits” section of our site.

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