10 wonderful ways to barbecue chicken

Chicken has long been a barbecue favourite—popular with all the family, it is easy to cook and pairs wonderfully with a variety of flavours.

It is very easy, and cheaper to joint your own chicken (there are lots of videos online), but if you want to buy chicken portions try thighs, they have far more flavour, and once cooked are far more moist than the more expensive, and inexplicably more popular breast.

Do buy the best chicken you can afford, for both welfare and taste reasons. Food safety is especially important when barbecuing chicken. Make sure it is properly defrosted, do not leave raw chicken in the hot sun before cooking it, make sure it is properly cooked (if in doubt cook it in the oven and finish off on the barbecue) and keep cooked and raw meat separate.

Enjoy your barbecue!

Cut down on prep time by cutting your chicken up then freezing in the marinade. This technique results in beautifully flavoured meat. Simply defrost the morning of your barbecue.

Find the recipe here: Fuss Free Flavours

Marinating in yoghurt or quark before cooking both tenderises and moistens as well as giving the meat a lovely coating and flavour. Mix up your own spice mix and vary the heat to suit your guests.

Find the recipe here: Fuss Free Flavours

Lemon and soy is a classic chicken marinade, in this recipe from Dad With a Pan a handful of chives are also added for some extra flavour. The recipe also has some handy advice for avoiding those BBQ flare-ups, which burn the chicken skin.

Find the recipe here: Dad With a Pan

This delicious, grain free, Mexican meal in a bowl recipe from A Calculated Whisk is packed with vegetables.  A Jicama is a mild tasting Mexican yam, with a mild flavour (apparently a cross between a pear and a water chestnut).

Find the recipe here: A Calculated Whisk

Travelling to Greece we have Chicken Kalamaki from OMG Food—simply marinade overnight with olive oil, lemon juice and oregano before threading onto skewers and grilling.

Find the recipe here: OMG Food

A classic Asian combination of ginger and sesame is used in these skewers from Vitamin Sunshine.  A cheeky half cup of beer in the marinade ensures that they are super moist and tender.

Find the recipe here: Vitamin Sunshine

Half the delight of a barbecue is what you serve with the food, and I do like the sound of this peanut lime dipping sauce by Plating Pixels to accompany these cumin chicken kebabs.

Find the recipe here: Plating Pixels

From beer in the marinade to cider—these chicken pieces are bathed in a cider & honey reduction with herbs and shallots and served with and apple and fennel slaw. (American “hard cider” is the same thing as regular British cider!)

Find the recipe here: Foodie Girl Chicago

Effective presentation can elevate the simplest ideas to something really special. I love the presentation of these chicken and bacon kebabs from Almost Super Mom, with the bacon woven around the chicken. Use any creamy dressing, or your favourite marinade if you do not have Ranch dressing.

Find the recipe here: Almost Super Mom

If you are bored of skewers and burgers and want to barbecue to impress then this post on how to barbecue a whole chicken from Fox Valley Foodie should help to wow your friends. It might push you out of your barbecue comfort zone, but if you use a meat thermometer then you know that your chicken will be perfectly cooked through.

Find the recipe here: Fox Valley Foodie

Helen Best-Shaw, is a freelance food & recipe writer and blogger at Fuss Free Flavours.

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