I’m a big chicken fan (the men of the house less so, and it has to be chicken breast), not only because it’s pretty healthy but also because it’s so versatile, and quick to cook. It’s now approaching barbecue season and with the rumours of this summer in the UK being a hot one, it’s time to start thinking about barbecue foods and recipes.
Last year I reviewed a gas barbecue – you could say it was an alternative review, but at least this year it’s still set up, the gas bottle is still half full, we just need some nice weather and some good recipes.
We always have the usual sausages, sometimes we have steak off the farm or burgers, and a bit of chicken is always nice for those who aren’t beef fans.
I love chicken skewers. They’re quick to barbecue, great for children, easy to eat, and you can add veg – onions, pepper and courgette always go down well here, and you can do veggie ones as alternatives. I tend to make them plain, but you can also brush over a honey and wholegrain mustard mix to add some more flavour. Alternatively a sprinkle of italian herbs peps them up too.
My tips for cooking whole pieces of chicken (other than skewers which can cook quickly directly) on the bbq:
- Slice through the chicken to make 2 flatter pieces – people don’t want to eat lots of massive chunks of meat at barbecues, they’d like to try a bit of everything. This way it’ll cook quickly and more evenly, and it’ll go further which is always good when you’re barbecueing for lots of people
- Flavour flavour flavour – marinade the chicken beforehand (ideally overnight in the fridge, especially good if you’re defrosting, or for less flavour just a few hours). The marinade will also keep it more moist during cooking
- For less mess, try marinading the chicken in a plastic bag, tied up
- Cook your chicken through in the oven first before barbecuing. You’ll have more room on the BBQ for other meats, you don’t want other meats being put where raw chicken was, and most importantly you’ll kill off the risk of food poisoning from the chicken not being cooked through properly. Just finish it off on the bbq
- Keep an eye on chicken that’s got a marinade or glaze on – it might bubble up, it will be hot, and if it’s got sugars in it can burn. You can cook with foil lightly covering if needed to avoid it burning
There’s numerous barbecue recipes for chicken all over the internet, but here’s 11great recipes to get you started.
Chicken barbecue recipes
Bake in the oven then finish off on the bbq:
1, Cheat and use Jack Daniel’s barbecue glaze
I was sent this to try out, although pre-bbq season. I simply put the chicken breasts in an oven dish, poured the glaze over and baked in the oven for 30 minutes until cooked through and the glaze had reduced a bit. I’m not a smoky bbq flavour or whisky fan, but the chicken was delicious with just the right amount of sticky glaze on. It was really moist as well and just fell apart easily when eating.
2, Honey and mustard marinade
Mix together runny honey and wholegrain mustard to your taste, then brush over the chicken, bake until cooked through.
3, Curried yoghurt marinade
Mix natural yoghurt (or buttermilk) with 1tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, some ground ginger, squeeze of lemon juice, 1 crushed garlic clove and a bit of onion powder (or finely diced red onion), then marinade chicken In the fridge overnight, or at least a few hours.
Remove chicken from the marinade then bake.
4, Smoky barbecue chicken
Using my slow cooker smoky barbecue recipe makes things easier because it’s only 1 recipe to remember – just make the sauce and use it as a marinade before cooking the chicken in a baking dish until cooked through, then finishing on the bbq
5, Lemon and garlic marinade
Simple ingredients from Two Healthy Kitchens, but with great flavour. I love these 2 together, and most people have lemon and garlic easily accessible.
6, Coriander and garlic chicken with a green goddess sauce
How amazing does this sauce look from Strength and Sunshine?
7, Jerk chicken with mango salsa
Go as spicy as you dare. The Foodie and the Fixadvises you adapt the number of chillies.
8, Sweet and sticky chicken drumstick
It’s easy to just cook these from Cleverly Simple in the oven, and then barbecue rather than using the slow cooker. Surely one rule about a bbq is to get sticky fingers while eating.
9, Grilled bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts
Definitely one to grill or cook in the oven first before barbecuing, this recipe’s for a classier bbq meal from
10, Easy homemade bbq sauce
For that great smoky taste dipper from Strength and Sunshine. Use for grilled chicken – either plain herbed, or even coat strips of chicken with flour, then egg, then a breadcrumb, herb and pepper topping before barbecuing – if your pieces are too small and will fall down the grill, then just pop a baking sheet on the barbecue instead.
And finally,
11, The secrets to perfect shish kebabs (kabobs)
I always cook ours together and haven’t found it too much of a problem with different cooking times required for veg and meat, but these do look pretty making them with each type of food on a different skewer, from Two healthy kitchens. How do you do your chicken barbecue recipes?
Are you a barbecue fan? How do you cook your chicken for the barbecue?
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