The chicken, The grill, The bond.


 
MikeB

MikeB

TVWBB Fan
How in the heck do you keep the chicken skin from welding itself to the grates???

Made my second go-round of Roadside Chicken yesterday(yum). I butterfly the 2 chickens, marinade in the fridge, let them warm up a bit before cooking, marinade a little more before going outside. I get the (EP-330) grill screaming hot with 3 burners on high, cut the right burner and roll the middle and left burners back to about half throttle. I toss the birds on, bone side down close the lid and don't touch them for about 15 minutes. I splash a little marinade on the skin sides, grab 2 sets of tongs and flip both birds over, close the lid and walk away. Maybe 15 minutes or so later I splash some marinade on the bone sides and when I try to make the flip again, the skin comes off in pieces when some of it has glued itself the the grates. With a little fumbling and mumbling I can peel the skin off and lay it back on the birds, but if I have to lay them skin side down again I wind up with bonded chicken skin again.
Is more heat the answer? If I crank it up I'm afraid of making charcoal chicken bricks... The two burners on medium gives me a hood temperature of around 350~375. I don't have a problem with naked chicken breasts, but this skin bond is a bit annoying. I look forward to suggestions from those much wiser than me please.
 
Higher heat and flip more. Not sure what kind of grates you have but you may want to pre-oil them.
 
I use Pam grilling spray and I turn the meat every 3-5 minutes. It's a pain but my chicken always comes out evenly cooked
 
I dont use Pam because it eventually build up a residue so instead I use an old Alton Brown tip. I roll a clean white 'shop rag' into a fat little sausage, tie it with kitchen twine and then pop it in an old sour cream container half filled with oil. Then after cleaning my grates and before grilling, I rub down the hot grates using my little device, using tongs to rub it along the grates. When the little towel gets too funky, i use it as a fire starter in my fire pit and make a new one.
 
I agree that oiling a hot grill grate is helpful as I have made Roadside Chicken a number of times on a SJS w/Craycort grates and oiling the grate has prevented any sticking problems. I usually fold some paper towels into a wad, soak with vegetable oil and rub the grates down with tongs.
 
Thanks everyone. Oiling the grates instead of the meat always seemed counterintuitive to me, thinking the oil would just burn off, but I will definitely give it a go. Thanks again!
 
I oil (clean) the grates AND oil the chicken, also. My most used method with chicken is with chicken parts. I brine the chicken (ALWAYS), then pat dry, apply the seasoning (my current favorite is Slap Yo' Mama Cajun), cook indirect on the OTG, then start saucing (Sweet Baby Ray's Chipotle Sauce is my current favorite) fifteen minutes before the chicken is done - every five minutes, then finish over direct (watching carefully to avoid burning - thirty seconds to a minute a side).

I have also used the same method with chicken halves. I have also done chicken halves on the WSM at high heat (350 degrees) without the pan and the chicken on the top rack. Excellent results that way, also.

FWIW
Dale53
 
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