Recipe: BBQ Glazed Chicken (2024)

FAQs

Do you glaze chicken before or after cooking? ›

If you're pan-searing or sautéing chicken, you can drizzle the glaze over the chicken in the final moments of cooking. The heat will help the glaze caramelize and create a beautiful glaze coating.

Barbecue sauce typically contains sugar that will brown faster than the meat. This can make it difficult to tell when the chicken is done. To ensure you don't pull the chicken off too soon, add the BBQ sauce when you're nearly done cooking the meat.

Set your oven to broil and apply a thin coat of sauce to the meat; make sure you cover it completely but don't glob it on. Now put the meat on a rack beneath the broiler and wait until you see the sauce starting to bubble (should be no more than 1-2 minutes if you've applied enough sauce and your oven is hot enough).

The glaze should not be applied until the final hour to 30 minutes, in order to avoid burning the sugars. What you're going to do with the glaze ingredients is just combine most of them into a paste, and then apply it to the ham. After that, the heat in your oven will take care of everything.

Cook chicken on low, beef and pork on high.

You might be noticing a trend here: the right temperature is key to mastering your grill. For chicken that's juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, cook it slow and low. Meanwhile, pork and beef should be cooked on high for a smoky, charred result.

Place your chicken breasts on your preheated grill, and close the lid. It's important to keep the lid of your grill closed while your chicken is cooking so that no heat escapes. Cook your chicken breast on the grill for 6-8 minutes on one side. After 6-8 minutes flip your chicken breast and cook for 6-8 minutes more.

But I often hear complaints about grilled chicken, mainly boneless, skinless breasts because they are easily overcooked and turn dry. Any lean cut of poultry or meat will tend to dry out during grilling. The darker meat, chicken drumsticks and thighs have more fat to keep them moist so these are more forgiving.

Glaze Your Food (Carefully!)

If you keep control of the timing you can use barbecue sauce to create a beautiful glaze for your food. Here are a few tips: brush the sauce onto the food and let it sit undisturbed for a few minutes. After that, keep a close eye on it and your tongs in hand.

You want to cook your meat until it is almost completely cooked, brush on a coating of barbecue sauce, and then grill, roast or broil the meat until the sauce has become lightly caramelized and glazes the meat.

The key to the most flavorful BBQ chicken:

It's all in the marinade. Marinating the chicken in your BBQ sauce before grilling infuses every bite with flavor. At least two hours will do the trick, though the longer the chicken gets cozy with the marinade, the better it will be.

How to caramelize BBQ sauce on chicken? ›

When your chicken has reached the desired temp, baste with a thin layer of sauce and allow to set while the chicken continues to cook. Flip and repeat applying several coats of bbq sauce until you have a shiny glaze with bits of caramelization.

Yes, you can put BBQ sauce on raw chicken; however, most barbecue chicken recipes add the sauce in the later stages of cooking for several reasons. Browning chicken simply seasoned with salt and pepper or a dry rub as a first step gives it a crispy, flavorful surface.

Steps to BBQ Saucing Chicken

You want to baste the chicken with just enough sauce to cover it, but not too much that it is drenched in BBQ sauce. Coat one side and then allow the chicken to cook for 4 to 5 minutes before turning the meat over and coating the other side. Choose a thick sauce.

You can apply the glaze before baking, the last 5-10 minutes of baking or even after it's right out of the oven. Whenever you decide to apply the glaze you will need a soft brush. I like the silicone pastry brushes because they are soft but can be washed in the dishwasher.

Yes, you should always season your chicken before cooking when it's raw. You can even do this up to 24 hours before if you have the time. Why? Because leaving the seasoning on your chicken overnight in the fridge will help it start to trap moisture in the chicken, which will make it nice and juicy once cooked.

First, the raw chicken is lightly coated in flour, which absorbs excess moisture and helps the next layer adhere. Second, the chicken is dipped in beaten egg. And third, the cutlet is coated in fresh breadcrumbs, which cling evenly to both sides thanks to the coating of egg.