Chicken is definitely not an easy thing to grill, in my opinion. The main source of stress for me is you have to make sure it is done to a certain temperature (165 degrees) or you are going to be sending people to the hospital with salmonella. On the other hand, you can’t cook it too much or it ends up like a dried out piece of yuck.
The trick is to somehow come out in between and that’s what I think I’ve done with this method. I ruined a lot of grilled chicken before I got the idea to boil chicken before grilling. My family and I really like it. I think you will too.
First, you want to get yourself a big pot. I use one that looks like this.
Next fill it with water.
I fill it pretty full.
Put it on the stove and bring that water to a boil. Mine takes the better part of 40 minutes to boil that much water so plan accordingly.
When it’s finally boiling get your chicken ready. I like using leg quarters for this. The dark meat doesn’t dry out as easily on the grill and the skin really crisps up nice. Plus they are a nice big piece of chicken and they are also cheap as heck, which is never a bad thing 🙂
Gently put the chicken into the boiling water. Be careful!!! You don’t want to drop it in and splash hot water all over yourself. You get a bad burn real easy that way. Once you have all the chicken in the water, you want to boil it for 30 minutes.
Like I said, the leg quarter is a nice big piece of chicken. If you were using a smaller piece of chicken with this method, like wings or thighs, you might want to cut down on the boil time.
When it’s done boiling, you want to use something to scoop out each piece of chicken. I like to use a slotted spoon. You do this because the water is going to have 12 pounds of chicken grease in it and you want to get rid of it. If you were going to make chicken soup or something similar, this would be a great start.
Do not pour the greasy water down your drain!!!
You will have definite drain problems. You never want to pour anything like this down the drain or in your toilet. Trust me, I used to work for a plumber 🙂 I pour mine outside in the back yard on some weeds.
Next, you want to put the chicken into a bowl or some type of container.
Basically, the chicken should have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees in the boiling water at this point. I never tried it, but I think you could sit down and eat it right now. Might not be the best tasting, but it should be done all the way through and safe to eat. That is why I do it. Now you don’t have to worry about overcooking and ruining it, or undercooking and it not being done.
Next, you’re going to take the chicken out to your grill. I use a charcoal grill, so I light the charcoal and get it going sometime after I put the chicken in the boiling water. Anyway, whatever kind of grill you are using, just make sure it is good and hot. Then you want to take your chicken and put it face down on the hot grill. Put your lid back on or close your grill and and cook it this way for 15 minutes. Remember, you want a good, hot grill.
Now you want to get your favorite barbecue sauce ready. You also want to grab something to baste it with. I have a silicone basting brush that I really like.
When 15 minutes is up you want to flip the chicken over. I use a pair of tongs.
Looking good so far. Be careful when you flip it that you don’t rip the chicken up too much. I usually don’t worry about it but you don’t want to completely tear it apart either.
Now you want to baste the chicken with your sauce. We are doing two things here. First, we are obviously adding yummy barbecue sauce for taste. Second, we are adding a layer of moisture, more or less, that protects the chicken. So you really want to slather it on. It is also worth noting here, I never put the sauce on until the chicken has been flipped like you just saw. There is no point to putting it on the underside of the chicken, in my opinion.
When you are done saucing them up, put the lid back on the grill and you want to grill them for another 15 minutes.
I use an old kitchen timer when I’m grilling outside. It’s an easy way to keep track of time. Might not be accurate to the second but I’ve found it gets the job done. One that looks like it has been through the war seems to work best for me 🙂
The final 15 minutes really crisps up the skin nice and puts the finishing touch on the chicken. This is why you want to load the sauce on though, because it is also easy to dry the chicken out at this point. I suppose all of these times are going to vary with your grill, so as with most things, you might have to adjust accordingly for your situation.
Here is the final product after the timer goes off.
That’s about it. Take them off the grill and put them into some type of container.
I know this is my site but I have to say, this barbecue chicken turned out perfect 🙂
Plate it up with some corn on the cob and you are good to go.
Moist and delicious all the way through.
If I were a billionaire I think I’d still be eating this for dinner.
It just doesn’t get much better.
Good to the last bite.
So there is a little bit of work involved, but I think the end result is well worth the effort.
I hope you feel the same.
Enjoy!!!
We followed your instructions to the “t” and our chicken was perfect!
I “thought” I’d remember how long you mentioned to boil it so I didn’t “bookmark” your site.. Good thing I remembered the “warrior” part of your name tonight or I’m sure road-kill would have been better!
Bookmarked! =))
Really glad you enjoyed the barbecued chicken!!! I just made this myself recently and it never fails to be one of our favorite Summer meals. Thanks for letting us know how it turned out!!!
Never did find HOW LONG DO YOU BOIL THE CHICKEN ??
Hi. All info is in the post. I boil leg quarters for 30 minutes. A smaller piece of chicken may need less time. When you are done grilling you want to be sure your chicken has reached 165 degrees. Good luck!!!
Followed your instructions over the past weekend and made some of the best leg quarters ever! I don’t really care for BBQ sauce, so I brushed the chicken with Italian dressing (both sides) while on the grill. EXCELLENT!
Glad to hear everything worked out for you Randy!!! Italian dressing, huh? Never tried that but sounds delicious. I’m going to have to try that out myself sometime. Thanks!!!
i am making.this tomorrow night wish me luck i will let u know how it turns out thanks for the instructions 🙂
Good luck Rachel!!! That is what is great about this method, very consistent results. Just make sure you have a good, hot grill going. You are very welcome and please post back with your results!!!
can i boil the chicken one day and grill it the next day?
Hi Karen!!! I would advise against doing that. I tried it once and was not happy with the results. Reason being, you have to refrigerate the chicken after boiling it. Then you are putting cold chicken on the grill the next day instead of hot. You want to go right from the boiling water to the grill with as little time in between as possible. No matter how you do this, you always want to make sure the temperature of the chicken has reached 165 degrees before you eat it. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!!!
thanks…I’m going to give your method a try!
No problem. Please be sure to let us know how it turns out!!!
Can I boil the chicken then freeze it for two days later to grill
Hi, honestly I really wouldn’t deviate from the way I have laid out to do it here. Putting the hot chicken onto the hot grill is a big part of the success of this recipe in my opinion. I also wouldn’t want to chance the chicken not being properly cooked before consumption. Thanks for stopping by!
Do you close the grill for the First Fifteen minutes or just during the last fifteen??? I’m wanting to try this tonight so I thought I would ask first! I’m just learning this whole grilling thing now that I’m a single mom!! LOL
Hi Jacqueline!!! I’ve been grilling for years. In my opinion, the grill should always be closed when you are grilling. I can’t think of a time when I ever made anything with the lid off. So I say the lid should always be on and that definitely applies to this chicken. Lid off is for roasting marshmallows on a stick or something like that. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. Hope that helps and good luck!!! Please let us know how it turns out!!!
My fault Jacqueline. I just reread the post and I can see why you would have been confused about putting the lid back on the grill or not. Just added that and thanks for the heads up!!!
great chicken
Glad you liked it Sarah!!! Thanks for stopping by!!!
Wow! I’m a new widow and missed my husband’s BBQ. I decided to be brave and try it myself… With your instructions. All I can say is thank you! Even I did it and I haven’t cooked in 20 years.
So glad we were able to help you Mindi. Thank you very much for stopping by!!!
What would you recommend for oven barbecued chicken.
Hi Terrill, thanks for stopping by!!! Honestly I don’t think I would try anything like this in the oven. A grill is much hotter than most household ovens. It is a totally different way of cooking and I wouldn’t think it would turn out that well. If you have to use an oven I’d probably go with a coating mixture and bake it. Use the coating mixture directions. Just my personal opinion…
Great details!! Thanks for going to all that trouble.
You are more than welcome. I hope everything turns out great for you. Thanks for stopping by!!!
When do u season the chicken ?
Hi. I don’t season it. If you were going to, in my opinion, I’d do it before I put the chicken on the grill. Again I don’t do that so I guess it would be up to you. Good luck!!!
I’ve been wanting to try boiling chicken before grilling it for some time. My husband is the grill master and he never wants to😔. Well he’s out of town for a few days so guess what the kids and I are having for dinner!!!! I’m so glad you put this on your site! We have a gas grill so can you advise me how hot is really hot? Thanks again☺️
Hi Karen and hope I’m not too late!!! Sorry, I have never owned a gas grill. I suppose you would want to cook it on high? I’m assuming the knobs are high, medium, low? I am pretty sure a charcoal grill burns at roughly 700 degrees with fresh charcoal so if you have any kind of degree indicator try to get close to that. Really you just want to make sure the chicken is cooked properly. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!!!
I grilled it at 500 and it was great. Next time I will cook it higher. Thank you! We loved it!
Great news!!! If you thought it was good I’d probably just do the same thing you did before. Like I said previously, I have very little experience with gas grills. You are more than welcome, glad you liked it!!!
If I put the lid on my grill like you suggested even with the holes open the fully red hot natural coals go out pretty quick! You look like you have the compacted heavier (man-made) brick weber coals. Even with holes in the top lid of my grill I have to prop the lid open with my tongs a couple of inches or the coals loose their glow pretty quick. Which makes me wonder now what was in all that briquet charcoal I used to use. When I used to use the old briquette charcoal it seemed to be ok to put the lid on and cook, but not now with natural lump. So, I’m wondering if you’ve tried both coal types with your recommended 2×15 minutes with the lid on.
I don’t want to change, I like the natural charcoal as it seems to burn hotter quicker, hence cleaner quicker which is less stress for me because I like to cook out (unless I need extra beer time) I like my ha, ha, little custom carbon foot print. -Mark
Hi Mark! I’ve only used lump charcoal a few times. I like to use charcoal burners to get it going so it doesn’t work real well with those. Not in my experience anyway. I either use regular charcoal or I have been using competition charcoal lately as well. Either way, I don’t worry too much if the coals are glowing. I personally fill two charcoal burners with charcoal and when the charcoal is hot to the top, I put on my camp gloves and dump the charcoal in the grill. I spread it out evenly then start cooking.
I know what you are saying though, the competition burns faster. So yes I use the same method but you may want to adjust depending on what kind of grill and charcoal you are using.
Good luck and thanks for stopping by!!!
Trying your cooking instructions as I write thi;, feeding a tribe of guys as we watch the NFL playoffs today. I’ll let you know how it works out/taste. I’m using instruction on ribs as well.
Sounds like you were busy Spencer, hope everything worked out for you!!! Yes, please let me know how everything turned out…
Seriously is the best BBQ chicken ever when grilling it your way!!! Thanks!!!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it Karen!!! Thanks for letting me know!!!
Our chicken turned out amazing. What is the name brand of your girl and where did you purchase it?
Fantastic!!! So glad to hear you enjoyed the bbq chicken. I have an Old Smokey grill and I purchased it on Amazon. I really like it. I keep meaning to throw some links up, I’ll have to do that soon. Thanks so much for posting 🙂
Going to give this a try, always been looking for a better way to make BBQ chicken on the grill. Typed in the idea of boiling it first and this was the first site listed. Been reading the posts and I feel good about trying this.
Good luck Gina!!! Please let us know how it turned out for you 🙂
Can I par boil te night before?
Hello Mimi. If you scroll down in the comments you can see someone asked that question before. I’m going to give you the same response to make things a little easier on myself 🙂 Good luck and thanks for stopping by!!!
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I would advise against doing that. I tried it once and was not happy with the results. Reason being, you have to refrigerate the chicken after boiling it. Then you are putting cold chicken on the grill the next day instead of hot. You want to go right from the boiling water to the grill with as little time in between as possible. No matter how you do this, you always want to make sure the temperature of the chicken has reached 165 degrees before you eat it. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!!!
Hi there, I have actually heard of (and tasted) parboiled, grilled chicken, and yes, it IS yummy – the best. Yours looks really good, and from the comments, i can tell that you’re on to something! Thanks for the detailed instructions and the pictures – extremely helpful.
Question, for you, though. I’m invited to a BBQ, this Saturday evening (5-ish) and was asked to bring something for the grill. I wanted to bring chicken that needs to be marinated for 24-hours. If I marinate, overnight on Friday….
1) could I then take it out of the marinade (at the BBQ), and parboil it, so it can go onto the grill hot?
2) I’m assuming I would still allow about 40 minutes for it to reach a “safe” internal temperature…?
Thanks!
Hi J! Thank you for the compliments, my family and I certainly enjoy it. To answer your questions, 1) you can certainly marinade overnight then parboil but I don’t know if I would bother. I would think when you boil the chicken you would definitely be removing the marinade coating and anything that soaked into the chicken would probably be lost as well. Again, I don’t see any harm in doing it but in my opinion, you would kind of be wasting your time. As far as number 2) goes, the only way to know if your chicken has reached a safe internal temperature is to use a probe. Happy grilling and let us know how it turns out!!!
Parboiling is my favourite way to BBQ ribs, I was pretty sure there would be a way to do it for chicken! Thanks for the nice, detailed instructions, my girlfriend will be thanking me when she gets home for dinner!
Glad to help!!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
This is the method I have used for several years, only I add a couple sliced lemons and 2 onions quartered to the boiling water. Adds a great flavor. Comes out perfect every time.
Thanks I’ll have to try that some time!!!
Hi! I’m excited to find this recipe! I will be making this for the first time tonight. We have a brand new grill and can you please tell me what the temperature range should be so I don’t burn? Thanks so much!
Hi Rebecca! Like I said in the article I only use a charcoal grill. So I would say good and hot 🙂 Sorry I can’t give you a more detailed answer. Hope it turned out great for you!!!
After boiling my chicken, I put it on a gas grill, temp is well over 600 degrees. I only leave it on the grill long enough to make it crispy on the outside, it ain’t thirty minutes, I can tell you that!
Hi! Yes, personal preference definitely applies here but the original instructions are for leg quarters which is usually a pretty hefty piece of chicken. 15 minutes on a side always works well for us. Like I said in the instructions, if you are using a smaller piece of chicken you would definitely want to cut down on the cooking time. Thanks for stopping by!!!
I agree!
Mine were near-burnt after the first 5 minutes!
Great instructions! I am just wondering if I should put oil on the chicken before I put it on the grill. You don’t seem to think it is necessary so I’m tempted to try it without but I’m curious as to your experience with the chicken getting stuck.
Thanks,
Liz
Hi Liz! Thanks so much, I’m glad you found them useful. I never put oil or anything else on the chicken when using this method. It really depends on your grill grate though. Mine is pretty well seasoned and when I put the hot chicken onto the hot grill I usually don’t have a problem with it sticking. Usually you have a problem with food sticking when you put cold items onto a grill. That being said, if you have had problems with food sticking in the past, you could always oil your grill grate. Or if you feel the need use oil on the chicken and let me know how it turns out. Either way, please let us know how this turned out for you. Thanks and good luck!!!
I’m excited about trying this but we are camping tomorrow and I would need to boil it today and then take tomorrow for grilling. I have a microwave should I heat up a bit before putting it on the grill.
Hi Julie! Sorry, I really can’t recommend using that method so I am afraid I am unable to help you. You want to put the hot boiled chicken onto a hot grill with no cool down time in between. Thanks for looking!
Boiled the 1/4s for 30 minutes. Put them on a gas grill @ 550 F… which was evidently more than the “good & hot”, as described in the recipe.
The skin was dang-near burnt by 5 minutes in.
Don’t count on the temp/timing in this recipe, with a gas grill!!!
Watch them early & CLOSELY!!!
Hi John. Just curious. Were you cooking leg quarters or a different piece of chicken? Thanks!
Thank you for your advice. I don’t normally cook, but I wanted to surprise my wife.😊 Have a great day, from Northern Cali.
Hope it turns out great for you and your wife Eddie!!! Thanks for stopping by!!!
Awesome recipe! Thank you for sharing! I sprayed mine with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkled generously with season salt. It reminded me of KFC grilled chicken! We have a gas grill and I grilled on heavy duty foil.
Sounds fantastic!!! Glad you liked it and thanks for sharing Lori!!!
Hello was wondering how to I adjust this recipe by doing just chicken legs? Thanks!
Hi Paula. I’m assuming you mean just the drumstick when you say legs? Hard for me to say because I only do leg quarters. You could probably drop the boiling time some since drumsticks are smaller. Whatever you do you just want to make sure the chicken is 165 degrees before you eat it. Good luck and let us know how they turn out!!!
My buddy got me doing this back in 1992. I just hate to find pink stringy stuff in my chicken. Although your directions sound like it would really be over cook I will try it tonight. I’m using thighs so I will boil for 20. Thank you and love the site and the easy posting
Hey Rob, glad to help and sounds like a plan to me!!! Let us know how it turned out and thanks for stopping by!!!
This cooking method turned out fantastic! As you stated, the cooking time differed on my gas grill…but, the skin was super crispy and the meat was incredibly moist. Thanks for the tips! Everyone loved this meal.
Glad you liked it Jeff! Hope everyone has a fantastic Memorial Day weekend, let the grilling begin!!!
Just tried this with a whole quartered chicken and for the first time ever I actually enjoyed the chicken breast!! Usually dont do breasts cause they dry out, but not with this method, thanks.
Glad it turned out well for you Charles! Thanks for stopping by!!!
” the season ” has just started up here with your favourite neighbours and brothers\sisters in canada ; I am connected to your neihbourly deliverrance and smart talk ! Thanks ! I’ll be returning to your website often this summmer . cheers , Brian
Glad to have you Brian, thanks for stopping by!!!
Making it now but using a gas grill. Hope it turns okay
Sorry Melissa, didn’t see this for some reason until now.
Hope everything turned out great for you!
What a fantastic recipe 👍
The Best BBQ I’ve ever made. Thank you! It’s the only way I’m grilling chicken from now on 👌🙂
You are very welcome, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for stopping by.
Awesome. I’ve been using nearly exact same method for years and years. (Although I get it to boiling then cut back to a simmer for about 45 minutes instead…. about 2 1/2 beers timewise 🙂 )
Another comment above talked about parboiling the night before grilling. I’ve never waited that long, but I have put them in cold water to keep for a few hours before grilling while waiting for company to show. Came out the same as if I transferred them right to the grill.
(Used cold water to keep the moisture in but kept it from overcooking.)
As you showed, I always use leg quarters.
Making a batch of about 25 today…
(Then using the bones for bone broth in the instant pot… perfect… but that’s a story for another day.)
Take care man. Good post.
Jeff Van Pelt
Churubusco, Indiana.
Sounds like you know what you are doing Jeff, sounds delicious! Thank you for the kind words and thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi! Your blog is super awesome. I recently did BBQ according to your recipe and it was too Yummy.
Thank you for providing this delicious food blogl
Regards,
Jim Smith
You are very welcome and glad you enjoyed it Jim. Thank you for the kind words and thanks for stopping by!