Parboil chicken before grilling

AKBill

AKBill

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Wondering how many folks parboil chicken before grilling. I'll be spending 5 days RV camping at Las Vegas motor speedway during the spring race at the end of February. There will be 4 other couples joining us, each with their own RV. Everyone cooks a breakfast and a dinner.

Tami and I decided to cook:
Grilled chicken
Potato salad
Corn on the cob
Stuffed mushrooms
Apple pie for desert

Looking at different recipes, I stumbled on one the parboils the chicken in a brine for 20min at 160F then grilling to char for 10min. Adding BBQ sauce or other seasonings when grilling. I'll experiment to see how it works out, thinking it might be a good way to ensure chicken is cooked also reducing cooking time. We can parboil the day before and grill in a short amount of time.

Who has used this method? Any tips?
 
Yup I do. Otherwise the outside gets burnt waiting for the inside to come to temp.
 
Depends on what you want, I guess. Typical brine is done overnight so the salt and flavors have a chance to diffuse into the meat. So this recipe won't get you that. Cooking ahead of time will, as you say, reduce time on the grill. Said another way, it will reduce the amount of flavor that the chicken gets from the grilling. I am a certified KCBS barbeque judge and am certain that this recipe will produce a chicken without a lot of flavor.

If I were doing it, I'd brine ahead of time (https://stellaculinary.com/cooking-...cience-behind-brining-four-part-video-lecture) then spatchcock it (
) and put it on the grill. I would keep the fire low ("low and slow" is the mantra) and monitor with a good instant-read thermometer looking for 150 deg. Basically it is done when the juices run clear despite the fact that there will be some reddish spots around the leg and/or wing joints.

If your grill design works for indirect heat I would start in that mode. Maybe go to direct heat near the end to crispen the skin.

This is also a great way to do a turkey.

More than you ever wanted to know here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/index.php and here: https://amazingribs.com/searchresults/chicken
 
Haven't tried it.

Sounds a lot like a sous vide. Cook it to temp, then grill it for looks. I don't know why it wouldn't work.

See page 34 of this USDA doc:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/c...Guideline-SVSP-RTE-Appendix-A.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

for poultry, 160 deg for approx 15 seconds is what you need minimum. Getting that internal temp to 160 is the trick, and parboiling long enough (20 min) should do it. You could also put a temp probe into the thickest part of the largest piece and pull it after it hits 160 for 15 sec. (or 150 for about 3 min)
 
Matthew said:
... for poultry, 160 deg for approx 15 seconds is what you need minimum. Getting that internal temp to 160 is the trick, and parboiling long enough (20 min) should do it. You could also put a temp probe into the thickest part of the largest piece and pull it after it hits 160 for 15 sec. (or 150 for about 3 min)
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I don't know a serious cook who would take chicken to 160, despite that old USDA recommendation. I hedged a little bit recommending 150. For myself I would probably look for 140 or 145, then let the chicken rest for a while which will raise the internal temps a few degrees. The key is clear juices. More here: https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/07/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast.html
 
DFH65 said:
Otherwise the outside gets burnt waiting for the inside to come to temp.
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With respect, this is not the chicken's fault. It is an indication that your fire is too hot. Start with less enthusiasm. It's easier to add charcoal if necessary but if you have too much heat you can kill some coals with a spray bottle of water.
 
airdale said:
I don't know a serious cook who would take chicken to 160, despite that old USDA recommendation. I hedged a little bit recommending 150. For myself I would probably look for 140 or 145, then let the chicken rest for a while which will raise the internal temps a few degrees. The key is clear juices. More here: https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/07/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast.html
Click to expand...
Hitting 145 in the center, then letting it rest for 10 minutes works out very well. I do this with whole chickens that I roast. The temps in the center of the thickest parts will continue to rise. But for smaller pieces, like a boneless, skinless breast, there might not be enough thermal mass to carry over. You could pull it at 145 and let it rest for the 10 min the USDA says is needed to get a 99.9999% salmonella kill, but the problem is it might cool down to less than 145 before that 10 minutes is up.
 
Sous vide. For practical reasons you'd be better off pre-baking and finishing on the grill.
 
is


Don't forget to add the flavoring...
 
I couldn't imagine boiling chicken prior to grilling.
 
Nope. Not for the grill, not for the smoker. It's either full brining ahead of time, or none at all.
 
With Sous vide, you're at least leaving the juices in the bag while it slowly cooks.when you pat boil, you're washing out any fat (flavor) with boiling water. No bueno.
 
Got a Joule sous vide for Christmas. My wife cooked chicken for the first time last night and said it was the juiciest chicken she'd ever had. Boiling is not the same.
 
Parboiling chicken is a crutch, but it may help as long as you're careful (just as when not boiling first) to not overcook. Fear of undercooking chicken leads to a lot of overdone (lousy) chicken.

Boiling ribs, on the other hand, is absolute sacrilege. It ruins the texture and drains them from flavor. Not so important if your idea of ribs is stuff drowned in sauce and so soft that grandma can eat it without her teeth in.
 
It’s fine. If you must, do it in beer. At least it adds some flavor.
 
Brad Z said:
With Sous vide, you're at least leaving the juices in the bag while it slowly cooks. ...
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Yes, SV is a whole different game. It takes longer to cook and you can add butter, spices, etc. to the bag before cooking. You can even brine ahead of SV if you like. When you're done, the chicken is fully cooked. Maybe something like this: https://sousvideways.com/sous-vide-chicken-herbed-butter-sauce/

Doing a few birds SV, taking them in a cooler, then using the grill to warm them (spatchcocked is best) and to crispen the skin might be a winning strategy if you're looking for minimum & low risk cooking time at the races. Heat to 140-150. Start with a little less fire than you think you need, then add coals if necessary. It's very difficult to un-char chicken skin.
 
Nope to the parboil. If it's white meat and you want it fast, de-bone, butterfly, pound flat and salt/marinade. Cooks up in about 5-10 minutes. If it's dark meat, use boneless thighs. Whole, spatchcock, pound and 1-24 hours salt/marinade.
airdale said:
I don't know a serious cook who would take chicken to 160, despite that old USDA recommendation.
Click to expand...
Depends if it's white meat or dark. I prefer dark meat to be in the 170+ range. Turns all that connective tissue to gelatin.
 
I'm going to give it a whirl just to test. Will let you know how it turns out
 
Spatchcock. Salt and pepper. Three foil-wrapped bricks preheated on the grill. Bird placed skin down on medium-ish grill, bricks on top of chicken, cook 15 minutes or so, w/ squirt bottle on hand for any flare-ups, then bricks off, flip bird skin side up, and cook until done... Maybe another 10 minutes. NO sugary sauces or oils until last couple minutes if desired. Can use a Cajun dry rub before grilling.

Juiciest, most delicious chicken ever. Parboiling chicken is like ....well...bad. "lessee...how can we get some of that flavor removed? Oh yeah...I want it dry, too, and mealy."

/Thread.
 
I like cooking whole chickens in the bbq. If I'm not pressed for time, I stuff it with a quartered lemon and some sage, and cook it indirect for a couple hours. Otherwise, I cut it in half, and cook it direct. Both works pretty well. I like leaving the skin on so it doesn't dry out too bad.
 
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