BBQ chicken is a classic summer cookout food. The sweet, sticky barbecue sauce coating the juicy, tender chicken is hard to resist. But when it comes to getting that perfect caramelized char on your chicken, there’s some debate around when you should apply the BBQ sauce. Should you coat the chicken in sauce before putting it on the grill or wait and glaze it at the end? Here’s a look at the pros and cons of each method.
The Case for Saucing Chicken Before Grilling
-
Allows sauce flavors to penetrate the meat. Basting the chicken pieces with sauce before grilling lets the sauce permeate the meat resulting in more flavor. The sugars and spices have time to get absorbed.
-
Dries out the surface, Putting sauce on before cooking draws moisture out of the exterior of the chicken This helps create a tacky surface which caramelizes better on the grill
-
Saves time You don’t have to bother with periodically brushing on barbecue sauce as the chicken cooks The sauce is already on, so all you need to focus on is flipping and monitoring doneness.
-
Prevents sticking. The sauce on the outside keeps the chicken from sticking to the grill grates while it’s cooking. The sauce’s sugars turn into caramel, which makes it easier to remove.
-
Allows sauce to reduce and thicken. While the chicken and sauce are cooking, the water in the sauce evaporates, making the sauce thinner, stickier, and more strongly flavored.
The Case Against Saucing Chicken Before
-
Can burn quickly. Barbecue sauce contains a lot of sugar, which easily burns on the grill. Saucing too early often results in blackened, charred sauce before the chicken is fully cooked.
-
Makes grill flare-ups. When sauced chicken drips onto a hot grill or coals below, it can cause big fires that can give the food a burnt taste.
-
Dilutes smoke flavor. When you first put on the barbecue sauce, its strong, sweet flavors hide the mild smoke flavor that comes from cooking over indirect heat.
-
Creates skin barrier. Heavy saucing under the skin before cooking prevents smoke penetration and tends to make the skin soggy rather than crispy.
-
Less sauce flavor. Much of the sauce burns off or drips into the grill before serving, so you get less of that sticky sauce coating in each bite.
Tips for Getting the Best of Both Methods
For perfectly sauced and smoked BBQ chicken, you can employ a hybrid saucing approach:
-
Lightly season un-sauced chicken first with a dry rub spices. Apply your rub generously on the pieces before grilling.
-
Grill chicken indirectly over low heat for about 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through. This gently cooks the meat while infusing flavorful smoke. Avoid direct high heat.
-
In the last 10-15 minutes of estimated cook time, brush on a layer of BBQ sauce on both sides and continue cooking over indirect heat.
-
In the last 2-3 minutes, move chicken directly over the heat. Give each side a quick sear to caramelize the sauce and finish cooking.
-
Just before serving, coat chicken again with another layer of sauce. The sauce will be thick, sticky, and full of flavor.
This method allows the chicken time to absorb smoke flavor before saucing. It also gives the sauce enough time over indirect heat to caramelize without burning before searing at the end. Less sauce is required, so you get optimal flavor and ideal texture.
Choosing the Right Barbecue Sauce
The best barbecue sauces for chicken have a ketchup or tomato base with balanced sweetness. Ideal viscosity is thick, but still brushable. Avoid thin, vinegary sauces which can burn quickly.
Some great sauce options include:
-
Sweet and tangy ketchup-based sauces. Ketchup mixed with spices and ingredients like brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and chili powder makes an ideal chicken BBQ sauce.
-
Honey barbecue sauces. Sauces flavored with a touch of honey have nice sweetness along with acidity to cut through richness.
-
Regional sauces like Kansas City and Memphis styles. These sauces focus on tomato, molasses and brown sugar flavors perfect for chicken.
-
Restaurant-style sauces like Sticky Fingers Carolina Sweet Sauce. Many restaurant BBQ places sell their signature sauces which are designed for chicken.
-
Asian fusion sauces. For something different, try an Asian sesame ginger or spicy Korean gochujang sauce on your grilled chicken.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to saucing up chicken for the grill. Just keep heat level, sauce thickness and flavors in mind. Take your time, keep a close watch, and you’ll achieve perfectly sauced, tender and juicy BBQ chicken worth bragging about.
You’re slathering on the barbecue sauce too soon.
While you can put some BBQ sauce on the chicken before it touches the grill, be sure that you don’t slather it on. Barbecue sauce typically contains sugar that will brown faster than the meat. This can make it difficult to tell when the chicken is done. Put the BBQ sauce on the meat when it’s almost done cooking so you don’t take it out too soon.
The temperature is set too high on the grill.
Some types of meat (steak) need high heat to get a good sear. But chicken requires a lower temperature to get an even consistency. Rather than cooking your chicken on high heat, choose medium-low on a charcoal grill or medium on a gas grill. If you’re worried about hot spots, shift the chicken around on the grill.
When to Apply BBQ Sauce to Chicken
FAQ
Do you put barbecue sauce on chicken before or after grilling?
Most of the time, you should put barbecue sauce on chicken near the end of the grilling process, or even after it’s done cooking.
What not to do when grilling chicken?
For this, the first step is to know the mistakes to avoid while grilling chicken. Not Brining the Chicken Properly. Brining is a good way to add flavor and keep the chicken tender. Uncovered Grilling. Timing the Sauce. Cooking Cuts. Wrong Temperature.
Can you grill meat with barbecue sauce on it?
Barbecue sauce mixed into your favorite grilled meatball or well-done burger recipe improves both the flavor and texture of your grilled food. Furthermore, because the barbecue sauce is inside the food it’s not prone to burning.
What should I put on chicken before grilling?
Make the Seasoning – In a small bowl, combine salt, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and coriander. Prepare the Chicken – Evenly season the meat with the spice mixture, about ½ teaspoon per side. Grill the chicken. Put the chicken on the grill’s direct-heat side and close the lid.