Barbecue Chicken Problems

[redfishbluefish]

I know we have a bunch of BBQ experts here. Here's my issue.....barbecue sauce not staying on the chicken when I flip it on the grill.


Now before I get into my issue, let me state that I originally was a Sweet Baby Ray's user.....easy peasy, out of the bottle. In a BBQ forum someone mentioned that I needed to look at the label, because the first ingredient (the most prevalent ingredient) was High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not being a label reader, I was shocked....No more Sweet Baby Ray's for me!!!

So my chicken BBQ recipe is to first marinate the chicken over night (if in a rush, a couple hours) with the following recipe:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped
3 tablespoons chopped onion


Now when I was Sweet Baby Ray, I'd fire up the grill and slather the chicken with the sauce....which would then fall off into the grill and burn when the chicken was flipped. Very little stayed on the chicken.

Since finding out about the high fructose, I now make my own sauce using this recipe:


1/2 teaspoon olive
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped small

Saute above for five minutes....add and simmer the rest below for 15 minutes.

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon tamari sauce
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
dash of cinnamon


This too falls off the chicken and burns within the grill.


SO what am I doing wrong?

 

[Nate77]

Are you waiting till the last 5-10 minutes to add sauce?

 

[redfishbluefish]

No. Here's what I've been doing just so there's some sauce on the chicken.....I put sauce on the top side and grill for 9-10 minutes.....flip the chicken and sauce the new top-side and grill for another 9-10 minutes. Bottom side has virtually no sauce on it.

I've also tried this on grill pads, and still lost the BBQ sauce.

 

[Nate77]

Grill your chicken before you put sauce on , somerimes I will grill all the way then add sauce on top , and put over high i direct heat till sauce sets. Also I don't marinate if grilling/smoking. Here lately I have been using a dry rub and a mix of vinegar and beer spraying threw out grilling. And are we talking skin off or skin on?skinless I have always had problems with.

 

[cmcoker]

I usually do boneless skinless chicken thighs, if that matters. I marinate, throw on grill. Do first Flip, then when its close to being done I sauce a couple minutes before I flip again. That couple minutes let's the sauce set up, then flip the last time and sauce the other side. Couple minutes later pull off grill. Adding it too soon will also lead to the sauce burning, but my family loves burnt food fo some reason.

I also dont really slather, a dab will do on the grill. More sauce can be added on the plate if desired.

I haven't checked the label... but I really like Stubbs bbq sauce, we do spicy but the regular is good also.

This is the what I use to marinate
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/spice-rubbed-grilled-chicken/ use the spice concoction, subbing oregano for thyme. Coat chicken, then throw in enough olive oil to coat everything. The honey/vinegar part I have used also but not always.

 

[MTBake]

I move mine to lower heat when saucing. I also sauce and flip. Often and repeatedly. A late friend of mine showed me a trick of actually thinning sauce to a kinda gravy consistency and treating this more of a basting period. He was from Lao, so I'm sure it's a technique he brought over from there. Works well for me.

 

[Nate77]

@cmcoker I thought my parents were the only people that liked burnt food ,like burnt burnt , the go to a steak house order their steaks, extra well done burnt.

 

[davocean]

I used to think marinating in BBQ sauce was the best thing, but I too was later taught to not put sauce on until nearly done, and not a lot, as it just gets all over grill.

Now I may season and let chill, but sauce only at end and then add more once on the plate while still hot

 

[Jeepguy242]

Use a rub if you want bbq on the chicken during grilling.

Sauce on the side to dip

 

[cmcoker]

@cmcoker I thought my parents were the only people that liked burnt food ,like burnt burnt , the go to a steak house order their steaks, extra well done burnt.

If it ain't black, it ain't done.

My wife takes her filet butterflied well done with a char please. Mom and wife prefer burgers to look like hockey pucks.

I like a little char. But I like moisture in my food too lol

 

[Barrett]

Use dry rub on the chicken and grill, while grilling have your sauce in a cast iron pan on the grill with indirect heat, then put sauce on chicken right before you take it off the grill. With the sauce already hot it don’t take long.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

I do a rub on mine and apply the BBQ the last 5-10 minutes. I also dig sweet baby Ray's and I refuse to read the ingredients so I can keep using it! Add a touch of brown sugar or molasses to your sauce to help with the caramelization.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

The rub does two things, 1st obviously added flavor, 2nd it becomes a binder that will give your sauce a little something to grab on to.

 

[alton]

I would nix these three
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
and add honey till it gets sweet enough for your taste.
Dunk your chicken and no reason to flip. (looks better also)
Instead of marinating, try your spices in a brine solution, soak chicken over night

 

[OriginalUserName]

Reduce the tomato sauce a bit to thicken things up. Use a dry rub and/or really pat the chicken dry so the sauce sticks better. You will lose some on the flip, just re-apply. Dry rub will impart more flavor anyway. For whole chickens I really like to use the beer can method anyway, no flipping involved and helps it cook evenly without being overdone. Plus you have to start off your cook by drinking half a beer. You HAVE TO. ;)

After you let the chicken rest you can add the juices to sauce and let it reduce a little. This collects some of the gelatin and whatnot and will up your sauce flavor. (works way better with ribs but still not bad with chicken)

I would nix these three
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
and add honey till it gets sweet enough for your taste.
Dunk your chicken and no reason to flip. (looks better also)
Instead of marinating, try your spices in a brine solution, soak chicken over night

+1 on the brine

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Reduce the tomato sauce a bit to thicken things up. Use a dry rub and/or really pat the chicken dry so the sauce sticks better. You will lose some on the flip, just re-apply. Dry rub will impart more flavor anyway. For whole chickens I really like to use the beer can method anyway, no flipping involved and helps it cook evenly without being overdone. Plus you have to start off your cook by drinking half a beer. You HAVE TO. ;)

After you let the chicken rest you can add the juices to sauce and let it reduce a little. This collects some of the gelatin and whatnot and will up your sauce flavor. (works way better with ribs but still not bad with chicken)


+1 on the brine

Actually smoked a turkey and a chicken 2 weeks ago, soaked both in a 2 day brine. This was the first chicken I done in a brine, then dry rub and it was Excellent! I picked this brine up from Costco during the holidays, great taste and I will be buying more. I wanted to do what the guy on tv used to do and yell.....BAM!!! So I now can do the +1 on the chicken brine from time to time.

 

[Tallison]

What is the consistency on the sauce? Are you heating it before hand or mixing and slabbing on cold? My family has had a recipe in our family forever and I've never had this problem, It might be because the recipe calls for some thicker ingredients but i would think the tomato paste would help with that.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I know we have a bunch of BBQ experts here. Here's my issue.....barbecue sauce not staying on the chicken when I flip it on the grill.


Now before I get into my issue, let me state that I originally was a Sweet Baby Ray's user.....easy peasy, out of the bottle. In a BBQ forum someone mentioned that I needed to look at the label, because the first ingredient (the most prevalent ingredient) was High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not being a label reader, I was shocked....No more Sweet Baby Ray's for me!!!

So my chicken BBQ recipe is to first marinate the chicken over night (if in a rush, a couple hours) with the following recipe:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped
3 tablespoons chopped onion


Now when I was Sweet Baby Ray, I'd fire up the grill and slather the chicken with the sauce....which would then fall off into the grill and burn when the chicken was flipped. Very little stayed on the chicken.

Since finding out about the high fructose, I now make my own sauce using this recipe:


1/2 teaspoon olive
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped small

Saute above for five minutes....add and simmer the rest below for 15 minutes.

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon tamari sauce
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
dash of cinnamon


This too falls off the chicken and burns within the grill.


SO what am I doing wrong?

Now if I was grilling, first I'd set up two zone grilling. One zone on grill a divider which has mesquite wood burning, other side work like oven. Grill in zone one about 8min, flip another 8min, put onto zone two the chicken(cut up before grilling ), after 15 min., add sauce, cook another 20 min,
With lid on. Don't forget a ss bowl of water or beer,on oven side with chicken, to keep moist.
Just talking

 

[siggy]

Just like paint, lose the moisture first, Paint at 75-85% done. I dip the chick pieces in bowl off sauce and set then remove no turning. ....Try A Primer:p

 

[Opus]

Actually smoked a turkey and a chicken 2 weeks ago, soaked both in a 2 day brine. This was the first chicken I done in a brine, then dry rub and it was Excellent! I picked this brine up from Costco during the holidays, great taste and I will be buying more. I wanted to do what the guy on tv used to do and yell.....BAM!!! So I now can do the +1 on the chicken brine from time to time.

Wish our Costco's had that.