So I just realized that I’ve spent the past twenty some years thinking BBQ chicken is chicken with BBQ sauce on it. Not that there is anything wrong with that, in fact it is one of my favorite meals.
I recently realized that BBQ is actually a way of cooking meat over a low heat with wood or charcoal. Since I haven’t had a charcoal grill since we lived in Cuba I thought I was going to have to settle for food covered in BBQ sauce forever. (Not that it’s a bad thing!)
Then I learned a little trick. You don’t need a charcoal grill or wood fire to BBQ meat. You can actually take wood chips, soak them, and wrap them in foil then poke holes in the foil. Let them sit on the grill while you cook your meat.
You get that amazing BBQ flavor without all the work of getting that charcoal grill just right.
Over the past few weeks (since we got our new grill and I’ve become slightly addicted to grilled chicken) I’ve been experimenting with different chicken marinades. What I’ve realized is that they are hard to mess up as long as you aren’t trying to get crazy and add pineapple with apple cider vinegar.
This week I tried a smokey marinade and it was a huge hit! This is perfect for grilling with the wood chips because it brings out the smoky flavor from the paprika.
BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- Chicken legs, thighs, breasts
- Olive oil
- Smoked paprika
- Red pepper flakes
- Minced garlic
- 1 beaten egg
Instructions
- Trim the fat off the chicken, if necessary.
- Place in a freezer bag and pour olive oil over the chicken.
- Add paprika, red pepper, garlic, and egg.
- Mix around in the sealed bag.
- Marinate for 4-6 hours.
- BBQ on the grill until cooked through.
- Slice and serve.
This is an awesome recipe because you can use the chicken in so many different ways. Slice it and serve on salad, in tortillas, on rice, in tacos, or just serve as a main dish. We served it on it’s own because it was just that good- but I plan on adding it the the top of my daily salad next time.
The best part about marinading and BBQ’ing meat is that you can do it ahead of time, even freeze it and then BBQ it when you have friends over. Since my backyard regularly looks like this-
It’s great to have some easy go-to dishes on hand to feed a crowd.
