Learn how to grill chicken perfectly by pre-cooking in the oven (low and slow) before hitting the grill. That way, you know it’s fully cooked and juicy so you can relax and enjoy your guests without worrying about feeding them under-cooked or dry chicken.
Recently I found a way to make grilled chicken foolproof. What do I mean? I mean, it’s a way of grilling chicken where you know for sure that the meat is cooked through, and you know for sure that it is tender and juicy, definitely not dry.
This method is great for if you’re having friends over because you can do most of it ahead of time. You can also make a big batch so if you’ve got a lot of friends, this recipe’s for you!
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
The Key To Perfectly Grilled Chicken:
The key to grilled chicken is to precook it in the oven ahead of time so you know it’s fully cooked and ready for the grill. Cooking it ahead of time also lets you cook it slowly, which yields nice, juicy, and tender meat. Plus, it gives you time to put your feet up during grilling season because most of the work is done beforehand.
Video: How To Grill Chicken Perfectly
What Kind Of Chicken Should I Use?
For this recipe, we’re using bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks. I prefer skinless but skin-on works too. I find that the skin doesn’t get really crispy on the grill no matter what I do. However, skinless can be either hard to find or more expensive.
Chicken breasts are not ideal for this method. If you really want to though, bone in and skin on chicken breasts are best. If you are planning on grilling boneless skinless chicken breasts, I have a separate post about that. They require a different method.
Want to grill a whole chicken? Get the instructions here.
Finally, if it’s wings you’re craving, you can learn how to grill chicken wings here.
How To Grill Chicken, Step-By-Step
Step #1
With a big group coming over, buy bulk packs of bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks. Get it with the skin on, cook it in the oven, then see the tip in Step #2.
Up to two days before the party, season the chicken with a spice rub (see printable recipe at the bottom) and bake at 300°F for about an hour.
Tip: After an hour of baking, test with an instant-read thermometer. The chicken should be at least at 165°F internally. If it’s over that, it’s ok. It’ll still be juicy!
Step #2
Then you remove the chicken from the oven and let it cool down a bit on the counter.
NEW TIP! – I just discovered this and had to edit this recipe to tell you about it! After the chicken has cooled a bit, but before adding sauce, simply pull the skins off if you don’t want them on. As I explained in step #1, I prefer skinless, but this is a great hack for when you can’t find them or there’s a sale on skin on!
Extra Tip – Use a pair of clean kitchen scissors (called kitchen shears) to snip away any skin that is attached to the bone.
Extra Extra Tip: These kitchen shears come apart for better washing, which is especially good for when we use them on chicken to make sure they’re sanitized.
This method of removing the skin after cooking is WAY easier than skinning the chicken before cooking and the skin also helps retain some moisture and adds flavor to the chicken meat while cooking. Win-win!
Step #3
Brush the chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce. I love this homemade basic barbecue sauce. It only has three essential ingredients but there are instructions for doctoring it up in different ways so you can customize it with additional spices like garlic powder and paprika.
Step #4
Refrigerate chicken until dinner time.
Step #5
Use tongs to transfer the chicken pieces to a grill at medium heat that is prepped for direct heat cooking. Cook, turning occasionally (I use nice, long tongs like these so that my hands don’t get too close to the heat), until there are grill marks on all sides and the meat is heated through, about 8 to 10 minutes total. You can baste them with sauce halfway through if you’d like but note that this can dislodge or hide the grill marks. I don’t usually baste midway through for this reason.
Note that you can instead broil the chicken. Put the sauced chicken on a pan that is safe under your broiler. Pre-heat the broiler. Put the chicken on the pan under the broiler, about 6 inches form the heat. Broil until dark spots are appearing, then flip the chicken and broil the other side until dark spots are appearing. Taste some chicken to make sure it’s heated through. It should take about 8-12 minutes total (4-6 minutes per side).
Step #6
Serve with lots of napkins and your favorite side dishes like hearty baked beans and potato salad.
Podcast Episode: Grilling Chicken
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this chicken, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintHow To Grill Chicken Perfectly Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This grilled chicken is pre-cooked in the oven (low and slow) before hitting the grill. That way, you know it’s fully cooked and juicy so you can relax and enjoy your guests without worrying about feeding them under-cooked or dry chicken.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 6 lbs. skinless bone-in dark meat chicken (drumsticks and/or thighs)
- BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- In bowl combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, and brown sugar. Rub on chicken and then arrange in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour. Double-check that the chicken is cooked by cutting into the thickest part and making sure it’s not pink inside or using a meat thermometer to check that it’s reached 165°F.
- Let cool for 15 minutes. If your chicken is skin on, carefully remove the skin before grilling. For skin that is attached to the bone, cut it off with kitchen shears.
- Brush each piece with about 2 tablespoons of sauce. Cover and refrigerate up to 36 hours.
- 15 minutes before eating, prepare grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat.*
- Add chicken pieces and cook until grill marks appear on underside, 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook until heated through, another 4-5 minutes. Baste with more sauce halfway through if desired but this isn’t necessary and doing so can hide your beautiful grill marks.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*Note: You can instead broil the chicken. Put the sauced chicken on a pan that is safe under your broiler. Pre-heat the broiler. Put the chicken on the pan under the broiler, about 6 inches form the heat. Broil until dark spots are appearing, then flip the chicken and broil the other side until dark spots are appearing. Taste some chicken to make sure it’s heated through. It should take about 8-12 minutes total (4-6 minutes per side).
This recipe was originally published in July 2014. It was revised and republished in May 2023.
Grenville Noronha says
Hey, it’s me again.
We tried out this recipe last evening and I’m happy to say, it was a big hit!
You were right about the long baking time at 140C. It did not dry out the chicken!
I was a bit concerned though about the taste. You see, we’re Indians and in fact I’m writing this from India. So as you know, it’s all about flavors mostly revolving around spice and how spicy you can make it. So considering the chicken had just salt, pepper and garlic powder, by Indian standards you’re missing out on the most important ingredient – chili!
And the BBQ sauce was the simple one you had posted (ketchup+mustard+honey). Again, BBQ sauce is not a staple here in India, although it is starting to pick up. But you won’t find it in the average Indian’s home.
The sauce though was amazing.
I’m so glad I stumbled across your website. I’m going to try out more recipes from this!
Christine Pittman says
Grenville, You can definitely add more spices to the chicken roasting in the oven. I keep it basic because the barbecue sauce has a lot of flavor. You can also add more flavor to the sauce, if you’d like. I love spicy food too! Thanks for the comment and let me say that it is so cool to know that you are cooking and eating my recipe from so far away!!!
Grenville Noronha says
We’re gonna try this recipe tomorrow and I’m already excited about it.
Just one question though. The one hour baking time. This is a dry rub mix. Won’t that dry the hell out of that chicken? I mean there is no liquid base in the marinade. Just the BBQ sauce that comes after the 1 hour + fridge time.
Christine Pittman says
Grenville, No, it doesn’t end up overcooked but is tender and juicy. This is because it is a low and slow method. It is cooked at a low-ish temperature and it is dark bone-in meat, which is moist. Do not use breasts for this. Do come back and let us know how it turns out.
G Ramsay says
You recommend a sauce to be added ahead of time then chilled, then in the recipe for the sauce you say add at the last minute?
Christine Pittman says
I just reread the post and recipe. In both it says to brush the chicken with sauce before refrigerating (step #3 in both) and that you can add more sauce halfway through grilling if you want but that it is unnecessary. Perhaps I don’t understand your question.
Will Powers says
Hi Christine-
I hope this post finds you well and in good spirits.
Did you ever try the ‘crispy wings’ recipe? You communicated you’d post by 5/22/15 and I didn’t see it.
Also would the reverse (grill chicken to char skin, refrigerate for 2days, then bake) work?
Regards,
Will
Christine Pittman says
Will, My crispy wings recipe is on my sister site, The Cookful. Sorry about that! http://thecookful.com/bake-chicken-wings-crispy/
Leigh says
What a great idea! I usually do the cooking when we have company and I have a great method. However when its just the two of us I usually have him cook and its usually under cooked. He refuses to even listen to my method. I am man, I know how to grill conversation every time. Do you know how to precook, let cool and have it look like its still raw? Lol. Just kidding. It would end up well done lol. Thanks for the recipe!
Christine Pittman says
Leigh, lol. Enjoy!
Allan says
I was just wondering 300Deg F is about 150 deg C, which is not the required temperature for chicken to cook through fully, which is 165 deg C. Is it ok to cook chicken partially and then store it for a day or two? Do you achieve full cooking temperature on grill.
Christine Pittman says
Allan, Nothing to worry about. The safe temperature for chicken is actually 75 deg C (165 deg F). So cooking the chicken at 300F for that long definitely gets it safely and fully cooked.
shirley jackson says
if using boneless skinless thighs does the time for precooking in the oven change
Christine Pittman says
Shirley, I’ve never done boneless skinless thighs at such a low temperature but I’m guessing it would be around 30-40 minutes. I’d say give them 30 minutes at 300F and then test them with an instant read thermometer or cut into a bigger one and make sure it’s no longer ping inside.
Allan says
Can you please let me know the temperature of refrigerator? Do you freeze them in freezer or just the normal 40 deg F temperature? If you freeze them, how long can you keep them and how to thaw? Thanks for your recipe
Christine Pittman says
Allan, My refrigerator is at about 36F. You can refrigerate them for up to two days after baking. Alternatively, once they’re cool, put them in a single layer on a tray in the freezer. This keeps them separate so they don’t freeze in a clump. Once frozen, put them in a freezer bag. They are good in the freezer for a month. To defrost, put the bag in the refrigerator overnight. Grill as instructed in the recipe. You might want to add more sauce before grilling though.
Gigi says
This is great for camping! Did the pre baking 2 days before and didn’t have to worry about raw chicken on the fire. My family says I need to do this every camping trip. Thank you for sharing.
Christine Pittman says
Gigi, I’m so happy it worked out for you! Thanks for letting me know :-)
lois says
Can you do this recipe with skin on chicken thighs. I have to cook for a motorcycle run for 150 to 200 riders.
Christine Pittman says
Lois, I’ve never tried it but I worry that it wouldn’t be as good. I think the chicken is cooked at too low of a temperature in the first stages and the skin wouldn’t get crisp. Then it’s not on the grill for long enough to get crispy either. I don’t think it would be bad, just not as good.
Christine Pittman says
Lois, I just had an idea. I bet if you followed this method over here http://thecookful.com/bake-chicken-wings-crispy/ for baking crispy chicken wings, but use drumsticks or thighs, you could go with the skin on. You’ll need to cook the chicken at the high temperature specified in the wings recipe. Cook it just until the chicken is cooked through. Then let them cool and refrigerate. Don’t sauce them yet. When ready to grill, sauce the chicken pieces and grill until heated through. I think I’m going to do a thorough test of this method this week. If it turns out well, I’ll post about it on May 22nd. if your event hasn’t happened by then, come check and find out.
Amy says
Use boneless skinless thighs and no worries on drying out!
Christine Pittman says
Amy, Great tip. Yes, I would definitely advise that if people don’t want bone-in chicken they go with thighs rather than breasts for this one. Chicken breasts are great on the grill but not as good when pre-cooked in the way described in this recipe.
Cathy says
Do you know what the time and temp for chicken breasts
Christine Pittman says
Cathy, I haven’t tested it. Honestly, if I was doing boneless skinless breasts I probably wouldn’t use this method. Instead, I’d flatten the breasts to an even thickness (put them one at a time in a ziptop bag, unzipped, and bash the thickest part with a rolling pin until it is as thin as the thinnest part. Repeat with remaining breasts. Then they only take about 3-4 minutes per side to grill and since they’re even thickness you don’t end up with half of the breast dried out waiting for hte thicker part to cook through. Baste with BBQ sauce halfway through grilling. You could just bake the breasts (300F for about 30 minutes, I’m guessing). But I’d worry about them being dry if you then grill them as well. As to bone-in breasts, I would guess about 45 minutes at 300F. But do cut in and check to make sure they’re not pink in the middle. I am concerned that these will be dry as well. White meat doesn’t stand up to the slower cooking the way that dark meat does. If you try any of the above, let me know how they turn out. Have a great day!
Michele says
do you think I can use legs WITH skin on?
Christine Pittman says
Hi Michele, Sorry for the delay. Here’s the thing. I’m worried that the skin will still be rubbery after the slow cook in the oven. It will crisp a bit on the grill but not a ton. I would suggest adjusting the recipe so that the chicken cooks at a higher temperature for a shorter time (400F until cooked through, about 35-40 minutes). Then proceed as instructed. Let me know how it turns out!
Sheila says
Great tips for summer entertaining. It is a must to be able to do as much prep ahead of time!
addie | culicurious says
What a great idea! Grilling chicken is one of the most challenging things in the BBQ world. Good solution. :) Also, I love your recipe in the Mango cookbook. I also have one in there for a crab salad! :)
Wendy says
Thanks for this tip! So obvious yet I never thought of precooking chicken for the grill! This makes so much sense, especially when you are cooking for a crowd and would rather be spending time with your guests not standing at the grill!
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext.com says
This looks delicious! Grilled chicken is the ultimate BBQ food!
kristy @ the wicked noodle says
What a great way to make cooking chicken easier! I have never heard this tip but I absolutely love it and am going to try it soon!
Jen says
I love grilling steak!
Becca from It's Yummi! says
I love grilling fresh veggies… but this chicken is just downright drool worthy!