Grilled Chicken

BBQ chicken requires the following ingredients: chicken breasts, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, cumin, mustard powder, salt, black pepper, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil.

To prepare BBQ chicken, start by trimming any excess fat and cutting the chicken into cubes. Place the cubes in a large bowl, and season with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, cumin, mustard powder, salt, and black pepper. In a separate bowl, mix together barbecue sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken cubes on the gas grill machine, and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, until cooked through. 

BBQ chicken is a tasty and nutritious dish. One serving of BBQ chicken contains about 237 calories, 8 grams of fat, 32 grams of protein, and 7.8 grams of carbohydrates. It is also a good source of iron, with 1.7 milligrams per serving. Additionally, it contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, and phosphorus. BBQ chicken is also low in sodium, with only 230 milligrams per serving. However, it is important to note that BBQ chicken is high in fat and calories, so it should be enjoyed in moderation.

1. Prick the skin

The first step to preparing your duck for smoking is to puncture the skin on the breast.

Puncturing the skin will help the fat render and allow the skin to cook more evenly. We simply used a toothpick to prick wholes all over the breast.

You can opt to score the skin in a checkerboard pattern with a sharp knife, this does add some wow to the final presentation.

2. Dry brine

Dry brining is the process of salting food and allowing it to rest prior to cooking. Dry brining can yield the same results as traditional wet brine and uses up less room in the fridge.

While traditional wet brines are still very popular, there are definitely some downsides to the process. You can run the risk of waterlogging your meat and it’s difficult to control the amount of salt that penetrates the meat.

Dry-brining uses the moisture that is already present in the muscle to create a brine. The salt will draw out the moisture from the meat, then over the course of brining the moisture will dissolve the salt and become a brine. With a dry brine you do have more control over the process.

For this recipe, we coated the duck in Kosher salt which is perfect for dry-brining because of its thick texture. It won’t clump together like table salt or other fine salts and it is easy to sprinkle evenly on your bird.

Make sure you get a layer of salt on the underside of the duck as well.

The amount of salt that you use really depends on the size of the meat you are brining. It’s difficult to give a precise measurement, but you essentially want to coat the bird in a thin, even layer of salt. Then, simply place your duck on a wire rack and store it in the fridge overnight (8 to 12 hours) to brine.

After the duck has brined, remove it from the fridge, brush off any excess salt and pat it dry. There is no need to rinse the duck in water.

Before smoking, I like to chop a couple of apples and oranges into quarters and stuff them into the cavity of the duck.

The fresh fruit will impart flavor to the meat of the duck during the cooking process.

Once the cavity is stuffed with fruit, simply tie the legs together with a bit of twine.

3. Fire up the smoker to 275°F

For this recipe, the duck was smoked at 275°F on the Pitboss Pro Series 1600. We used apple wood for this cook, but any fruit or nut wood would work just fine, you just don’t want anything too overpowering.

Place your duck directly on the grates in the smoker. You can put a drip pan beneath the duck on the smoker while it was cooking to catch all that liquid gold fat. Duck fat can be used to make the best roast potatoes you’ve ever eaten.

Let the duck smoke at 275°F for about 30 minutes per pound, so anticipate 2 to 3 hours for the whole cook. You want to want to take the duck to 160°F in the breast, but you’ll increase the smoker temp once you hit 140°F.

4. Make the glaze

After about 1-½ hours, you want to prepare your Maple Bourbon Glaze.

By reducing the glaze it becomes thicker and stickier, so will really adhere to that duck.

Grab a small pot and combine the ingredients for the glaze. Let it come to a simmer to make sure they are well incorporated and allow to reduce slightly.

5. Crank the temperature

Once the internal temperature of the duck reaches around 140°F, around the 2-hour mark, kick the temperature of your smoker up to about 350°F to make sure all of the fat renders.

Save the fat from the duck to use for future recipes. It can be used on everything from potatoes to eggs.

At this point, you are going to start coating the duck in your Maple Bourbon glaze.

You should baste it with the glaze every 15 minutes or so through the last part of the cook until the duck reaches an internal temperature of 160°F.

Once it hits 160°F, place the whole duck under your broiler to get the skin nice and crispy on all sides.

It will make a really nice centerpiece at your next celebration.