I make chicken drumsticks on the outdoor gas grill. First I boil it in water until its done, and then I spray the racks well on my outdoor gas grill with PAM and heat the grill. The problem I am having is, when I put the chicken on the grill and turn the drumsticks to brown the other side, the chicken sticks to the grill rack and I wind up losing lots of the pieces of the chicken because it sticks to the racks. How can I prevent this from happening? Thanks for any advice.
If you have a BBQ with 2 or 3 individual burners you should cook legs, back, thighs, etc, this way.
Paint on your marinade, and a little olive oil. Turn on all of the burners to high and close the lid. Leave the lid closed for 5-10 minutes in order to preheat the BBQ. Turn down the knob of one of the burners to the lowest temperature position ( example : Left side burner down, while right side burner stays on high ) and then place your chicken pieces on the left side of the grill and cook each side for about 10 minutes. You can then raise the heat on the left side to medium and put your BBQ sauce on before flipping it for another 2 minutes on each side.
Tip 1 : Never apply BBQ sauce before, or at the start of grilling. Always apply towards the end of the grilling process or else the sauce will most definitely burn )
Tip 2 : Keep the lid closed to prevent the chicken from drying out on the inside.
I cook mine raw on the grill. After a nice marinade, I put them on a very hot grill to sear them, then I lower the flame and move them to the upper rack to finish as I baste with sauce. When the juice runs clear from the fattest portion, they're done.
I cook the best tasting BBQ chicken legs in the world. I microwave them first then put them on the grill on super high, while constantly turning them and putting Uncle Yammy's BBQ on them. They come out awesomel. I don not know what everyone else is talking about. LOW temps and putting the BBQ on at the end. Mine come out perfect everytime.
Since I have been cooking on my charcoal cooker I have been using Olive oil on all my grilles and racks and nothing ever sticks to them. Makes clean up later alot easier too.
Instead of spraying the grill, spray the chicken legs, all sides with Pam (or brush with oil as previously suggested). I spray both sides of frozen burgers with Pam before grilling.
I would change what I am using to oil the grill. Pam doesn't work well with high heat. Also try brushing some oil directly on your chicken legs before placing them on grill.
I've personally never tried this, but maybe make a "bowl" out of foil, and put them on foil. Or, I've seen on tv the shows put oil on the grill too, instead of a non-stick spray. I may have to try this! hehe
At your grocery store get PAM for the Grille!!! Before you start the grill, spray the racks, let sit 1-2 minutes then turn on the heat to medium. Neighbor has done this and works well for him. I use it on my George Foreman Grill and clean-up is fast and easy!
Login using the form on the top of the page to post feedback (if you are a registered user). If you have not yet registered, click here to do so. It's FREE!.
Archives:
Request: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
Archived on 08/13/2007
Does anyone have a recipe for cooking chicken legs (little drumsticks) on a gas grille? I have tried it several times but the outside of the chicken is burnt, and inside is still pink. I don't want a fancy recipe, just plain chicken legs on the gas grille. Should I boil the chicken first and then cook it on the grille? Thanks a lot for any advice and recipes!
P.J. from Delaware
Answers:
RE: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
I always partially cook my chicken in the microwave before grilling so it's cooked through. (06/12/2006)
Cook them on indirect heat. First I heat the entire grill. Then turn off the heat on the side where you will be cooking the chicken legs. Put a piece of aluminum foil that you have sprayed with PAM on that side and using tongs press it down into place.
On the side with the heat still on medium, place a pop can or soup can of water. Put your chicken legs on the foil and season. Then carefully spray the top of the legs (making sure spray doesn't hit the flame on other side). Close lid and cook for ten minutes.
After 10 minutes give the legs a quarter turn(using tongs) reseason where needed and spray again. cook another ten minutes with the lid closed and continue to do this untill cooked on all 4 sides.
the chicken will cook all the way through and be tender and juicy (06/12/2006)
I've always boiled mine for 15-20 minutes first. (06/12/2006)
By lkoenig
RE: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
If you have a microwave oven you could sear them on the grill and finish cooking them in the microwave. I do this quite often by mistake! LOL. (06/12/2006)
Use the gas grill to "smoke" them. Only light one burner (left or right), put foil on side of grill you're not using, soak smoking chips (you can buy in grocery store and hardware stores) and place chips on side of grill that is lit. The chicken will cook slowly, inside will not end up raw and skin will crisp. (06/13/2006)
By Val Reynolds
RE: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
Any bone-in chicken that I grill, I boil first so that it is cooked to the bone. My favorite and easiest seasoning is to marinade the chicken (after boiling) in Italian salad dressing. (I marinade a few hours or overnight.) Then grill the chicken--it is so delicious! (06/13/2006)
I grill mine for a while so they get that wonderful flavor, then I put in a casserole dish with some BBQ sauce and place them in the microwave. They come out tender and juice, not to mention done. While the chicken is in the microwave, hubby is grilling everything else, and I'm in the kitchen getting everything else ready. When the rest of the food comes off the grill, all's ready to eat. (06/13/2006)
We don't have a gas grill, but often grill chicken on our charcoal grill. We recently did 2 cornish hens. The secret we have found is to cook them indirect and keep the cover on until they are done, no peeking at all! We cooked the hens for 1 1/2 hours and they were perfect! Moist and cooked all the way through. (06/13/2006)
By Marfette
RE: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
I'm sorry you're having this problem, but the secret to cooking great chicken on a gas or charcoal grill is in controlling the fire temperature. You need to turn the temp down to a low level to begin with and cover so that the chicken is not dry. If your grill isn't equipped with a lid, then you can also cover the entire top with aluminum foil that you can peel away and replace after you turn/check the chicken. You don't turn the fire up to actually brown the chicken to a deeper brown (if this is totally necessary) until the inside is cooked dry of blood. BBQ chicken on the gas grill tends to have a different texture to it as well, since it will more than likely will not naturally sear like on a charcoal grill. It's also not unusual for chicken to take about thirty five - forty five minutes to cook on the grill if done correctly with patience. (06/13/2006)
We microwave chicken before grilling it, but boiling would work too. We have never been able to grill raw chicken and have it cook on the inside before burning it on the outside. (06/13/2006)
By Debbie
RE: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
I always boil mine as a sure way to the chicken being done. If you over boil, they will fall apart. I wouldn't boil mine anymore than 10 minutes after the water starts boiling and NEVER leave the chicken in the boiling water, immediately take them out. (06/13/2006)
I cook mine without skin for twenty min and it should work well and I cook it on medium. (06/22/2006)
By Morris
RE: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
I take my chicken breasts and or legs and then place them into the microwave for a total of 4 minutes and 30 seconds. After which I then place them on aluminum foil on the gas grill (very low setting) and then cover then with Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar and BBQ Sauce with Honey. I then turn the chicken every 10 minutes for a total of 50 minutes. I then take an orange Bell Pepper cut it up and place the pieces on the chicken for the last 10 minutes. Oh so good! (07/05/2006)
By Kiss The Cook
RE: Cooking Chicken Legs on a Gas Grill
Turn your heat down. Apparently the heat is too high causing the meat to burn on the outside and raw on the inside. Don't boil or microwave as this alters the taste of the chicken. Also, if you are BBQing the chicken, wait till the chicken is done before you sauce it. Sauce one side, turn sauce the other side, let cook on low heat. Repeat these steps a few times and your Bird will be delicious. (01/06/2007)
