Preparing Meat for the Grill – Part Two : Chicken Thighs

Grilling is a dry-heat cooking method. The atmosphere of a grill is hot and harsh – much like a desert. Protecting your meat with a bit of marinade, rub, or brine will keep things tasty and juicy. In this class, Chef Todd shares two of his favorite marinades for preparing chicken thighs for the grill – whether you’re using gas, charcoal, or a wood-fired grill.

Chicken thighs are an ideal choice of meat for the grill. With a higher fat content, they will naturally remain juicy and flavorful, even when exposed to high heat.

The goal in preparing meat is to enhance the flavor and protect it from the dry heat of the grill. Chef Todd accomplishes this with two tasty marinades.

Marinade

When creating a marinade, there are three essential components:

Flavor – Rubs, herbs, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and don’t forget the “Pit Seasoning”
Acidity – Citrus juice, vinegar, wine, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tomato
Fat – Oil, butter, lard

Marinades that combine these three components achieve three things: (1) your meat will be protected from the heat, (2) enhanced in flavor and (3) tender and juicy. Keep in mind that the acid will start to alter the proteins in the chicken. For this reason, intense marinades like these needn’t sit on the meat for hours. 30-60 minutes is an adequate amount of time for deliciously marinated chicken.

Create your own marinade or use one of Chef Todd’s delicious recipes.