If you’re a home chef, you may often find yourself looking for ways to enhance the flavor of the dishes you cook. Some recipes may benefit from nuanced spicing or added sauces, while others might respond well to alternative cooking methods. Silvio Correa, Brazilian grill master and private chef, spoke exclusively with Chowhound to share tips on a unique way to make flavorful grilled chicken.
The best way to amplify the flavor of your grilled chicken is to prepare it using cedar planks. This technique is often utilized with other meats, such as unforgettable grilled salmon. There are some tricks to using cedar planks that make the grilling process easier and more effective. Silvio Correa recommends that you first soak the plank for “at least one to two hours in water (or beer for added flavor) to prevent it from catching fire.” Then, it’s important to preheat the plank. “Place it on the grill until it starts to smoke, then add the chicken,” he said.
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More Techniques For Grilling Your Favorite Chicken
Grilled Chicken on cedar plank – Lauripatterson/Getty Images
There are two variables to take into account when using cedar planks versus traditional grilling: The intensity of the heat on the grill and cooking time. Both affect how the meat cooks, what kinds of chicken pieces you can use, and the level of juiciness you can achieve. If you grill chicken the traditional way, you might decide the best cuts of chicken to throw on the grill are dark meat varieties. These retain their moisture and stay juicy, even on a high-heat grill, which might dry out other kinds of chicken.
Using cedar planks, however, you can choose any kind of chicken pieces you like since the lower heat required with indirect grilling helps them remain juicy. “Bone-in thighs and breasts… retain moisture and develop great flavor during the slower cook,” Silvio Correa said. It’s also important to alter the cooking time to account for the lower heat. “Cedar planks are perfect for medium-low heat, allowing gentle smoking and even cooking,” said Correa. He continued, saying “plank grilling takes longer than direct grilling, but the result is tender meat with subtle smoky notes.”
To develop an even more robust taste, we have some tips for adding more flavor to grilled chicken. Silvio Correa shared some ideas on this as well, emphasizing steps during the pre-cooking processes. For one, he says you can brine the chicken for 30 minutes or marinate it in fat and acid. “Olive oil and mustard help tenderize while adding flavor,” he said, adding that letting the chicken rest after grilling is necessary for keeping the juices inside.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
