As you may or may not know, we love smoked garlic butter. I’ve noticed that I use regular garlic less than I used to, and one of the reasons for this is that I always have smoked garlic butter in my refrigerator, as should you!
This grilled chicken dish was another fantastic way to use our favorite condiment!
How to Grill Garlic Butter Chicken
You are going to need to make a batch of smoked garlic butter for this recipe. You can click that link to see the full recipe or follow the shortened version below.
How to Make Smoked Garlic Butter
- Take a head of garlic and roast it in a smoker until it is brown and mushy.
- Remove the cloves from the paper and smash together with 1 stick of softened butter.
- Season the butter with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
Coat the Chicken With the Butter
We used chicken leg quarters for this recipe but you can use any pieces and parts that make you happy. Leg quarters are pretty juicy so we did not brine them. If you are going to use chicken breasts for this recipe then soaking them in a basic salt and sugar brine for a few hours would be a fine idea.
Instead of just rubbing the butter mixture on the skin of the chicken, we took it up a notch – we rubbed it UNDER the skin of the chicken! That way the taste stays – it doesn’t melt and fall off. We did put some extra of the butter mixture on top of the skin, because there was extra and we couldn’t let it go to waste!
Set Up Your Grill for Indirect High Heat
Light about 50 charcoal briquettes in a chimney and bank them on one side of your grill to create a two temperature zone cooking environment.
Place the chicken on the indirect heat side of the grill and let the pieces cook to the desired internal temperature. For leg quarters you want an internal temperature of 175-185F while breasts should be cooked to 165F.
Depending upon the temperature of your grill it should take about 45 minutes for the chicken to reach the target temperatures. As always, use a digital thermometer to know exactly when the chicken is done.
This was some of the juiciest, tastiest chicken we’ve made. Give it a try…I think you will love it!
Garlic Butter Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 - 6 chicken parts we used leg quarters, some cut and some whole
- 1 batch of Smoked Garlic Butter
Instructions
- Set up your grill for 2-zone cooking.
- If you have time, brine your chicken for a few hours, all day, or overnight!
- Make 1 batch of Smoked Garlic Butter - recipe found on our site if needed.
- If you brined, rinse chicken thoroughly under cold water.
- Gently lift skin of chicken pieces and smear Butter under skin and all over.
- Throw some hickory and fruit wood chips/chunks over your coals (or in your smoke box if using gas).
- Place chicken away from heat/coals and smoke indirect for at least 30 minutes.
- Move chicken directly over coals and sear to finish - until internal temp is 175.
- Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes before devouring!