The Tip You Need For Unbeatable Grilled Chicken Skewers

Grilled chicken skewers are a tasty way to combine protein, veggies, and even fruits all into one dish. They're also quick and easy to make, with plenty of options when it comes to seasoning and sauces. Basically, they can pack a big punch of flavor without too much prep work involved. But there is one mistake that a lot of people make which can lead to dry skewers — and it starts with the chicken itself.

Using the wrong part of the chicken leads to less-than-stellar results, regardless of what other ingredients, marinades, or finishing sauces are used. So, if you want perfectly moist skewers, you're going to want to follow this tip and skip the white meat altogether. Instead of chopping up chicken breasts, go for the dark meat that's found on the thighs. Doing so will result in a juicier cooked result that packs more flavor than the traditionally favored breasts.

When it comes to poultry, dark meat tends to get a bad rap. Given a choice, many people elect to go with white meat. Whether that's because of ideas that the fat in dark meat is bad for one's health, an aesthetic aversion to the colors of thigh meat, or an inclination for the milder flavors found in breast meat, letting go of such preferences can truly transform the outcome of your chicken skewers.

While the dark meat found on the thighs does have more fat than the white meat, this means it does a better job retaining its juices amidst the barbecue's high heat. Not only is the fat in chicken thigh meat largely the healthier, unsaturated kind, but it's the key to that melt-in-your-mouth flavor that makes grilled skewers so good. Unlike white meat, which doesn't have enough fat to spare, the fat in dark meat can spread to any veggies that are pressed up next to it on the skewer — leading to a far superior taste of the overall skewer. Plus, whereas white meat may require extra sauces and flavorings to give it more flavor, dark meat provides delicious flavors on its own. To top it off, the mouthfeel of moist, dark meat really is far superior, especially when it comes to grilled chicken skewers. Again, that's due to the retained moisture, which white meat lacks. If it's purely the aesthetic aspect of dark meat that has you preferring the white stuff, rest assured that you can cover up the darker color with a sauce.

Buying whole chicken thighs isn't the easiest way to procure enough dark meat for your chicken skewers, but it's a perfectly valid way to go about it if you don't mind taking the time to remove the meat from the bone. Benefits include the price — since the thighs are relatively cheap — and the fact that you'll have plenty of bones left over to make stock with afterward.

But if you are planning on making many skewers, then deboning enough thighs could take a long time. Instead, you can make the whole job much quicker and easier by simply purchasing boneless, skinless dark meat. Doing so means that all you'll have to do is cut the meat into skewer-sized chunks, which will get them in the marinade and on the grill much faster, leaving you time to prep other foods — or relax with a glass of wine!