The Extra Cooking Tool You Need For Beautifully Grilled Chicken

Grilling chicken perfectly comes with its challenges, but if you want an easy way to achieve juicy, succulent grilled chicken, then you need to break out the grill press. Applying weight to cooking chicken is not a new cooking technique. People have been cooking with bricks for centuries and rightly so. Placing a brick wrapped in foil over a couple of pieces of chicken or even a whole spatchcocked chicken gets results, but a simple kitchen tool known as a grill press can also do the job without worries of having to deal with a crazy hot brick.

A grill press functions in the same manner as a brick. This weighted object is going to help your chicken cook evenly, produce a beautiful, crispy crust, and ensure it doesn't become tough and dry. How does it work? The grill press is going to maximize the cooking area by flattening your chicken, preventing it from lifting or curling. It also helps to trap moisture, keeping your chicken juicy. You can preheat your press for a couple of minutes — but remember it will be hot so wear a protective mit.

Using a grill press helps reduce your cook time because the flattened chicken is the same thickness throughout, and it does this without sacrificing the beautiful sear marks that serve as a badge of grilling prowess. There is, of course, a side benefit: If you like to grill your chicken with the skin on, using a grill press will also create a crispy, golden exterior. This is very similar to the crispy results you get when roasting chicken under a brick.

To use this kitchen tool, simply prep your chicken as you normally would, whether that's a rubbing the chicken with a little oil and seasoning with salt, pepper, spices and herbs, or giving it a good soak in a marinade. For a whole chicken you will need to use the spatchcock technique. However keep in mind most grill presses are not large enough to cover an entire spatchcocked chicken, so you will likely need do a half chicken. If you do want to do the whole chicken, use this cast iron trick for perfectly grilled chicken. If you are cooking individual cuts, a grill press works best one piece of chicken at a time, or two pieces spaced out. If you try to cook more you risk overcrowding and steaming it which forfeits all of its already mentioned benefits. 

Cooking times will vary based on how much chicken you are cooking and if you are cooking it directly over the flame or using indirect heat; however, you should plan for about an hour for a whole spatchcocked chicken or half chicken. Remember chicken is fully cooked when the juices run clear, but to be on the safe side, always use a meat thermometer and look for a reading of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you don't own a grill press but are thinking about purchasing one so you can grill up some tasty chicken, there are a few things to look for. You want to make certain that it presses food evenly, and that it has a large surface area. Because you will be holding it over an open flame, you also don't want your grill press's handle to be short. Height matters here, and it is good to look for one that has a heat resistant element on the handle as well.

A grill press is versatile. Once you've cooked chicken using this kitchen gadget, you may want to use it when grilling hamburgers or frying up a pan of bacon for breakfast. You can even use it for steak, fish and vegetables.