When Is It Done
The USDA recommends cooking poultry until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Keep in mind that in whole birds the internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees during resting. Check the thigh meat by inserting the probe of a thermometer into the thickest part . If you dont have a thermometer, cut into the center of the meat. The juices should run clear and the meat should no longer be pink at the bone. We recommend using the iGrill app-connected thermometer.
Why The Chicken Thighs
We have already stated that the main reason we recommend the chicken thighs instead of the other body parts is due to the higher meat content.
Also, you find that the thighs are easier to prepare, plus the taste tends to be more amazing. On top of that, due to their dark color, the thighs are more capable of standing up to a broader range of flavors.
How Long To Cook Chicken Thighs On George Foreman Grill
Are you searching for how long to cook chicken thighs on a George Foreman grill? Well! You may know that chicken thighs are a healthy, flavorful protein that can be eaten cold or cooked in a variety of ways.
One of the most popular cooking methods is to use a George Foreman grill. This post will cover how long to cook chicken thighs on a George Foreman grill and answer any questions you may have about the process.
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Important Things To Know When Grilling Chicken Thighs
There are a few important things to know when youre grilling chicken thighs that are bone-in and skin-on that are really important, no matter what grill youre using.
I call these the holy grail of grilled chicken thighs:
A marinade is important
While chicken thighs are much more flavorful than chicken breasts, they can get boring. So, a good marinade is important. It doesnt have to be anything fancy or complicated. Some olive oil, acid, spices, and seasoning will do the trick. Get my recipe for the Traeger grilled chicken thighs ultimate marinade in the printout below.
Cook them skin side down first, for at least 15 minutes
When Im putting my thighs on the grill, I cook them skin side down first and for longer than I cook the other side. Theres nothing like crispy skin with a kiss of smoke and char.
Dont over cook them
I use a digital read thermometer to make sure Im cooking meat perfectly. For these Traeger grilled chicken thighs, theyre done when the middle of the thickest part of the chicken next to the bone reaches 165F. Once you hit that, immediately remove them from the grill.
Let them rest before serving
Once the chicken is cooked, let it rest before serving for about 10 minutes. This helps the juices to draw back into the meat, giving you more flavor and moisture!
How To Make Juicy Grilled Chicken Thighs With Easy Marinade
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
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How Do I Cook The Chicken Thighs On The George Foreman Grill
Cooking chicken thighs on a George Foreman grill is easy, and it can be done in just a few minutes.
What If I Dont Have A Meat Thermometer
I would highly, HIGHLY recommend a meat thermometer if you are doing any sort of grilling with bone-in chicken thighs are chicken breasts. If you dont have a meat thermometer, you will know that the chicken is cooked all the way through if its juices run clear once you remove it from the grill and let it rest for a minute. If you find that you havent cooked your chicken all the way back through, return it to the grill quickly and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes at the same temp.
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The Best Chicken Thighs To Use For Grilling
In my opinion the best chicken thighs to use are bone-in chicken thighs. The bone-in keeps the meat tender and juicy while also infusing flavor from the bone into the meat. However, if you prefer to use boneless you can definitely do that as well. The cook time will be less with boneless. It just depends on your preference.
How Long Do You Grill Chicken Thighs At 400
You should grill chicken thighs at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. This will ensure that the chicken is cooked through and has a nice, crispy skin.
Grilling chicken thighs provides the best protein. Because boneless chicken thighs are very crispy, juicy, and inexpensive to prepare, they make excellent substitutions. You will not get juicy chicken if you cook it in barbecue sauce. Instead, use a rub of spices such as garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and chili pepper. Grilling boneless chicken thighs and bone-in chicken takes place at 400F and 450F, respectively. When you start cooking your chicken, always start it side down. Before you start grilling the chicken, make sure it is at room temperature so that it does not stick to the grill grates.
If you want to enjoy summer flavors without cooking, grill chicken. The juices from the chicken will be retained in the meat after it has been cooked through. It is also possible to cook it on a covered grill, which allows you to stay outside while waiting for your food to cook.
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How You Will Serve The Chicken Thighs
If you plan to serve the hot chicken thighs with a vegetable/sauce recipe, you can remove the lid after cooking and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. This will allow the chicken thighs to finish cooking without over-cooking.
If you are looking to keep the chicken warm, you can remove the lid and set it in a pan on your George Foreman grill.
In case you are unsure about any of these factors, we recommend cutting your chicken into small pieces so that the pieces finish cooking in about ten minutes. You can also check to see if your chicken is finished on a meat thermometer for accurate results.
When you follow these guidelines and suggestions, your chicken thighs will be fully cooked and tasty.
An Affordable Grilled Chicken Recipe
I absolutely love grilling season! These Grilled BBQ Chicken Thighs are one of my family’s favorite recipes. I like them because chicken thighs are extremely flavorful but also very affordable so it’s a great option when you need to feed a lot of people. This recipe is super simple and with just a few spices and a couple grilling techniques, you will be a BBQ Chicken Thigh grilling master!
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Do You Need A Meat Thermometer
If you are grilling chicken thighs or breasts, we highly recommend having a meat thermometer on hand. You will know that the chicken is cooked all the way through if its juices run clear once you remove it from the grill and let it rest for a minute. If you find that your chicken isnât entirely done, simply return it to the grill for 3-4 minutes more.
If you donât have one, you should get one. It is the best way to ensure the chicken is cooked through without overcooking, so you provide the best grilling experience to your family and friends.
How To Grill Chicken Thighs: Skin
Grilling is all about balancing the perfect texture and crunch with the tender meat. For addictive, crispy skin, start grilling the thighs skin-side down first for 3-5 minutes. Then, flip them over so they can cook evenly without burning or overcooking. The skin crisps up nicely when grilled first, but you’ll find that if it’s on for too long, it will become overly crispy and tough to eat.
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How To Season Grilled Chicken
While you can always use a , my go-to method of seasoning grilled chicken is with a generous sprinkling of spices.
Cajun Seasoning and Taco Seasoning are the two spice blends I reach for most often. However a combination of Crazy Salt and Italian Seasoning is also delicious.
My friend Deborahs Jerk Seasoning Mix looks like another great option too!
Dont have a spice blend ready to use? Just sprinkle each piece of chicken with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika for an easy and very tasty option.
Im not including spice amounts here, because its subject to a number of factors size of the chicken pieces, amount of meat youre cooking, how spicy you like to make things etc.
You just want to sprinkle the spices generously enough to cover each piece without coating it completely and causing it to become salty.
Once youve made this a few times, you wont even need to think about it.
Why I Love These Grilled Chicken Thighs
Weve been spending days at the pool lately, and there is nothing I like better than coming home to a dinner thats already prepared.
These chicken thighs are perfect for that because I can throw them into a quick marinade before leaving and theyre ready for the grill when we get home.
The last time we made these, I served them with grilled asparagus and we even grilled some tater tots to go with them, but they would be great with some vegetable pasta salad or this hearty wheat berry salad.
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How Long Will Grilled Chicken Thighs Stay Fresh
Any leftovers you have will stay fresh in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To reheat your leftover chicken thighs, you can pan sear them for a few minutes on each side over medium heat until theyre warmed all the way through.
Avoid using the microwave, as it will diminish both the texture and flavor of the chicken thighs!
How To Make Perfectly Grilled Chicken Thighs
Boneless chicken thighs go through a quick marinade and then get placed on the grill over low heat. It might be low in effort, but we can attest its high in flavor!
Heres how to make our Grilled Chicken Thighs:
Make the Marinade! Add your spices and olive oil to a bowl and mix generously this will help hydrate and distribute the spices. Coat each thigh evenly with the marinade.
Wait! If you havent already, preheat the grill while you allow the chicken thighs to marry with the flavors of the marinade. Pro tip: marinate your chicken thighs overnight for even more flavor!
Grill em up! Cook them over low heat without disturbing them to achieve those perfect grill marks we all envy!
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Do You Have To Flip The Chicken On The George Foreman Grill
No. You do not absolutely have to flip the chicken on your George Foreman grill. You can leave the chicken on its side and it will cook evenly.
The best way to ensure that your chicken is cooked evenly is to cook it in two or three batches, depending on how many people you are feeding. And then turn each batch of chicken thighs halfway through cooking. This will ensure that all sides of the chicken thighs are cooked properly and evenly.
My Favorite Ways To Season Chicken Thighs
When it comes to dark meat, you dont really need to add much to make it shine. There are days where I just season with salt and pepper and call it a day, and honestly its perfect. But if you want to really make your meal pop heres what Id recommend
Chicken Dry Rubs Every dry rub you can think of is right here in this post. Ive got a rub for every mood Lemon Pepper, Smoky Chipotle, Buffalo, Mediterranean and my basic dry rub. One of my favorite things to do with a dry rub is to add olive oil to it, mix it around to form a kind of paste and then rub it onto my protein. It creates this crust that is mouthwatering!
Best Chicken Marinades Another great way to infuse flavor into your chicken thighs is to marinate them for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you have the time. Here are my top 5 favorite honey sriracha, teriyaki, zesty greek, sweet balsamic and cilantro lime. You cant go wrong with any of these!
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How Much Fat Is There
Since we are dealing with a natural product, there is some variability but think of a thigh having about two to three times the fat of chicken breasts.
Here are the numbers from the National Chicken Council. Cooked skin-on thigh has 15.5 grams of fat while a skin-on split chicken breast is 7.8 grams.
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How Long Does It Take To Grill Chicken Thighs On A Gas Grill
As a general rule, cooking isnt about minutes as much as it is about visual cues, and how long it will take to grill chicken thighs on a gas grill will depend on a few factors: how large the chicken pieces are, whether theyre bone-in and whether youre cooking over high or low heat. Theres no exact amount of time, but it can take close to 45 minutes over indirect heat. Thats a while to wait for chicken, but the low and slow method will yield more tender results. Aside from the internal temperature , you can tell the chicken is done when its juices run clear and the meat is fully opaque.
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Grilled Chicken Thighs Faq
How long does it take to grill chicken thighs on a gas grill?
Cook bone-in skin-on chicken thighs over indirect heat at 425F for 45 minutes. If your chicken thighs are small start checking for doneness at 35 minutes.
What is the best way to grill chicken thighs?
The best way to grill chicken thighs is over indirect heat.
How do you grill chicken without drying it out?
Grilling dark meat like chicken thighs with bones and skin intact is your best option for tender juicy chicken. Chicken breasts are much more likely to dry out on the grill.
This is one of those chicken recipes where you spend 5 minutes of hands-on time and then let your gas or charcoal grill do the work. With indirect heat, you set it and forget it. Let it cook while you relax with a cool, refreshing beverage and maybe some great conversation.
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When It Comes To The Barbecue Breast Isn’t Always Best
Sarah Karnasiewicz is a freelance writer and photographer and was the Digital Food Director for Real Simple for two years. She was also a senior editor for Saveur Magazine. Her contributions include articles for the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Every Day with Rachel Ray, Epicurious, Food Network, and many more. Highlights: * Was a deputy editor for Salon.com * Wrote Fiji Water’s global travel guide, Earth’s Finest City Guide * Was a copywriter for Williams Sonoma * Won a James Beard Award for Wine, Spirits, Beverages
For reliably tender, tasty results, few cuts offer more bang for your buck on the grill than chicken thighs. Quick-cooking, inexpensive, andthanks to a higher fat contentare moister than breasts, they work just as well for a speedy weeknight supper as a leisurely Saturday feast.
Another bonus: Because their rich, dark meat stands up so well to bold flavors, thighs are the perfect blank canvas for trying out the wide world of bbq rubs, marinades, and spice blends. Not sure how to handle them? Remember these rules of thumb.
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Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs Pro
- Trim excess fat from the chicken thighs âRastelliâs chicken thighs come nicely trimmed, but if your chicken thighs have excess fat on them you may want to trim it. This will help the chicken to cook evenly and for the chicken not to shrivel up as it cooks.
- â the longer you let the chicken sit in the solution, the more flavor it will impart onto the meat. At a minimum, marinate the chicken for 30 minutes â 2 hours. For optimal flavor, marinate for 12 â 24 hours.
- Scrape the grill grates before heating up the grill â removing any old burnt food bits from the grill before preheating protects the flavor of the chicken and keeps any burnt food chunks from sticking to the chicken.
- Drain/discard the marinadeâ the solution imparts plenty of flavor into the chicken so we wonât need to reuse it in the recipe. If youâd like, you can pour the marinade over the chicken as it cooks, but you can also just discard it after adding the chicken to the grill.
- Rest the chicken before serving â this allows the chicken juices to redistribute in the meat, making it more tender and succulent. Let the chicken rest at room temperature for at least 5 minutes. If you are concerned about keeping the chicken hot, you can tent the chicken with foil or cover it with a bowl or plate while it rests.