How To Cook Lemon And Thyme Chicken On A Weber BBQ

Cook chicken fillets easily and safely on the barbecue

If you’ve always shied away from cooking chicken on the BBQ thinking that it was a recipe for disaster, think again. This video, from Hayes Garden World, shows you how to cook succulent, delicious, moist chicken fillets marinated in lemon and thyme. Chicken cooked on the BBQ is much tastier and juicier than if you cooked it in the oven. Ian and Ed, who are the presenters, work in Weber Store in The Barbecue Shop situated in our store here in the Lake District. This is an excellent recipe to try when you are mastering the 50/50 cooking technique.

They can be prepared either the night before or in the morning if you are having a BBQ in the evening. Place the chicken fillets in a freezer bag with chopped garlic, thyme sprigs, lemon zest and some olive oil. Massage them so they are evenly coated with the marinade. Leave them in the fridge for about 8 hours then they are ready to cook.

The charcoal BBQ has been pre-heated to a medium temperature for 10 – 15 minutes beforehand. We are using the Sear Grate, which is part of the Weber Gourmet Barbecue System (GBS), in the centre of the BBQ. The coals are in the char baskets and are placed directly underneath the sear grate, leaving a cooler area around the edge of the BBQ. Brush a little rapeseed, or vegetable, oil over the sear grate; don’t use olive oil as it tends to burn. Place the fillets onto the sear grate, put the lid down and leave for about 5 minutes. Check that they are ready to turn over by gently lifting one end; if it comes off the grate easily it is ready to turn over, if it sticks just give it another couple of minutes. Meat is only ready to turn over when it comes off the grill easily. Put the lid down and sear the second side for a few minutes until it comes off easily. When both sides have been seared move the fillets to the cooler region around the side of the barbecue to cook through.

Cook for about 15 minutes with the lid down then check the internal temperature of each fillet with the Weber Instant Read Temperature Probe. Once the internal temperature of each fillet has reached 75C they are ready to be taken off; don’t be tempted to leave them for a few more minutes just to make sure, they will start to dry out. Take them off the BBQ and served sliced into small bite-sized chunks.

Lemon and Thyme Chicken

• 4 chicken fillets
• 2 large garlic cloves; chopped
• bunch thyme; roughly torn
• zest of ½ lemon
• olive oil

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To see more barbecue recipes, hints and tips check out our Youtube channel or get in touch with our experts in The Barbecue Shop in store.