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How long should you grill chicken meat?

Radek Štěpán 17. 09. 2025 1 views

Summer is slowly coming to an end, but the weather is still pleasant and you want to enjoy free time in your garden as much as possible. A great way to spend time is BBQ. You can put almost anything on your grill but today we shall focus on chicken meat. It is lower in calories than pork or beef, which will is much appreciated by women who watch their diet. It tastes great, but you need to grill it properly. How long should you barbeque it? We shall tell you in the following lines.

Maintain proper temperature!

Temperature is very important and the reason is simple. If you grill for a short time you lose some taste. If you grill too long, the meat will be tough. You may even burn it to the point that you cannot eat it. On the other hand, undercooked chicken can cause health problems and some microorganisms can even cause poisoning.

Photo: Pixabay

BBQ times depend on the meat

That is right. You cannot apply the same time to all chicken meat. Take a chicken breast for example, weighing from 170 to 226 grams. Grill for 8 to 12 minutes on a medium heat. Direct heat. Chicken thighs about 113 grams require 8 to 10 minutes. Do you prefer chicken pieces with bones? Well, pieces weighing from 85 to 170 grams need 6 to 10 minutes over direct low heat and then 30 minutes over medium indirect heat.

Photo: Pixabay

Whole chicken

Grilling a whole chicken is quite specific. If you have a chicken weighing around 2 kg, you should expect to grill it for 1 hour to 75 minutes. Best if you let the chicken rotate on the grill for longer – it may even start falling apart. The most important thing when grilling whole chicken on a rotating grill is to keep checking. If the motor breaks for example, the chicken will burn. Motors powered by classic AA batteries often do not last very long.