How to Keep Your Chicken Juicy and Tender on the Barbecue

Do you love barbecued chicken, but hate that it often gets dry? Here's a little secret that will result in tender, juicy, mouthwatering barbecued chicken that's thoroughly cooked every time.

This method can be used with any type of chicken, whether it's boneless and skinless, or a package of drumsticks and thighs. You can even use frozen chicken straight out of the freezer.

Instead of putting the chicken on the grill straight from the package, the secret is to cook the chicken first. Take the chicken and rinse it well under cold running water in the sink. Then place the chicken in a pot of cool water. Put the pot of chicken on the stove and bring to a boil. Let the chicken boil for 20 to 30 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked.

It's easy to test whether the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Simply stick a fork into the thickest part of one of the largest pieces. If the fork comes back out easily, then the chicken is cooked well. Also, if the meat starts to fall away from the bone, it is completely cooked.

While boiling you can add a number of spices to the water for extra flavor. Depending on your taste, you could add any combination of salt, pepper, onion, garlic, season salt, basil, thyme, onion soup mix, Italian dressing mix, or cayenne pepper. Just choose the spices depending on what type of flavoring or barbecue sauce you'll be putting on the chicken when you barbecue it.

After boiling until completely cooked, the chicken is ready to be barbecued. Place the boiled chicken on a preheated barbecue grill. Baste with your choice of sauce, or sprinkle on your favorite seasonings. Barbecue sauce, Teriyaki sauce and mustard honey sauce are all delicious choices. The chicken is also good without sauce when sprinkled with a combination of garlic and seasoning salt. Another alternative is to simply sprinkle the chicken with Mrs. Dash.