We've been taught to always bring our meat to room temperature before grilling to ensure a more even cook.
That's what you should do on a direct flame grill, but with pellet grills that do not use a direct flame, you can let the grill do the thawing for you.
Caytlin McCleery with Cayts Meats and Meals says her preferred way to cook chicken on the pellet grill is from frozen.
"When you are wanting to get smokey and delicious meat, know that smoke lies in cold meat. Taking out that middle step of thawing the meat, sure makes this way a favorite in our home," said McCleery.
Instructions for grilling Chicken on a pellet grill
- Set smoker to a low smoke temperature (anywhere from 180°-220°)
- Place frozen chicken straight on the grate
- Let the chicken smoke for about 20 minutes
- After about 20 minutes, the exterior is thawed enough to apply the seasoning
- After it's been seasoned, let it smoke for another hour which will thaw it the rest of the way and help bring up the internal temperature
- Increase the grill temp to 350° to finish off the chicken. To be safely cooked, it needs to reach 165° internal temperature in the thickest spot
- Remove from grill and rest 5-10 minutes and then enjoy
McCleery says you can also apply this on thinner cuts of meat like steaks or pork chops.
She does not recommend doing it to your Thanksgiving Turkey because it may not be out of the danger temperature zone in the correct amount of time.
For more tips on cooking meat the right way, go to Cayts Meats and Meals.
