Quick and easy, moist and tender, plus bursting with BBQ with flavor. All in 30 minutes from refrigerator to table. These tasty BBQ chicken kabobs are now a weeknight meal the whole family will enjoy.
Introduction and My Rating
If you're an experienced griller, you might what to move on. You can do this. BUT if you grilling skills need a buff up then read on.
We will start by turning on your gas grill to preheat. It will be ready in the 10 minutes it will take to fix the kabobs. Next, we will trim and cut your standard skinless boneless chicken breasts into some 1-inch chunks. Coat with oil and a little salt and pepper and place on skews.
Now careful grilling and a generous coat of your favorite BBQ sauce near the end. Done in 30 minutes.
My Rating
A nice solid 4 in only 30 minutes.
🐓The Chicken
his is a recipe for skinless boneless chicken breast. Generally, they will be about 12 oz each give or take a little.
Chicken thighs will work fine, but I suggest using a final internal temperature of 175°-180°. And with the final internal temperature, cooking time will go up a bit. I suggest doing separate vegetable kabobs to prevent them from burning.
♨️The Grill
Do NOT slam the heat to your chicken. It will dry out, burn on the outside and you won't get the center cooked to a safe temperature. You really must use a meat thermometer to get this or any grilling done right.
Gas Grill: This is the preferred cooking method. All chicken is generally cooked with a grill surface temperature of about 450°. That is about medium or slightly above on most gas grills.
Charcoal Grill: Cooking chicken over charcoal should be over medium heat also and not over the raging coals.
For more information on grill temperature, please see A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.
The Oven: You can also use a 450° oven for about 20 minutes. As always, you are cooking to a final internal temperature and not by time alone. Time varies by the oven, the tray, and the size of chicken chunks.
✔️Tips
Skewers
I usually use metal skewers especially for chicken where some transfer of heat along the metal will help the cooking.
But wood skewers are fine. You must soak them in water before using so they don't burn (yes, they will burn). A warm water soak of 15-30 minutes will do.
Vegetable Kabobs
If cooked on separate kabobs, the standard onion and bell peppers will cook a bit faster than the chicken. But if mixed in with the chicken, they will take about the same time.
The Sauce
I'm not suggesting an homemade sauce. I love my Memphis BBQ Sauce but just use the sauce you love.
📖Kabob Recipes
Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Kabobs
🔪Instructions
Start by preheating your gas grill to medium-high for most grills. You want your surface temperature of about 450°. Of course clean and oil the grill.
Trim 2 skinless boneless chicken breast. Cut into 1-inch cubes or a little bigger.
Mix with two teaspoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Thread on to skews. I like metal, but wood will do but you should soak them first.
Place over direct heat and grill each side for 5-6 minutes before turning. Continue until internal temp of 155° or so. 13-15 minutes total here. Now brush all sides with your favorite BBQ sauce. Cook another 2 minutes per side (4 minutes total) until nice color and an internal temperature of 165°.
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📖 Recipe
BBQ Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Start by preheating your gas grill to medium high for most grills. You want your surface temperature about 450°.
- Trim 2 skinless boneless chicken breast. Cut into 1-inch cubes or a little bigger.
- Mix with two teaspoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Thread on to skews. I like metal, but wood will do but you should soak them first.
- Place over direct heat and grill each side for 5-6 minutes before turning. Continue until internal temp of 155° or so. 13-15 minutes total here.
- Brush all sides with your favorite BBQ sauce. Cook another 2 minutes per side (4 minutes total) until a nice color and an internal temperature of 165°.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use chicken thigh meat for these kabobs but you should cook to an internal temperature of about 180°.
- The main trouble most people will have relates to too high of grill temperature causing the surface to burn before the inside is done.
- You can put a very light coat of sauce on the chicken at the start of cooking but not really needed and may burn if you are not careful.
- You can add green pepper and red onion chunks between the chicken and cook with the chicken. If you make separate vegetable kabobs, they will cook about 5 minutes faster.
- You can do this on a charcoal grill but not over hot coals. Make a cooler area for the chicken and check frequently.
- I usually cook these with a closed grill hood but you can do this open.
- You can also do this in an oven at 450° for about 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Editors Note: Originally Published June 25, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos and a table of contents to help navigation.
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