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TL;DR: 

  • Tyler Florence’s grilled chicken trick is to avoid heavy marinades or even any at all.
  • Marinades, according to the Food Network star, have a tendency to make chicken soggy.
  • He also recommends serving grilled chicken with grilled lemon.
Tyler Florence, who has a grilled chicken trick, attends the Palm Springs International Film Festival wearing a black outfit
Tyler Florence | Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Festival

Tyler Florence’s grilled chicken trick is another in a long list of hacks and cooking tips from the celebrity chef. He already knows how to make creamy mashed potatoes and bowl-licking-good oatmeal. Now fans can get the ultimate grilled chicken at home. And, perhaps best of all, Florence’s trick to perfectly crispy grilled chicken doesn’t require any kitchen gadgets. He simply skips marinades.

Tyler Florence’s Grilled Chicken with Garlic-Herb Dressing and Grilled Lemon recipe includes his trick for getting crispy skin

Want to know how Florence makes grilled chicken? The cookbook author shared all the details on the “Ultimate Grilled Chicken” episode of his Food Network show, Tyler’s Ultimate. Florence prepared his Grilled Chicken with Garlic-Herb Dressing and Grilled Lemon, walking viewers through all of the steps. 

Along the way, the 51-year-old not only explained his trick for the ultimate grilled chicken but also how to make it as flavorful as possible. Spoiler, as the recipe name suggests, Florence uses herbs, garlic, and lemon for an added boost.

Tyler Florence’s grilled chicken trick: ‘Keep it as dry as possible’

As Florence explained on Tyler’s Ultimate, his grilled chicken trick is all about the marinade, or lack thereof. “It’s really important when you’re grilling chicken you want to kind of keep it as dry as possible,” he said. 

“The big myth about marinades,” he continued, is they “end up making” the meat “kind of soggy.” It’s true for “pork chops, steak, whatever,” he added. “What happens is you don’t really get that caramelization, that color of the protein itself.”

So that’s why Florence’s cooking instructions include patting the chicken dry with paper towels before grilling. Then he sprinkles it with salt and pepper, drizzles olive oil on top, and the chicken’s ready to go.

Florence’s grilled chicken trick also includes what he calls “slow-grilling.” He puts it skin-side down on the grill “so it gets nice and crispy.” What he’s left with is grilled chicken that, as he said on his show, is “so crispy you could strike a match on it.” 

“Look at that skin. Is that fantastic? Now that’s a grilled piece of chicken,” he said as the chicken cooked.

The Food Network star serves ultimate grilled chicken with grilled lemons

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Grilling lemons isn’t a must-do when it comes to making Florence’s grilled chicken but he recommends it as “something to finish off a dish.” He cuts a lemon in half and puts it on the grill. “What happens is the sugars inside the lemon begin to caramelize and you squeeze caramelized lemon juice over the top of the chicken as soon as it’s finished,” he explained. 

What he described as a “great trick” isn’t reserved only for chicken. Florence said it’s also nice to do “even if you’re serving grilled fish.” The meat, no matter what it is, is made “really fresh and bright” by the caramelized lemon juice. 

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