We love our grill pan. They give us the same grill mark that we see with BBQ. However, cooking effectively can be a bit of a challenge. Theyre slow to cook and food sticks sometimes. Luckily, there are some techniques that you can use to get perfect results each this. This article will list some of the Best Grill Pan Chicken Recipes and Techniques that I have acquired over the year.

Difficulties with the Grill Pan

The problem with a grill pan is that cooking with it is different from traditional cooking. The surface contact area of the grill pan is much smaller than a pan. As a result, cooking time is much slower.

There are two ways you can get around this. You can cook it at low heat or just cut the chicken to smaller pieces. Both method works but its less than practical.

Using the Oven

Ovens are great way to get around the limitation of the grill pan. It will continue to keep heating it and cook it to the center. The time it takes to cook will vary depending on the size and the type of food you cook. Chicken thigh or Chicken Leg Quarter will take longer. However, the chicken breast is a little bit quicker.

Grilling Chicken Covered or Uncovered?

Covering the chicken during grilling will steam the surface. This helps cook it quicker but makes it look unsightly at first. Nevertheless, you should pop it in the oven after wards. I personally cover it to speed up the cooking process.

Getting the Grill Mark

To get a good grill mark, start by heating the pan. When the pan is hot, sit the chicken on the pan. Eventually, brown lines will start to form. The chicken should lift by itself. For a crisscross pattern, just lift it and rotate it.

Grill Pan Chicken Marinades

Eating plain chicken can be bland and boring. Adding marinades will add a wide variety of flavor and depth. There are many bottled marinades you can use. However, I like a simple lemon juice and herb mixture. You can try different combination for additional flavor. But the most important step of any marinades is the salt. Adding salt gives the chicken depth of flavor and help it holds on to its juices.

The Brine

Brining is where you add chicken to a salt water solution. There is also a dry brine method that is a bit slower but generally gives better result. To do a wet brine add 4 tablespoon salt to 1 quart of water. Increase the quantity as needed. You should let it soak overnight, a whole day if you have a bigger bird.

To dry brine, rub salt over the chicken and let it absorb. The salt will draw out the moisture then via osmosis, it will pull it back in. The main benefit of a dry brine is that it will dry out the chicken surface. This means when you go and grill it, you can get better charring.

Its during this step that I like to add a touch of marinades with a Basting Brush. This will add a depth of flavor similar to how marinades do. But with this method, you can use a wide variety of flavor. I personally just like using BBQ.

Grill Pan Chicken Thoughts

Grilling chicken on a grill pan requires a different technique. Its slower cooking design makes it more difficult. However, once you get the technique down, its not much of an issue. For best results, just use the oven. But if you dont want to wait, you can always cut it smaller.

Looking for a grill pan, check out our article on the Best Cast Iron Grill Pan.