Everything is ready at the dinner table, and everyone is waiting for the food. Suddenly, you realized, you forgot to take out the chicken from the freezer.
So, can you grill frozen chicken within a short time? Is it safe to eat a grill of frozen chicken?
Many questions might be playing in your mind regarding grilling frozen chicken. This article will reveal everything related to this.
Can You Grill Frozen Chicken? -Is it OK?
Yes, you can grill frozen chicken. And the grilling process will take 50% more time than usual.
Also, the grill needs to be done appropriately. Otherwise, the food taste will be poor. It would be best if you completely defrost the frozen chicken and then cook it for an even result.
Tips on Preparing Frozen Chicken on the Grill
Even if you follow the best grilled frozen chicken recipe, something could go wrong that can ruin the taste of the grill.
Below are a few tips that can help you to grill a delicious frozen chicken.
Tips 01: Properly defrost the Chicken Before Cooking
A grilled chicken is delicious when the skin gets crispy and thoroughly cooked. Unfortunately, many of us give little time to the chicken to defrost. This ruins the grilled frozen chicken taste.
So, ensure proper defrosting of the chicken before cooking.
Tips 02: Don’t forget to Brine the Chicken
The first and foremost step when grilling a chicken is to brining it. Even if you are not cooking an entire chicken or cooking the breast only, brine is necessary. A lot of flavors are added to the meat when you follow this process. Also, it helps to soften the food.
Tips 03: Dry the Chicken Piece before Grilling
Some may find this tip unnecessary, but in order to get a crispy grill, this process is unavoidable. Take a few pieces of paper towel and pat it to dry the piece. This way, seasons like salt and spices will enter the meat effectively, and the chicken piece will receive a nice crust and color.
Tips 04: Ensure Seasoning the Chicken Appropriately
You might be wondering why grandma’s food was so tasty? It is because she was seasoning the food and not afraid of it. Seasoning food with pepper, salt, and garlic will make your food much tastier. Ensure even and a generous seasoning of the chicken. Remember to season the inside and skin of the chicken when grilling a whole chicken. After all, no one likes a portion of bland food.
Tips 05: Avoid using high heat to cook
Some people think that a grill should be cooked in high heat. But this is a misconception because the exterior will burn, and the interior will be less cooked in this way. 425° F – 450° F is the best heating range for grilling chicken.
Best Methods for Defrosting
Defrosting meat is not a tricky task. Following a few methods, you can do it easily. Below are 3 effective methods of defrosting.
Method 01: Microwave Oven
Among all defrosting methods, this is the quickest. It would be best if you kept in mind that after using the microwave defrosting method, don’t hold your food without cooking. Since the microwave defrosts frozen chicken between 4.4°C – 60°C, which bacteria increases. When you cook defrosted chicken at the right temperature, only then the dangerous bacteria will get killed.
Tip:
- Use wrapping paper or aluminum foil to wrap the food before putting it into the oven.
- Ensure to turn off the microwave and keep the food inside the microwave at least for a few seconds before you take the food out from it.
Method 02: Cold Water
2 – 3 hours is the duration of the whole process. Follow below
- Take a leak-proof plastic bag and place the chicken piece into it. This way, the meat tissue will not get damaged due to water, and bacteria can’t infect the meat.
- Fill up a large bowl with cold water and submerge the bag of chicken in it.
- Every 30 minutes, change the water.
Tip:
- Make sure you used a separate plastic for wrapping the chicken, not the same plastic that is used to freeze the piece.
- Never use warm water. When you put raw meat into warm water, the meat will infect by bacteria.
Method 03: Refrigerating
This is a highly recommended method and preparation time requires the highest care.
With this process, defrosting a chicken piece will take a whole day. So, it would be best if your meal is planned ahead when you follow this method. Even after defrosting, you can keep the chicken in the refrigerator for a day or two.
Tip:
- Wrapping up the chicken piece using plastic is also necessary for this process. And place it on the bottom shelf to avoid any leaking.
How to Grill Frozen Chicken?
Following a few cooking methods, you can grill frozen chicken. Let’s read below.
Grilling Method 01: Using Foreman Grill to Grill Frozen Chicken
A range of food items can be grilled in the foreman grill quite perfectly since it has a topper and bottom part that allows a chef to grill a chicken piece as per requirement.
Required ingredients:
Cooking Procedure:
Grilling Method 02: Fast Grilled Chicken
When you are in a rush, follow the below-cooking procedure.
Ingredients:
Cooking Procedure:
How Long to Grill Frozen Chicken?
Undoubtedly, grilling frozen chicken will take a 50% longer time compared to grilling unfrozen chicken.
At 350° F, 20 – 30 minutes is the cooking time for unfrozen chicken. And a frozen chicken will take 30 – 45 minutes. However, the whole process depends on the chicken piece size.
Is Frozen Chicken Healthy?
Frozen chicken has a few health benefits which will let you remain healthy always.
Basic Nutrition
Frozen chicken is a pack of calories and loads of fats. Look at the below list.
| Food Items | Vitamins & Nutrition |
| Frozen chicken patties (3.5 oz.) | 287 calories |
| 15 grams protein | |
| 20 grams fat |
If you are a frozen chicken lover, you might have a healthy and fit body. Fats of frozen chicken provide energy for a whole day and help you do day-to-day functionalities without any physical problem. Also, protein helps to maintain healthy muscle tissue.
Zinc and Selenium Content
Frozen chicken contains a lot of mineral content, and this is the reason for its health benefits. This food item contains zinc, and it activates the enzyme. The enzyme’s responsibility is to boost up our immune system and keep the cells healthy so that they can function correctly.
| Food Items | Vitamins & Nutrition |
| Frozen chicken patties (3.5 oz.) | 1.1 mg Zinc |
| 23.3 micrograms Selenium |
Every man and woman should take 8 mg and 11 mg of Zinc every day, respectively.
Moreover, Selenium controls the growth of the cell and the functionality of the thyroid.
Vitamin E and B-12
Eating frozen chicken, your requirement of Vitamin E and B-12 will be fulfilled. Vitamin E performs as an antioxidant that protects your cell from cellular damage. And gene activities get controlled, development of red cell blood gets supported by Vitamin B-12.
| Food Items | Vitamins & Nutrition |
| Frozen chicken patties (3.5 oz.) | 2.8 mg Vitamin E |
| 0.29 micrograms Vitamin B-12 |
Tips for Thawing and Cooking Frozen Chicken
Why Shouldn’t You Grill Frozen Chicken Breast?
The truth is, you should grill small to medium pieces of frozen chicken breast THOROUGHLY. And make sure the defrosting process is followed correctly.
However, you shouldn’t grill a large piece or a whole chicken from frozen. Also, don’t use a slow cooker when grilling frozen chicken. Harmful bacteria can grow when you grill at a low temperature.
Cooking or roasting is the best way to cook a chicken breast directly from frozen. And remember that the cooking time of instantly frozen chicken will be 50% more than usual. Thus, the growth of harmful bacteria will not happen.
Last Thought
Before grilling a chicken piece, you should learn all the compulsory information related to the question – “can you grill frozen chicken.” With the right grilling process, health benefits will be ensured, and you can keep yourself free from different harmful bacteria. Similarly, the chicken will be much delicious.
