I LOVE grilled chicken!! Especially in the scorching heat of the summer. But large, bone-in chicken pieces can take quite a long time on the grill when cooking them the whole way, start to finish, outdoors. It can also be very easy for them to get over-cooked and dried out, unfortunately.

So, I sometimes like to precook my chicken pieces in the oven, especially for parties or when expecting company, because you can then just toss them onto the grill for just 10-15 minutes, and there’s no long wait, grill tending, and the pieces just basically get a “finish coat” and some gorgeous grill marks!

GREAT for entertaining, because you can bake the pieces well in advance! Then you get to enjoy the party and your guests, too, instead of standing over a smoking, throat-choking grill for hours.

So here’s how to cheat just a little! 😉

I simply lightly season my chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and sometimes other ingredients depending on the sauce I’m planning on using, and place them into a baking dish with a little chicken broth.

Cover them well and pop them into the oven and bake at 350º for 1 1/2 hours until the chicken is practically falling off the bone, super tender, and very juicy!

Take the chicken out of the oven and the dish you baked the pieces in, and loosely cover with foil to rest and cool down a bit.

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While the chicken is resting, whip up whatever sauce you like to baste and grill with! 😀 *You can also make the sauce while the chicken is baking.

You’ll lastly toss the pieces onto the grill, fully basted with your sauce, (in this case, my delicious honey-mustard sauce!), and grill and baste to absolute perfection! Placing them onto hot, oiled, grill grates will produce fantastic grill marks quickly before the chicken has a chance to dry out, and dinner will be on the table in literally minutes!

It’s just that simple! Just a few simple steps to GORGEOUSLY “grilled” chicken!

So when you have company over, or just want to get a head start, bake the chicken up to a day ahead of time, remove it to a clean dish, smother with sauce, cover and chill!

Then about a half an hour before you want to grill, remove your chicken from the fridge to bring to room temp. Don’t worry, it won’t spoil in just 30 minutes after being fully cooked.

Keep your grill lid closed to make sure that it gets completely re-heated through, especially if you started with chilled chicken pieces. And grill each side for a few minutes, to cook and set the sauce, and get those professional-looking grill marks!

And if you’ve planned ahead and already have side dishes prepared, you’re all set!

I do hope that you give this cooking method and delicious sauce a try soon! It’s a wonderful way to break in the grill, get a nice taste of spring, and some much needed fresh air!

Yield: 3 - 4 servings

Bake 'n Grill Honey Mustard Chicken

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Ingredients

• 3 - 4 large bone-in skin-on chicken pieces such as breasts and leg/thigh quarters seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Grill Basting Sauce:

• 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 cup real honey
• 2 Tbl. oil
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1/16 tsp. garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º F.

In medium to small-sized bowl, whisk together very well the Grill Basting Sauce. Cover, and set aside to marry and meld at room temperature.

Pat chicken pieces dry, seasoned each side as you like with salt and pepper, and place into a sprayed 13x9 baking dish skin side-up with the broth poured into the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove from oven and, carefully, as it will be hot, uncover to release steam, remove pieces to another baking dish or small baking sheet. Baste tops of chicken to coat with Grilling Sauce, tent with the foil and semi-seal so that it doesn't dry out until needed again.

When chicken is done, basted and resting, get grill going. *I use a gas grill. If yours is charcoal, you'll want to get it going sooner than mine. For gas/propane grilling, turn all grill burners to high, and let it heat up with the lid closed.

When grill is hot, oil grates using a vegetable oil-soaked wad of paper towels using tongs. Place chicken pieces onto the grill skin side down and baste bottoms with more Sauce. Grill until grill marks appear, turn carefully with the help of a sharp spatula if needed, turning skin side-up. Baste tops again. Grill until beautifully done. Don't overcook, and just baste liberally with the sauce.

Remove to plate and let rest 5 minutes before serving.