Grilled Chicken Teriyaki with Pepper & Onion Skewers

[FTC Standard Disclosure] I received a Char-Broil Cruise grill with Cruise Control Technology free of charge for review purposes. I receive no other compensation for this post and I have no business dealings with Char-Broil.

Grilled chicken teriyaki is a classic and it is an excellent recipe for beginning grillers because it is simple yet creates a delicious flavor.

Two-Phase Glaze

You can't glaze grilled meats with teriyaki sauce too early in the process because the sugar will burn. I like to use a two-phase approach. After grilling for a few minutes, I start basting with teriyaki sauce that has been cut with chicken stock or broth in a 3:1 ratio. This lets the sauce cook onto the chicken without burning. Then in the last few minutes, I use a thicker glaze to finish it off.

I cooked this recipe on the Char-Broil Cruise gas grill; you can find my full review here. Teriyaki can make a mess on your grill, so I wanted to take advantage of the Auto-Clean feature after cooking. It would work just as effectively on a charcoal grill; I was just being lazy...there I admitted it. 

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki with Pepper and Onion Skewers

By www.nibblemethis.com

Published 04/18/2022

This classic recipe is excellent for beginning grillers because it is simple yet delicious.  

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast cutlets
• 1.5 teaspoons general purpose seasoning such as Fire and Smoke BBQ The Classic
• 1 sweet onion, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1" pieces
• 1 fresh pineapple, cored, peeled, and cut into 1" pieces
• 8-12 cocktail skewers
• 1 1/4 cups teriyaki sauce (divided)
• 1/4 cup chicken bone broth
• 1 cup jasmine rice, cook according to directions

Instructions

1. Dry brine the chicken breasts. [optional] Pat chicken dry, spritz lightly with peanut oil, and season with the general purpose seasoning. Place on a rack over a tray, loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.  During the last hour, remove the plastic wrap.
2. Clean and preheat your grill to 450°f. We used the Char-Broil Cruise set at 450°f, so there was no guessing. For a regular gas grill, aim for medium-high, depending on the grill and weather conditions.
3. Prepare your ingredients. Place pineapple, pepper, and onion on the skewers. Mix 3/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce with all of the bone broth. If you didn't dry brine, then Pat chicken dry, spritz lightly with peanut oil, and season with the general purpose seasoning.
4. Grill the chicken. Grill the chicken for 8 minutes, giving it a quarter turn 2 minutes in, flipping at 4 minutes, and then another quarter turn 6 minutes in. At 8 minutes, add the skewers. Glaze the chicken and the skewers with the thinned teriyaki sauce. Turn the skewers, flip the chicken, and baste again every 1-2 minutes until the chicken breast reaches an internal temperature of 160°f. 
5. Glaze the chicken and skewers.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce to what is left of the thinned teriyaki sauce and give the chicken and skewers one last glaze.  Wait 1 minute and then remove from heat.
6. Plate and serve the chicken. Serve a chicken breast with 2 veggie skewers and a cup of jasmine rice. Pour any leftover glaze over the rice.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Total time: 25 mins.

Tags: chicken, grill, chicken breast, grilled chicken

Here are some pictures from my cook. If I did this on a charcoal grill, I would most likely do a two-zone fire and grill the chicken direct first, then move to indirect heat for the glazing process. For a Big Green Egg, that would be one of two methods:

1. Divided fire bowl - Use a Kick Ash Basket with a divider to create the two-zones, OR
2. Divided multi-tier grate with a half-moon plate to create an indirect heat side. 

I used Kikkomans Teriyaki from their Takumi Collection. I was looking for Yoshida's Gourmet Sauce, but the store didn't have it, so I tried this instead. Not bad for a mainstream sauce. Of course, it's easy to make your own teriyaki with brown sugar, soy sauce, and seasonings.

I wanted a general purpose rub to give the chicken flavor but not take it too far in any one flavor direction. Fire and Smoke BBQ Company's  The Classic fit the bill with sea salt, pepper, garlic, and onion.

Dry brining the chicken breasts is a good idea if you have the time and foresight. It actually alters the cellular structure of the chicken to better retain moisture. The Amplifire infrared heat of the Cruise grill also helps produce juicier chicken because it doesn't use hot air for cooking the food.

I let the chicken get grilled on both sides before I start to glaze, in part to prevent burning the sauce but also to avoid cross-contaminating the sauce.

Starting with a thinner sauce and then shifting to a thicker sauce is an excellent way to build up the layers of flavor. 

I thought that you could easily make a grilled sweet and sour chicken with this recipe simply by swapping out the teriyaki with sweet and sour sauce.

Simple, well-seasoned, and delicious!