Are you looking for a simple barbecue chicken recipe that gives you an excuse to cook outdoors? Check out this super easy dutch oven chicken recipe!
A delicious barbecue smothered dutch oven chicken isn’t very far away.
What’s so great about this dutch oven chicken recipe is that you can cook it at home, or while camping. Using your cast iron dutch oven and some hot charcoals, your barbecue chicken breast can be cooked without needing to turn on a conventional stove.
Cast iron dutch ovens are easy to use, but they can be a little intimidating if you’ve never used one before. You can cook with them inside your oven, or with charcoal.
You can also use them over a campfire. This dutch oven chicken recipe has you using charcoal briquettes as the main heating source. So it’s best to try cooking this delicious chicken breast outdoors.
Dutch oven cooking with charcoal
Cooking in your dutch oven using charcoal briquettes may sound scary, but the flavor and tasty results of a well-cooked meal will have this quickly become a more favored method of cooking.
The best part is that since you’re cooking outside, you aren’t heating up the kitchen. Perfect for wanting to enjoy a delicious barbecue chicken breast on a hot summer day.
There’s nothing like cooking in a cast iron dutch oven. If you’re new to using cast iron dutch ovens there’s a simple trick to making sure your food is properly cooked inside, without burning or needing to peek inside.
To use your cast iron for baking, place the majority of charcoals on the lid of your dutch oven. The rest of the briquettes are placed around the bottom.
While the placement of the charcoal briquettes is key for your dutch oven chicken to cook properly, it’s actually as simple as forming a circle.
Placing your hot briquettes in a circle around the outer edges of your dutch oven and 3 underneath will help to evenly distribute the heat.
By placing 20 charcoal briquettes on the top of your dutch oven you are amplifying the heat, but because it doesn’t come into direct contact with where the chicken is resting, it won’t burn.
To make this dutch oven chicken recipe, you’ll need 4 chicken breasts that are cut lengthwise. By making the chicken thinner and getting the pieces to be about the same size, you help them to cook at about the same rate so no pieces get done too quickly.
Season your chicken and pour your favorite barbecue sauce on top. A homemade barbecue sauce would be excellent on these! Then prepare your dutch oven by securing the lid on top and getting the hot charcoal briquettes all in place.
After about 30 minutes your chicken should be cooked through, double check with a Thermoworks meat thermometer to make sure it reached 165ºF.
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Dutch Oven Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts sliced lengthwise so they are thin
- 2 teaspoons season salt
- 1 1/4 cup BBQ sauce click here for a homemade version!
Instructions
- Season the chicken with season salt, then place in the dutch oven.
- Pour sauce over top of the chicken.
- Place 10 heated coals on bottom, place about 3 underneath and the rest around the outer edge. There should be about 20 on top, spread evenly. The temperature of the dutch oven should be about 350ºF.
- Cook until the chicken registers 165º on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes.
Alli says
Such an easy and delicious recipe!