02. Fat and Skin

Unlike four-legged livestock, poultry is sold with its skin on. This helps to keep the meat moist while cooking, both by forming a protective layer that inhibits drying and by sheathing it in a layer of fat that melts into the meat as it grills. For that reason, it’s a good idea to grill poultry with the skin on, even if you are planning to serve it without the skin.

If you want to decrease the amount of fat, cut away all visible pockets before cooking. When preparing particularly fatty poultry, like duck and goose, for grilling, you need to melt the fat, either by scalding the bird under a stream of boiling water prior to cooking or by starting the cooking over high heat to get the fat moving and then reducing the heat to cook the meat through. A drip pan should always be used with fatty poultry to keep the fat from dripping directly into the fire and causing flare-ups.