Apparently, anyone can declare a day as a national day of celebration if they’re willing to fight hard enough for it. El Pollo Loco has done just that, and now for the first time ever, Sept. 9 is officially National Grilled Chicken Day.
They had to petition the holiday naming organizations and even put up a billboard in Times Square.
“We couldn’t believe that this delicious way to cook and enjoy chicken was being left off the long list of food holidays,” said Liz Williams, CEO of El Pollo Loco upon the announcement. “El Pollo Loco has been celebrating fire-grilled chicken daily for the last 50-plus years, now everyone can get Loco and enjoy grilled chicken on September 9.”
The fast-food restaurant is giving away a free two-piece leg and thigh meal with the purchase of any drink to Loco Rewards Members on the celebratory day.
My buddies and I have been stewing that there’s no grill or barbecue emoji. I wonder if we’d have to go through a similar process to fight for that.
The myth: grilled chicken means dry white meat
It doesn’t have to.
Grilled chicken earned a bad reputation from rushed breasts cooked past done and served like punishment. Fire-grilled chicken, the kind this new day is celebrating, is char and open-flame flavor, not a dry cafeteria plate.
September is also National Chicken Month. That gives you two reasons to cook chicken this week without treating it like a consolation prize next to beef.
What I cook when I want fire-grilled chicken that stays juicy
If you want a classic breast dinner, start with the juiciest grilled chicken breasts. I start by brining them in salt, sugar and water with a little of my award-winning Girls Can Grill Chicken Rub. Then I cook them for the finish that keeps them juicy. If you just cook to time without checking doneness, you may end up with dry chicken.
If you want more forgiveness on a weeknight, grilled chicken thighs are the honest lane. Dark meat handles heat better. You get char without the same panic as a thin breast.
If you want one bird that feeds the table without a ton of work, grilled whole chicken with just three ingredients is the honest whole-bird lane.
If you want the crowd-pleaser, grilled chicken wings are the move. I can eat a plate of chicken flats any day of the week.
El Pollo Loco spent a year fighting for this day. The least we can do is grill chicken that actually deserves it.
Whether you brine a batch of breasts, throw thighs on for a lazier weeknight, or spatchcock a whole bird for the table, the fix is the same: cook to temperature, not to the clock.
