Prepare Your Chicken Breasts For Grilling
Serious Eats
Chicken breast is a very unforgiving meat. As soon as it tips over its ideal temperature, it will almost immediately begin drying out. The physical shape of the breast isn’t kind in this respect, as its uneven height means the bulky center cannot be cooked through without the thinner portions of the meat overcooking first.
There’s an easy solution to this problem: Even out the height. This involves giving the chicken a nice beating, which is also great for relieving any pent-up aggression.
I like to put the chicken in a resealable plastic bag for the poundingthe thick plastic won’t break when whacked, and the sealed bag ensures chicken juice doesn’t splatter all over the kitchen.
Serious Eats
Once it’s safely in a bag, I go at it with a heavy skillet or a meat pounder, bashing the thicker parts of the breast until they match the height of the thinnest part. But don’t go too thin here keep the height around three-quarters of an inch. A chicken breast that’s pounded out too thin will be more susceptible to drying out over high heat.
How To Trim A Chicken Breast
When shopping for chicken breasts, you can buy bone-in or boneless chicken breasts. Personally, I like to grill boneless, skinless chicken breasts hot and fast. Whereas I barbecue bone-in, skin-on breasts longer at lower temps.
Todays recipe is for boneless, skinless chicken breasts with rib meat.
I have found that how chicken breasts are butchered varies greatly, depending on the brand. You can purchase breasts that say pre-trimmed on them, but theyre usually more expensive, so Im going to show you how to trim them yourself.
When you take the breasts out of the package, look them over. One side will likely have a thin white layer of fat. I like to trim this off.
The other side will have the socket where the wing was connected to the breast. Feel it with your finger. If you notice a little gristle, trim it away with a sharp boning knife.
When you flip the breast over, it should have a flap. This is the chicken tender or rib meat. I like to leave this attached, because it helps balance out the thickness of the breast.
If the breasts you buy already have the tenderloin removed, you may notice that one end will be significantly thicker than the other. If thats the case, place the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound the thicker side a bit, so its even with the thinner side. This will help it cook more evenly.
How To Grill Chicken Breasts That Are Sooo Juicy
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How long do you grill chicken breasts for? Do they need to be brined or marinated? How do you get good grill marks? How do you grill the juiciest chicken breasts? All your grilled chicken breast answers are here!
With summer and grilling season coming up, its a great time to grill up some chicken as an entree, to put onto salads, or to use in your favorite chicken recipes. Its therefore a good idea that we take a moment to tackle the conundrum of grilling chicken breasts.
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How Do You Grill Chicken Breasts Without Drying It Out
The key is to cook on direct heat for the first 8-10 minutes , but then switch to indirect heat for the last 5-7 minutes. ALSO do not leave it on the grill until it reaches an internal temp of 165 remove it from the grill when it is around 160 and then let it rest off the grill. As it rests, it will continue to cook and the temp can continue to rise nearly 10 degrees! So imagine if you did leave it on the grill until it reached 165? It would continue to cook and might reach 175 before you eat it! It would be over-cooked and dry.
How To Heat Your Grill
Its important to have a hot area and a cooler area on the grill, says Stephanie Lupaczyk, also of Formaggio Kitchen. Also known as a direct zone and an indirect zone, this setup enables you to cook meat properly the direct zone is hot for searing and cooking things quickly, while the indirect area is cooler in order to cook large cuts of meat the rest of the way throughno scorching involved. If youre working with charcoal, leave an area without coals on the grate, and if youre working with gas, keep a burner turned off.
On a gas grill, preheating is as easy as pressing a button or turning a dial, then waiting 10 to 15 minutes. Its a little more complicated on a charcoal grill once youve arranged layers of newspaper and charcoal and lit them, itll take about 15 to 20 minutes for the grill to get nice and hot. Click here for more in-depth instructions on lighting a charcoal grill. Allard remarks that choosing between charcoal and gas depends on your preferences. Gas grills are easier to get started, but charcoal grills add much more flavor, she explains.
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Summary: Average Grilling Times For All Chicken Cuts
For your reference, here are the average times for grilling various size pieces of chicken:
- Chicken breast, boneless, skinless 6 to 8 ounces will take between 8 and 12 minutes over direct medium heat
- Chicken breast, bone-in 10 to 12 ounces 30 to 40 minutes over indirect medium heat
- Leg or thigh, bone-in 30 to 40 minutes over indirect medium heat
- Thigh, boneless, skinless 4 ounces 8 to 10 minutes over direct high heat
- Chicken wings 2 to 3 ounces 18 to 20 minutes over direct medium heat
- Whole chicken 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 lbs 1 1/2 to 2 hours over indirect medium heat
Do keep in mind that these times may vary if you , add a sauce, or change the chicken in any way.
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How Much Coal Do You Put On A Grill
HOW MUCH COAL SHOULD I USE? When working with coal, the rule of thumb is that the more coal you use, the hotter the fire. A good rule of thumb is about 30 briquettes for smaller or portable grills and 50 to 75 briquettes for larger dishes and Kettleman grills. You will need more coal on cold, windy or rainy days.
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How To Clean & Season Your Grill
While the grill is heating up, use a damp grill brush to clean the grates thoroughly, ridding them of any food particles and bacteria. If you dont have a grill brush, you can also use tongs to rub a crumpled ball of aluminum foil against the grates the friction between the foil and grates will remove even the stickiest bits of food. Its helpful to scrub the grates while the grill is preheating because the warm surface helps release grime.
Even if your grill looks slick, wed recommend brushing it with high-heat cooking oil like vegetable oil or grapeseed oil to ensure that nothing sticks. The easiest way to do this is by spritzing the grill with oil so that it has a light, even coating. This step is especially important if youre grilling skin-on chicken, as chicken skin tends to stick to the grill if youre not careful, Lupaczyk notes.
How Long To Grill Chicken Breasts On A Charcoal Grill
Boneless chicken breasts should be grilled at 350 degrees or the 2 second-hand test. Because a skinless breast is white meat, it will cook differently due to the lack of fat. We want to prevent rubbery chicken breasts so I generally avoid using the grill lid unless absolutely necessary.
For butterflied chicken breasts, using no lid, we recommend 6 minutes on one side, flipping and grilling for 5 minutes on the other side.
For thick chicken breast we recommend 6 minutes on one side, move to indirect heat and grill for about 10 minutes on the other side.
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Grilled Chicken Breast Seasoning
Now that youve marinated your chicken to infuse moisture and flavor to the inside of your meat, its time to season the outside. If you like a classic sweet BBQ flavor to your chicken, I definitely recommend using my Signature Chicken Seasoning. Its a balanced blend of herbs and spices with just a little heat to make your chicken sing.
If you dont have any Chicken Seasoning on hand, my Best Sweet Rub recipe is incredible as well. Itll give your chicken a sweet and savory flavor that cant be beat. I love to use this one if I am preparing several chicken breasts at a time for meal prepping because I can use the chicken for basically anything I want after it is cooked. Think chicken salad, shredded chicken for soups or casseroles, the options are endless!
Basting And Saucing Chicken For Grilling
Adding a barbecue sauce or other flavorful sauce takes grilled meat from delicious to fantastic. However, the addition of a sauce makes it easy to scorch. Therefore, it is best to wait to baste with sauce until the end of grilling.
Once the internal temperature reaches 160F it is time to start saucing the chicken. To do this, move the chicken to indirect heat and use a brush to baste on the liquid. We like to sauce then let cook 2-3 minutes and sauce again. This way, the sauce can thicken as a delicious glaze without burning.
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How To Grill Chicken On A Charcoal Grill Do It The Right Way
rilled chicken is a summer necessity. No backyard barbecue is complete without delicious grilled chicken, from savory thighs to spicy drumsticks.If youre new to grilling, chicken is a great place to start. Its simple and easy, perfect for casual enthusiasts and pitmasters alike.Chicken is a canvas for flavor. Its mild taste makes it great for a variety of dishes. You can grill it with a simple salt and pepper blend, cook it with barbecue sauce, or create your own unique spice blend.
Regardless of which seasoning you prefer, you can vastly improve the taste if you know how to grill chicken on a charcoal grill the right way. By going beyond the basics, you can make your next grilled chicken recipe one to remember.In this guide, well talk about our favorite tips for grilling chicken on a charcoal grill. Whether youre new to grilling or a seasoned expert, these tips will help you cook juicy, tender chicken your friends and family will love.Lets dive in.
The First Step To Juicy Chicken Breasts: Pound Them A Bit
The first thing you need to do to get juicy chicken is to flatten the chicken breasts out to an even thickness. If the chicken breast has a consistent thickness, it will cook more evenly. Note that this is a good idea no matter how youre cooking your chicken breasts. Ive recently done a series of little experiments and have found that this step makes a big difference when baking chicken breasts too.
Flattening the chicken breasts a little bit also means that they wont be on the heat for as long. When chicken breasts are their full thickness, it can take awhile for the heat to penetrate right to the middle. That means that by the time the inside of the chicken is fully-cooked, the outside has dried out. If your chicken breast is thinner because you flattened it a bit, then the outside doesnt dry out as badly by the time the inside is cooked.
Another perk of flattening the chicken breasts is that any brine or marinade you use will be able to penetrate the chicken more quickly. So putting in the bit of time to get the chicken even will actually result in less time needed overall.
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How Long To Grill Chicken Legs On A Charcoal Grill
Its important to use temperature zones when cooking your chicken legs because bone-in chicken takes a bit longer.
Chicken legs are tricky to grill properly as they give the appearance on the outside that theyre done, when theyre not thoroughly cooked on the inside.
Sear the chicken legs for 10 minutes on each side so you begin to see grill marks. The rest of the cooking will be done using indirect heat.
Cover the grill because this will take a while. After about 10 minutes, the chicken legs will even look like theyre done, but theyre not. Continue to grill for another 15-25 minutes until the temperature reaches 165 degrees. The difference in variation is due to how many chicken legs you have loaded on your grill.
When in doubt, its hard to overcook a chicken leg over hot coals because the dark meat is so juicy and the skin gets better as it roasts, they can be overcooked by 20 minutes and still turn out delicious.
Once over the indirect heat, you can open the grill and turn them every five minutes or so if you want because theyre cooking on indirect heat and slow roasting. This helps develop good barbecue-looking chicken skin.
Dont forget that chicken legs love a good glaze with barbecue sauce or other sweet glazes!
How To Grill Chicken Breasts
The key to perfect boneless, skinless chicken breasts is a quick sear followed by indirect grilling. Learn how to grill juicy chicken breasts on a charcoal grill.
Let’s get grilling
For grilling chicken breasts, you need a two-zone, medium-hot fire. Fire up a full chimney of Kingsford® Charcoal, or light a pile of about 100 briquets. When the coals are ready, arrange them in a two-zone fire. Replace the top grate, and allow the grill to heat up with all vents fully open. Just before placing the chicken on the grate, dip a folded paper towel in cooking oil and oil the entire grate using long-handled tongs. This will prevent the skinless breasts from sticking to the grate.
Boneless skinless breasts dry out easily, so we highly recommend marinating or brining before cooking. For a basic brine, combine ¼ cup salt to four cups water, and soak the chicken breasts for 30 minutes to an hour in a gallon size plastic zipper bag. If you choose not to brine or marinate, simply season to your liking.
Place the chicken breasts on the hot side of the grate, directly above the coals. Sear the breasts for about three to four minutes per side, turning only once, until golden brown. If the grill flares up, temporarily move the chicken away from the coals. When the breasts are properly browned, move them to the warm, or indirect, side of the grate. Replace the lid and, if using a grill thermometer, bring the temperature up to 350°F.
Categories
- salt and pepper to taste
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Grilled Bbq Chicken Recipe
Theres nothing better than grilled BBQ chicken breast on a warm summer evening. Its flavorful, light, and versatile and with a few simple tips it stays juicy and moist . Plus, this easy meal is incredibly fast! You only need about 10 minutes of prep and 10 minutes to cook the meat, so the entire dinner is ready in 20 minutes. Serve the grilled bbq chicken with your favorite sides, slice it on top of a crisp green salad, or tuck it into a sandwich. Leftovers are great, too!
How To Cook Bbq Chicken On The Grill
Prepare clean grill grates to minimize sticking and preheat the grill at 400-450°F. Drizzle the chicken breasts with olive or canola oil and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange the breasts on the hot grill grates and cook for 4-6 minutes with the lid closed. If the chicken sticks to the grill grate, let it cook a minute more before trying to flip again. Cook on the second side for another 4-5 minutes. Baste with your favorite BBQ sauce, flip, and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Repeat on the other side side. The chicken is done when the internal temp is 160°F and the juices run clear. Let the chicken rest a few minutes for the temp to raise to 165°F and the juices to settle before serving.
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Charcoal Grilled Bbq Chicken Breast Recipe
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This recipe for Charcoal-Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast Recipe turned out better than I expected! It was delicious and juicy! Its easy to ruin a good chicken recipe by overcooking it. When chicken is cooked to perfection the internal temperature will be 165 degrees. Use an instant read thermometer for the perfect Grilled BBQ Chicken.
Not only did this recipe taste delicious, it can also save you time and money. Lets break out the charcoal grill and get started!
My husband is an advocate for charcoal grilling. Not only does the food taste better, charcoal, lump charcoal to be exact is eco-friendly. We dont use any lighter fluids or chemically treated charcoal in our grill.
How To Season Chicken Breasts For The Grill
The brine solution is already adding great flavor to the chicken breast meat, but youll want to add a couple more things to the exterior to get that great barbecue texture and color.
To keep the chicken breasts from sticking to the grill, rub them with a drizzle of olive oil. Then, add a light dusting of Christie Vanovers Chicken Rub to give them a beautiful ruby color.
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