How To Barbecue Chicken Breast On The Grill

How To Brine Chicken Breasts

GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST | how to grill juicy boneless chicken

A brine is a “salt-water bath” where the salt will go into the meat dragging water with it. It will help keep the meat moist during cooking. And in dry-heat methods, like grilling, brining can make a major difference.

You can still get good results without a brine, but you will be consistently better with a brine. Also, if the breasts have been previously frozen, they do lose some moisture, and brine will help that.

I use a brine of 2 cups of water with a tablespoon of table salt. You can add other flavors like garlic or sugar to this, but this discussion is about the basics.

With this brine, you can get fairly good results in 20 minutes. You can brine for up to 1 hour. More than that leaves too much salty taste to me.

After brining, you should carefully rinse the salt off the surface. For food safety, try not to splatter and lean up with an anti-bacterial cleaner in the sink area. See

Never use seasoning with salt if you have brined.

A Brine For Chicken Breasts And How To Cook Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts On The Grill

  • Pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness results in more even cooking throughout.
  • Brining the chicken breast helps the meat retain moisture during cooking.
  • Drying the breast well before grilling leads to quicker browning.

In our constant quest to deliver the best of the best via the Serious Eats grilling recipes, with fancy dishes like homemade merguez sausage and peppered duck breast, it’s easy to lose sight of the basics. And there’s one really basic basic that no grilling recipe collection should be without: grilled chicken breast.

Despite their ubiquity, chicken breasts are arguably one of the most difficult of the standard meats to grill. It’s all too common of an occurrence to find yourself with dry, chewy, cardboard-y meat. This is all correctable, though, and chicken breasts can be fantastic on the grill it just takes a little know-how. This article will tell you everything you need to know about how to grill chicken breasts, including how long to cook them and a couple easy tips to ensure you don’t end up with tough, rubbery, dried-out grilled chicken.

Easy Buffalo Chicken Recipe:

This Grilled Buffalo Chicken is to easy make. 3 ingredients is all that is needed to make this flavorful chicken. First, you marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. We recommend marinating if overnight.

Then place on the grill and grill each side of chicken for about 7 minutes. Let chicken rest after remove from the grill after chicken internal temperature. Then slice chicken and enjoy.

This chicken can be sliced and put into a wrap or top your favorite salad recipe.

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How To Tell If Chicken Is Fully Cooked

Don’t be tempted to cut your chicken open to check if cooked through. This will cause the juices of the chicken to run out, leaving your chicken dry and is not always an accurate measurement. The BEST way to ensure you don’t undercook or overcook your chicken is to use a digital thermometer to ensure the chicken reaches 160 degrees F. Once the chicken reaches 160 degrees, remove it from the heat and let rest for 5-10 minutes, this will ensure the chicken reaches 165 degrees F, which is considered safe by the FDA.

A digital thermoter is well worth the investment and they only cost about $20. Not only will it ensure your meat is not overcooked and tough and dried out, but you will also not worry about food poisoning from undercooked meat.

Best Grilled Chicken Breast

How to BBQ Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast on a Gas Grill  101 ...

Grilled chicken breasts can be the epitome of boring. Too often they’re dried out or rubbery. But when soaked in a super-quick with balsamic, brown sugar, and dried thyme you’re guaranteed deliciousness. Not to mention, grilling the breasts will lock in all those amazing flavors while providing some serious char.

How long can I keep the chicken in the marinade?

We’d recommend no longer than 24 hours! Technically you can keep raw chicken refrigerated for up to 2 days, but we don’t recommend marinating that long.

How do I keep the chicken from sticking on the grill?

As long as you give each side enough time, it shouldn’t! When your chicken gets those nice charred lines, it naturally releases from your grill grates. If you try to flip and the chicken feels stuck, try giving it another minute or two! It’ll release naturally, when it’s ready.

What should the internal temperature of my chicken be?

According to the FDA, all chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°. We prefer our chicken breasts closer to 150° because we’re rule breakers. Jokes aside, the real reason we don’t go all the way to 165° is because boneless skinless chicken breasts have basically no fat, so in order to maintain some juiciness we pull them a little early.

Can I adapt the marinade?

How hot should my grill be for chicken breasts?

What should I serve with this?

Made this recipe? Tell us how ya feel! Rate & comment below.

Freshly ground black pepper

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Prepare With A Meat Pounder

With a rolling pen or meat pounder, gently pound the chicken on a counter or table surface. Do this until theyre about half an inch thick across the breast. Do this for each breast.

Why do we do this? Well like with a lot of cooking methods, one of grillings biggest challenges is cooking meat evenly through. If we make our meat uniform in thickness then we help prevent the issue, while also making it easier to eat and cut.

How To Grill Bbq Chicken In The Oven

You can grill bbq chicken in the oven the same way you would on an outdoor grill. Depending on your chicken pieces, heat your oven to a medium setting around 350-450°F.

With the oven, it’s best to add the marinade to the chicken before cooking and place it in a dish to help absorb the flavor and prevent drying. Your chicken will cook through at 165°F on the inside.

You could cover the chicken with foil to trap the steam and speed up the grilling process, as well as help with tenderness.

Remove the foil in the final 20-30 minutes of the cooking process and turn the broiler on for a seared and grazed effect, which you typically get from grilling.

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How To Grill Chicken Breast In Five Easy Steps

Grilling juicy chicken breast can easily be done in just a few steps.

  • Prep your grill. Preheat your grill to 375 or 400 degrees F and scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled.
  • Add your chicken. Place your marinated chicken breasts on your preheated grill, and close the lid. Its important to keep the lid of your grill closed while your chicken is cooking so that no heat escapes. Cook your chicken breast on the grill for 6-8 minutes on one side.
  • Flip your chicken. After 6-8 minutes open your grill lid and flip your chicken breast with tongs. A great tip is to only flip your chicken breast once so that it stays nice and juicy
  • Check the temp. Cook your chicken breast for 6-8 minutes more. Cook time will vary a bit depending on the size of your chicken breast, so be sure to check the internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken breast using a meat thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, your chicken is done and can be transferred to a clean plate or cutting board.
  • Let it rest. Immediately cover chicken with foil to seal in the juices and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it. This will help you achieve that juicy, chicken breast youre looking for!
  • Sweet Spicy Tangy Bbq Sauce Ingredients

    Juicy BBQ Chicken Breast on the Pit Boss 456D Pellet Grill

    Homemade BBQ sauce is the condiment you never knew you needed! It’s actually super simple to make and you likely already have all the ingredients in your pantry and fridge. This is my favorite go-to BBQ sauce because it’s lightly sweetened, a little spicy and deliciously tangy. The combination is amazing. I’m obsessed.

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    The Best Bbq Chicken Calls For The Simplest Ingredients

    The best thing about grilled BBQ chicken is the fact that youve likely got everything you need to make it on hand at any point in time. Absolutely necessary for any summer staple!

    The cast of characters includes :

    • chicken You can use whatever chicken parts you love most for this BBQ chicken recipe: breasts, drumsticks, wings, leg quarters, thighs it all works! Personally, I have a thing for chicken thighs I think theyre the tastiest, most flavorful & juicy part of the chicken.
    • beer or buttermilk, used for a quick BBQ chicken marinade. Both are delicious in their own right. Beer lends an awesome funky flavor , while buttermilk tenderizes the chicken. Use whatever youve got on hand or whatever youre in the mood for.
    • spices, like chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, mustard powder, onion powder, & smoked paprika, which, when combined with a little bit of brown sugar, create the easiest & most delicious dry rub for chicken. I buy all my spices & staples at ALDI. Theyre super high quality, fragrant & full-flavored, & totally affordable.
    • BBQ sauce Use your fave! You can, of course, make your own BBQ sauce from scratch. With so many amazing bottled BBQ sauces out there, I always opt to just grab something from the store. The Burmans BBQ sauces at ALDI are my personal favorite. With a variety for each major BBQ region , its fun to pick & choose what youre in the mood for whenever you make grilled BBQ chicken. I always keep a bottle of each stocked in my pantry.

    The Best Chicken For Grilling

    For the juiciest, most flavorful grilled chicken, use bone-in, skin-on pieces. Place the chicken on a paper towel-lined tray and pat it dry. This removes excess moisture, which prevents the skin from getting crispy. Remember to wash your hands and all equipment after handling raw chicken.

    Next, season both sides generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and allow the chicken to come to room temperature for 15 minutes. This helps it cook evenly and gives the salt and pepper a chance to work their magic. Keep in mind that sweet sauces like glazes and barbecue sauce shouldn’t be applied until the chicken is finished cooking. They will burn before the chicken is fully cooked.

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    How Can You Tell When Grilled Chicken Breast Is Done Without A Thermometer

    The safest, and only foolproof, way to check if chicken is done cooking is with a meat thermometer.

    If you dont have a meat thermometer, you can test doneness by cutting into the thickest part of the chicken. If the meat is completely white and the juices run clear, the chicken should be done cooking. However, this can cause your chicken to dry out and doesnt prevent overcooking the chicken.

    Now that you know how to grill chicken breasts, check out our best grilled chicken recipes.

    Is Organic Chicken Better When Grilling Chicken Breast

    How to Grill Perfect Boneless Chicken Breasts

    When it comes to cooking chicken breasts, there is no difference between organic and non-organic chicken. Organic means that the birds are raised without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, additives or animal by-products, and have access to the outdoors. But, it doesnt necessarily mean that the chicken is healthier for you, tastes better or will cook better. Heres more on how to read the labels on a pack of chicken.

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    Simple And Easy Pinky Swear

    Grilled chicken breasts are notoriously dry and flavorless, but when prepared the correct way they can be delicious, flavorful and tender. And I promise its not a lot of work.Today you will learn just how easy it is to achieve tender, juicy flavorful boneless skinless chicken breasts every time to grill. And I will guide you through the process step by step, complete with photos. Thats just how nice I am!

    How To Store Leftover Chicken

    Let the grilled chicken sit a room temperature about 10 minutes to cool off, then refrigerate or freeze based on the times below.

    • Refrigerate in a sealed container up to 34 days.
    • Freeze whole, shredded, or chopped pieces tightly sealed up to 34 months. I like to freeze in separate smaller bags for easy leftover portions.

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    How To Grill A Whole Chicken On The Barbecue

    • Pin1475

    Grilled Whole Chicken on the Barbecue with dry rub seasoning Cooking a whole chicken on the grill gives the chicken a rotisserie like flavor that is unbeatable. At first, it can seem a little intimidating cooking a whole chicken. But, dont worry, its pretty dang easy!

    When cooking the chicken, I used a gas grill and put a temperature gauge in there to make sure the temperature was about 375 degrees. You can also use a charcoal grill. Just place the charcoals on one side of the barbecue and monitor the temperature of the inside of the grill.

    You will also need a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked thoroughly to 165 degrees.

    Ingredients you need for this recipe:

    • Whole Young Chicken
    • Black Pepper

    How To Grill Chicken Breasts With Barbecue Sauce

    GRILLING CHICKEN – How to GRILL CHICKEN BREAST Instructions

    Today we are doing more of a how to on The Schmidty Wife, opposed to a recipe. How To Grill Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce.

    Over the month of July I took the time to write down what we had for dinner every night. With the intention of sharing what I feed my family most often with my readers. Well turns out this summer was pretty predictable with some simple barbecue grilled chicken. I turn to the grill most of the time during the summer so it is no surprise to me that we had this for dinner the most often. So lets talk about how to grill chicken breasts with barbecue sauce.

    Its all about the grill and the chicken breast today. Now if you know me you know Id take a chicken thigh over a breast any day but there is also something so deliciously basic about a barbecued chicken breast on the grill, when done right I can barely resist it.

    So often chicken breasts can be overcooked and dried out which makes them no good. It can also be tricky to realize when to add the sauce during grilling. So today we are going to go over some of the basics of How To Grill Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce.

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    How To Grill Bonein Chicken Breast

    This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow’s Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 26,133 times.Learn more…

    Bone-in chicken breasts take a little longer to cook than boneless chicken breasts, but the results can be well worth the time. Marinate your chicken beforehand to give it some extra flavor, let it cook slowly, and youll be well on your way to enjoying a delicious meal from your grill.

    Sweet Spicy Tangy Bbq Sauce

    BBQ chicken is surprisingly easy to make at home, plus it’s incredibly delicious! This BBQ sauce is lightly sweetened, a tad spicy, and a little tangy. The combination is absolutely perfect.

    Feel free to reduce or increase the amount of cayenne pepper in the BBQ sauce to adjust the spice level to your liking. Keep in mind that simmering the BBQ sauce helps to bring out the flavor of all the spices, so do a taste test after the BBQ sauce has simmered for a few minutes before adding more cayenne.

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    How To Thin Thick Chicken Breasts

    I usually use a meat hammer, but the bottom of a heavy pan will do nicely.

    You need to protect yourself and the surrounding area from splatter. Most people will place the chicken in plastic wrap for this, but I like one-gallon freezer bags.

    See Chicken To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more food safety discussion about chicken.

    Grilled Chicken Breast Seasoning

    The Best BBQ Chicken

    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!

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    Trim The Chicken Breasts

    Picking the right ingredient is always a key step to ensuring you end up with great results. Make sure you are buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts. These often come untrimmed in the package with minimal processing. You can also buy them trimmed .

    If youre not a fan of trimming chicken, buying them hand trimmed from the butcher can be a great time saver, just be aware it will usually cost you a bit extra per pound. If you want to save yourself some money, trimming yourself is a great way to go! Remove any dangling pieces of fat, rib meat, connective tissues, or loose pieces of chicken meat to create nice, uniform breasts.

    No matter if you buy trimmed or trim yourself, be sure that your chicken is fully defrosted before you attempt the next steps. Having chicken that is frozen in the middle can cause several issues during the marinating and grilling steps. My favorite way to defrost is to set the chicken in a zip top bag and then onto a plate and onto the bottom shelf of your refrigerator. Make sure your bag is open to allow the chicken to breathe while defrosting. Most chicken breasts will defrost within 24 hours in the fridge.

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