These BBQ Chicken Breasts grilled to tender perfection are basted toward the end with a basic BBQ sauce creating a savory-sweet, caramelized layer.
I hope that you’re not tired of me extolling the benefits of brining. It truly is my secret weapon to make sure that lean meats like chicken breasts stay juicy when they’re cooked over high, dry heat like the grill produces. I’ve even done a series of experiments on chicken breasts, comparing different brining times, water temperature, salt amounts, and more, to find out what has the best effect. You can learn everything that’ve found out about brining chicken breasts over here, but I’ll give you everything you need to know in the recipe below. For today’s recipe, the chicken breasts are in the brine for 30 minutes to an hour before you cook them. If you only have 15 minutes though, even that will help them.
How To Make BBQ Chicken Breasts
After the allotted time in the brine, I pull the chicken breasts out, pat them dry and then sprinkle a simple rub of brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the chicken. This adds a great flavor to the chicken and a really gorgeous color.
When I’m grilling BBQ chicken breasts, I like to create a medium-hot zone and a cooler zone. My grill has three burners, so I turn the first two to medium and the third to low. You can create this with your charcoal grill by moving a majority of the coals to one side of the grill.
I start by placing the breasts top side down on the grate over the burners set to medium. I allow them to cook for 6 – 8 minutes. Then I move the breasts over the burner that has been set to low. This helps to ensure that the BBQ sauce doesn’t burn.
At this point I brush the top with my Basic BBQ Sauce, close the lid and cook for another 6 minutes. At that point, I check the internal temperature with my instant-read thermometer. If it registers 165˚F, I remove the chicken breasts to a plate and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
If they haven’t reached the proper temperature, I brush a little more BBQ sauce and continue cooking until the proper temperature is reached.
I love my Basic BBQ Sauce for this recipe, but if you want some a little more adventurous here are some more ideas for BBQ Sauces.
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BBQ Chicken Breast
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
These BBQ Chicken Breasts grilled to tender perfection are basted toward the end with a basic BBQ sauce creating a savory-sweet, caramelized layer.
Ingredients
- 4 and 1/2 Tbsp. Morton’s kosher salt* (optional)
- 4 cups cold water (optional)
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (store-bought or homemade)
Instructions
- Optional step: In a medium-sized bowl, stir the salt into the water until it dissolves. Add the chicken breasts and let sit on the counter for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove chicken from the liquid and pat dry.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. If you didn’t brine the chicken breasts, add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to this mixture as well.
- Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the spice mixture, making sure to cover all sides.
- Heat grill so that one side is medium heat and the other side is low.
- Place the chicken top side down on the grate over the medium heat and grill 6 minutes.
- Turn the chicken and move to the low-heat side of the grill.
- Baste the chicken on all sides with the BBQ Sauce and continue to cook until the sauce is caramelized and an instant read thermometer registers 165˚F, about 6 more minutes.
- Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Notes
*If you have a different type of salt, you will possibly need to use a different amount. If using regular table salt, you’ll use 3 tablespoons. If using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, you’ll use 6 tablespoons.
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