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How To Grill Chicken Breasts That Are Sooo Juicy Recipe

  • Author: Christine Pittman
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
  • Category: Entrée
  • Method: Grilled
  • Cuisine: American

DESCRIPTION

Learn the method for how to grill chicken breasts that are super-juicy, and never ever dried out.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 and 1/2 lbs.)
  • 4 cups cold water
  • 4 Tbsp. Morton’s kosher salt*
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable or grapeseed oil

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken breast in half width-wise. Cover one portion in plastic wrap to stop chicken juice from flying around your kitchen when you pound it.
  2. Pound it to an even thickness. If you have a meat tenderizer with a flat side, like this one, use that. If not, a rolling pin works. So you just smack the chicken breast, focusing on where it is thickest and trying to get it to be even with the thinnest part. Set chicken aside a moment.
  3. Into a medium-sized bowl measure the water and salt. Stir well until salt is dissolved. Add the garlic powder and thyme. Stir.
  4. Add the chicken breasts to the salt mixture. Make sure all of the chicken is submerged. If not, use a narrower bowl, or mix up a bit more brine mixture and add it. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes to 2 hours.
  5. Take the bowl of chicken out of the refrigerator. Remove chicken from bag and pat dry. Discard salt mixture. Allow chicken to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes while you prep and heat the grill.
  6. Oil your grill grates: When your grill is cold, dip paper towel into an oil that has a high smoking point, like vegetable oil or grapeseed oil. Then use tongs to rub that oiled towel onto your grates. 
  7. Preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat (around 400ºF). If your grill doesn’t have a thermometer, here’s how to find out what temperature it’s at.
  8. Once your grill is at the right temperature, put the chicken breasts onto the grill in a single layer, as spaced out as you can given your surface and the number of breasts you have.
  9. Cook for about 4 minutes per side with the grill lid open. Test if they’re done using an instant-read thermometer. You want it to read 165ºF. Or you can cut into one and see if it’s white all the way through, not pink. They’ll be nice and browned outside with good char marks when they’re done.
  10. Take them off of the grill and put them on a clean serving plate. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. This resting time is so that the juices won’t rush out of the chicken when you cut in for that first bite.

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Notes

*If you’re using a different brand or kosher salt or different type salt, please consult this recipe for the correct measurement of salt because different brands of kosher salt, coarse salt, and other salts have differing sized crystals and require different amounts.