Grilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
By Christie MorrisonPublished on April 28, 2016
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes marinating
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This chicken can be served with one of our three sauces (see related content) alongside a simply prepared vegetable for a light dinner. The chicken can also be used in a sandwich or sliced and tossed with greens for a salad. The chicken takes longer to cook on a gas grill, so begin checking it at the end of the range in step 4. The chicken should be marinated for no less than 30 minutes and no more than 12 hours.
Instructions
- Whisk oil, water, garlic, sugar, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper together in bowl. Transfer mixture to 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Add chicken, press out air, seal bag, and turn bag so that contents are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour coals evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) off.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken on cooler side of grill, skinned side down, with thicker ends facing coals. (Edges of chicken should be no more than 4 inches from center of primary burner if using gas.) Cover with disposable pan if using charcoal (if using gas, close lid) and cook until bottom of chicken just begins to develop light grill marks and is no longer pink, 6 to 9 minutes.
- Flip chicken and rotate so that thinner ends face coals. Cover as before and continue to cook until chicken registers 140 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes longer.
- Remove disposable pan and transfer chicken to hotter side of grill. Cook chicken, uncovered (covered for gas), until dark grill marks appear, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip chicken and cook, uncovered (covered for gas), until marked on second side and registering 160 degrees, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes marinatingYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Our perfectly grilled chicken breast recipe had to produce moist, tender, well-seasoned chicken. Brinerating the chicken in a mixture of oil, garlic, water, salt, and pepper seasoned the meat and helped keep it moist. We discovered that placing the breasts on the cooler side of the grill and covering them with a disposable pan trapped the heat and kept the breasts moist while cooking. To finish, we gave the breasts a quick sear on the hotter part of the grill before serving them with one of three sauces.
Before You Begin
This chicken can be served with one of our three sauces (see related content) alongside a simply prepared vegetable for a light dinner. The chicken can also be used in a sandwich or sliced and tossed with greens for a salad. The chicken takes longer to cook on a gas grill, so begin checking it at the end of the range in step 4. The chicken should be marinated for no less than 30 minutes and no more than 12 hours.
Instructions
- Whisk oil, water, garlic, sugar, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper together in bowl. Transfer mixture to 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Add chicken, press out air, seal bag, and turn bag so that contents are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour coals evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) off.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken on cooler side of grill, skinned side down, with thicker ends facing coals. (Edges of chicken should be no more than 4 inches from center of primary burner if using gas.) Cover with disposable pan if using charcoal (if using gas, close lid) and cook until bottom of chicken just begins to develop light grill marks and is no longer pink, 6 to 9 minutes.
- Flip chicken and rotate so that thinner ends face coals. Cover as before and continue to cook until chicken registers 140 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes longer.
- Remove disposable pan and transfer chicken to hotter side of grill. Cook chicken, uncovered (covered for gas), until dark grill marks appear, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip chicken and cook, uncovered (covered for gas), until marked on second side and registering 160 degrees, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve.
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