[Updated February 2020] Learning how to grill the juiciest chicken breast doesn’t isn’t hard. You just have to know the tricks of the trade and apply them! They can be one of the hardest pieces of meat to consistently cook successfully but we are here to help you change that right now!
We grill chicken breasts a lot. They are a great cut of meat and are extremely healthy. Healthy also means there is very little fat there to help with flavor or add to the juiciness of the chicken. So to help address that, the first thing you should do is flatten the breast. When you buy the chicken breast, it normally looks like a bell curve – two super thin sides and a thick lump in the middle. Logic tells us that those super thin sides are going to grill up pretty fast and get dry and hard well before that big lump piece is fully cooked. This is not the time to hope and pray it will work because it doesn’t. Flatten them out!
🐔 Preparation
Next up is to marinate or brine them. Either choice will work, but you are trying to add some extra juice to stay in the chicken as it grills.
Don’t skip adding olive oil to your chicken breast before grilling or generously oiling your grill grate so it doesn’t stick. The oil will assist in keeping the moisture in. If you don’t generously oil your grill, it will stick.
When it’s time to grill, prep your temperature to 375 degrees. You don’t want it to be lower at 350 or over 450. Too low, and it may not cook fast enough and the chicken will dry out. Too hot, and the outside of the chicken breast will burn before they are fully cooked on the inside.
⏲️ Grilling Time
It can be tricky, so it’s best to start looking to turn the chicken after 5-7 minutes. Wait for that perfect 165 degrees internal temperature. You can always cut them as well to check for doneness, which we tend to do almost every time. It just makes us feel better.
When you bring the chicken in from outside, serve immediately or loosely cover with foil. If you do all of this, the result will be the juiciest chicken ever!! Check temperatures quite a few times to catch the chicken to be done without going to the “overdone” stage which can happen quickly on a grill and result in dry chicken.
Grilling tip: If you rush to put the chicken on too early, the grill may not be hot enough and you won’t achieve the grill marks you are looking for.
Bonus Tip For Perfect Sear Marks
I recently started using a GrillGrate on my Big Green Egg and it has made a world of difference when I grill meats like chicken breasts. This sets on top of your existing grate and the fins get extremely hot.
They will sear the chicken extremely fast, virtually preventing it from sticking. I have had to use less oil and have had a lot less frustrations with meat sticking.
Recipes that Use Chicken Breasts
Once you got the perfect, juiciest chicken, grill several to help out with meal prep on weeknights to make salads, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, nachos, wraps, sandwiches, or shred them for just about anything. You can never have too many grilled chicken breasts for the week to come!
Juiciest Boneless Skinless Grilled Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat up the grill to direct heat to 375 degrees and oil the grill grate well.
- Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and salt and pepper. (No marinade is used in a basic chicken breast so olive oil is used to help keep the chicken juicy.)
- Grill each side 5-7 minutes, depending upon how thick they are. Check internal temperature for 165 degrees.
Nutrition
