# Help with chicken breasts on gas grill



## roadster1200xl (Feb 12, 2013)

Hi everyone.  I'm fairly new here and I've looking for some help with cooking chicken on the BBQ.  I'm having trouble getting chicken breasts cooked to be juicy and tasty and I could use some help figuring out what I need to do differently.  I'm not an experienced chef and a lot of the posts I've read are somewhat vague, as in "put on medium heat" which seems like it could vary a lot from BBQ to BBQ.  I think most are intended for more experienced cooks who know how to deal with these things.

I'm cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are about 1/3 to 1/2 pound each.

I'm using a Weber Genesis gas grill that has three burners that run across the grill: one in front, one in the middle, and one across the back.  Each burner has a plate that prevents direct flame on the grill (indirect heat).  There is also a thermometer in the lid.

So I typically put olive oil on the chicken and have tried some spices.  My wife has complained about the marinades I've tried but maybe I just haven't tried the right one yet.  

Part of the problem is that I rarely have much time to prepare the food before cooking.  With work and family life things get a bit rushed.  I usually have less than 90 minutes from the time I start to when the food should be ready, and I'm trying to prepare other dishes at the same time.  If I have to, I can probably prepare things the night before.

So that's probably more information than you wanted to read but maybe some of you experienced cooks can suggest a way to turn this cooking problem around?


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## GA Home Cook (Feb 12, 2013)

There are tons of concoctions to soak the meat in.  Experiment until you find the flavor you want.  I pound my Chicken breast to reduce the thicker end.  This help it to cook more evenly and still get done.  If you are just starting I would recommend purchasing a good instant read thermometer.  Lots of people way over cook chicken for fear of undercooking.  I cook mine to 165 F at the thickest part., then tent with Al foil when done for 5-10 minutes.  Another option is to partially cook on the grill and finish in the oven.  Just some thoughts.


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## GotGarlic (Feb 12, 2013)

Hi. I like to marinate in Italian salad dressing, among other things. For grilling, try turning on just one burner; cook 3-4 minutes per side to get some color, then move the meat to a part of the grill where the burner is off, to let it finish cooking. This mimics the conditions in the oven.

You can also serve it with a sauce, to make it more interesting, such as bbq or tzatziki. Hth.


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## GrillingFool (Feb 12, 2013)

Forget the boneless, skinless breasts.
You can get bone in cheaper, and you will have
much better results! Just remove the skin after
grilling the breast.
And get an instant read thermometer and use it
to determine when your meat is cooked. Eventually,
you will be able to do it by feel, but the thermometer 
is the best way to train yourself.
I like to put a meat rub on the meat, under the skin, and
some on the skin too, before I grill.


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## Andy M. (Feb 12, 2013)

It's really simple.  You need a higher heat to quickly brown the outside if the chicken breasts followed by lower indirect heat to finish cooking the interior.  You can sear them over one burner (e.g. the front one) then move the met to the back of the grill or onto the warming rack to finish slowly.  

As far as where to set the burner, you have to experiment a little.  After warming the grill, set it at half way and brown the exterior directly over the burner.  Then the meat goes to the warming rack and adjust the burner so the hood thermometer registers around 350ºF.

You really must have an instant read thermometer.  Chicken breasts are done @ an internal temperature of 161ºF.  If you can cook them to only that temp and take them off the grill, they will be juicy.  If your chicken is dry, you cooked it too much.

There are countless marinade recipes for chicken so you have to experiment.  You start by making a marinade and marinating the chicken for an hour, then cook it on the grill.  That should take no more that 30 minutes.


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## Whiskadoodle (Feb 12, 2013)

To add a little to Andy's remarks.   Make sure the grill is medium hot - 375-400 before starting the cook.   Grease the grill grates before starting, douse a folded paper towel with a little oil and hold the towel in a pair of tongs and rub the area on the cooking grates. If there was not much fat in your marinade, rub the bird parts w/ oil too. 

The browning should take only about 3 -5 minutes.  With Skinless, I don't try to achieve the depth of color/  browning  the same as if it were skin-on.   Don't crowd the meat pieces.  Don't try and turn them too soon  or the meat will stick to the grill.     When the chix releases easily, you can turn them over.  Then move to an un lit burner area for indirect cooking.  I like to turn the grill temp down so it will end up at about 325.  It takes awhile for the temp to diminish.   I don't find it necessary to turn the chicken over once it's on indirect.  You can certainly do so if you like.  When it's nearly done,  paint it with some bbq sauce if using,  then flip,  paint again.  You can move the chicken back over the fire if you want the sauce to carmelize or show grill marks.  If the sauce is going on the side, then just leave the chicken be.   I find boneless skinless chicken breast is often done at about 20 minutes total start to finish,  so I plan my sauce brushing accordingly.   Always use tongs and never a fork when moving any meat on the grill.  Forks cause juices to escape.  If you get a little fire flare up, that's ok, close the cover.  But keep a spray bottle water handy if you are cooking a lot of chicken at one time.  

Remove to platter and cover loosely with a foil tent and let rest a few minutes before serving.    Temp willl rise a little.   If your chicken, like mine sometims may seem a little dry,  have some sauce to spoon over or a complimentary dipping sauce or salsa or even just a few slices of grilled  canned or fresh pineapple to serve alongside.  

So many Don'ts,  I wish this were edited into all Do This's.   The Biggest Do This I know, is grill chicken more often so you become more familiar with how you and it relate with each other.  Pay attention to the markings on your burner knobs until you are more comfortable making temp adjustments,  and learn when it is approx times to turn or move the chicken around.


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## Alix (Feb 12, 2013)

I don't use a thermometer, but I cheat and brine the breasts before BBQing. Grilling Fool is right, bone in is much more foolproof, and Andy's method is great too. I'm a lazy butt and just toss frozen breasts into brine til they're thawed enough to hit the grill and then do them pretty much as Andy suggests, only I don't have a thermometer. I just sort of push on them to see how much give they have. When they bounce back, and don't mush in the middle, I pull them off.


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## Andy M. (Feb 12, 2013)

I agree that bone-in, skin-on breast halves are much better to cook on the grill.  They're easier to keep from overcooking.


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## pacanis (Feb 12, 2013)

I only grill chicken breasts if I am using them in something I want to see the grillmarks, like sliced in a grilled chicken salad or something. I've never been a fan myself of a B/S chicken breast. They do seem to be the healthy food of choice though.
I do the whole thing indirect, but run my grill hotter. It sears and colors it well enough and no flare ups if it's dripping with marinade. If it's lacking in color for some reason I will move it over the flame right before I pull it off. Pretty much the same way I grill wings.


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## Whiskadoodle (Feb 12, 2013)

pacanis said:


> I only grill chicken breasts if I am using them in something I want to see the grillmarks, like sliced in a grilled chicken salad or something. I've never been a fan myself of a B/S chicken breast. They do seem to be the healthy food of choice though.
> I do the whole thing indirect, but run my grill hotter. It sears and colors it well enough and no flare ups if it's dripping with marinade. If it's lacking in color for some reason I will move it over the flame right before I pull it off. Pretty much the same way I grill wings.


 

I like that technique Pac.  I should try this.  I use a charcoal grill mostly, not my gasser.   I'm planning grilling B/S chix breasts towards the end of the week.  I bought a whole family pack at Costco not that long ago.  They are inid. wrapped and I just tucked them in the freezer for use on demand.


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## jennyema (Feb 12, 2013)

Consider brining them first. Adds flavor and helps keep them moist


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## CharlieD (Feb 12, 2013)

Roadster, with chicken breast you need not to be fancy, turn the grill on high let it preheat, season your chicken with whatever seasoning you like. Make sure your grill is clean, wipe the grill with some oil using a paper towel, or something similar, or spray some oil from can, I recently bought special grill oil can, I’m sure it is the same oil they just charged me extra for the fancy name. Put the chicken on turn the grill to medium, it should say “medium” on your gas grill dial. I’d say about 10-15 minutes per side should be more than enough. The main thing with white meat it cooks really fast and if it is overcooked, might as well start chewing on the soul of your shoe. You might just have to experiment with time. Cut into the chicken and see if it is done, if it is not leave for another 5 minutes. Also try not to disturb chicken until it is done on the first side, it will get stock to the grill on the first side until it is cooked and if you try to remove it before it will get ripped.
When chicken is done you can serve it with some sauce/dressing.


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## roadster1200xl (Feb 13, 2013)

Hi everyone and thanks for all the suggestions.  So the good news is that I ended up with chicken that was cooked well and actually juicy!  The bad news is that it was still fairly bland and it did not go over well with the family.  I had put some garlic salt and spices on it before cooking but it was not enough to have much effect on the flavor.  I'll have to get some marinades to try.

So, one more question:

my wife likes thinner slices.  If I cut the breast in half (thickness wise) will that be a problem?  I know it will cut down the cooking time but does that introduce anything else I should know about?


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## pacanis (Feb 13, 2013)

If you don't slice it all the way through and open it up you can call it Butterflied Chicken Breast  

IMO it's probably better sliced thinner, or pounded flat. Then the surface seasoning won't have so much meat to try to flavor. You'll get a better seasoning/bite ratio.


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## Whiskadoodle (Feb 13, 2013)

I prefer pounding it thinner or butter fly rather than slice into 2 pieces.   If pounding, try to make a uniform thickness and do this before marinading it.  Place a chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Pound decidedly but not too hard with the flat side of a meat mallet.  If not that, use a rolling pin or even a regular hammer.  Don't pierce holes in the meat.  It will tenderize the meat too.  Work on thicker areas the most. Duh. 

Marinades I find, are often more robust or more strongly flavored than you would first think.   If you tend to like one garlic clove in a sauce, think two in the marinade.  Etc.  Well, not every flavor.  Fresh rosemary some is enoough, more is not necessarily better.    Bottled Italian salad dressing is easy, you can add more herbs to enhance.  Teriyaki marinade and then sauce is good as well. 

For chicken,  I don't use the same marinade for my serving / finishing sauce.  Rather,  Divide it and save some separate to make the sauce.  Discard the marinade after using.   

Hope this helps.


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## Kayelle (Feb 13, 2013)

You might consider thighs instead of breasts. They have so much more flavor (read fat) than breasts. Personally, I've never eaten a grilled chicken breast (certainly not boneless) that was worth a hoot.

I'm grilling some bone in, skin on thighs tonight that will be as succulent as they've always been.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 13, 2013)

When I grill chicken breasts, I do it over hot charcoal on my Webber kettle.  I suspect that with a full load of charcoal, and all vents closed half way, the internal temp of the grill is about 425 to 450.  I always use bone in, skin on chicken breasts.  I use direct heat.  The fat from the skin drips into the charcoal and makes flavorful smoke, that deposits on the chicken.  I use a meat thermometer to check the final meat temp.  I remove the chicken at 160' as measured with the thermometer, and stack the chicken on a platter.  I let it sit for ten minutes or so.  There is carry-over cooking that causes the meat temperature to rise further still, after the breasts are removed to the platter.  

The beauty of leaving the skin on, is that most of the fat drips away, and, If I make a mistake, and the fire is too hot, I just remove any charred skin before serving.  I don't sauce the chicken until the last minute of cooking time, as most barbecue sauces contain sugar that will burn long before the chicken is cooked through.  Total cooking time for the chicken, full load over full charcoal load is about ten minutes, give or take a few as dictated by the thermometer. 

I have found through countless experiments that the main factor between juicy and dry chicken is final meat temperature.  The brines help hydrate the meat, and the marinades add flavor to the meat surface.  But whether I'm pan frying, roasting, baking, grilling, or broiling, the chicken comes our juicy when I pull it from the heat at 160' F.  Hope this helps.


Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## RLCannady (Feb 13, 2013)

Have you tried brining the chicken before you cook it?  If I remember correctly you mix 3/4 cup of Kosher salt with 1 gal. of water and stir until the salt is dissolved.  Then soak the chicken peices for about an hour to an hour and a half before cooking them.  The salt retains the moisture in the chicken while it cooks making it tender and juicy.  You can google "Brine recipes" and there are hundreds of recipes that you can use.  There are numerous different things you can add to brine to enhance the flavor.


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## Steve Kroll (Feb 14, 2013)

GrillingFool said:


> Forget the boneless, skinless breasts.
> You can get bone in cheaper, and you will have
> much better results! Just remove the skin after
> grilling the breast.


+1

And as mentioned above, brining is another option for producing juicy grilled breasts.


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## roadster1200xl (Feb 14, 2013)

How does brining compare to marinating?


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 14, 2013)

roadster1200xl said:


> How does brining compare to marinating?



Brining uses a salt solution, a brine.  It is not acidic and works by introducing the meat into a concentrated salt solution.  In nature, all things seek to be equal.  The salt water, or brine, is pulled into the cell tissue by a phenomenon called osmosis.  This continues until the salinity is equal in the liquid, and in the chicken.  Any other flavors, such as herbs and spices, also enter the meat tissue through the same process.  The result is that the flavors of the brine, along with additional water, is in the meat before it's cooked.

Marinades are acidic mixtures that flavor the meat.  They don't tenderize, as is sometimes believed.  The acid in the marinade reacts with the proteins on the surface of the meat, causing them to curl up, or tighten.  These proteins then act as a barrier to any further absorption of water, or flavors into the meat.  marinades do add flavor to the very outer layer of the meat tissue.

One cooking technique involves slicing the meat into thin strips, and placing into a mixture of flavored brine, to which cornstarch, and an acidic ingredient are added.  This flavors the meat, which is then poached in either 340' oil, or hot water (about 200' F.), until the meat is cooked through, and the cornstarch becomes opaque.  Because the meat is just barely cooked through, it is very tender, and the cornstarch coating helps keep the natural juices from leaving the meat tissue.

Brines are used for enhancing meat flavors, and moistness, and are usually done for several hours, to a couple weeks.  Corned beef and pastrami are examples of meats that have been brined for 14 days or greater.  

Marinades do their work in 15 minutes to an hour or so.

Hope that helps.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Feb 14, 2013)

Another thing you can do to add flavor is to cut a pocket into the meat before cooking. You can then stuff the pocket with all sorts of things. You can go as simple as herbs/spices mixed to a paste with olive oil, or you can do something like mixing parmesan and tomatoes and stuffing that into them, or fine chopped mushrooms and onions, or pineapple and sweet peppers. Chicken, especially the white meat, is kind of like bread in that it is a blank canvas that can hold a lot of different types of flavors.

If you stuff the breasts with something more substancial than herbs/spices, you will probably need to adjust the cooking time a little. Also, you wouldn't want to flatten the chicken much since it needs to be thick enough to make a pocket.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 14, 2013)

Along the same lines as what PAG said, purchase the breasts with the bone on.  Take a finger and push it between the tenderloin and the main muscle to create the pocket.  Then stuff it.  You can then dip teh chicken in flour, egg wash, then breadcrumbs.  Bake in the oven at 350' for about 45 minutes.  Test with a meat thermometer.

If you want to get a little fancier, skin, then remove the meat from the bone.  Save the small, tenderloin for another meal.  Flatten the breasts.  Fold the breast over either swiss cheese, and ham for Chicken Cordon Blieu, or fill with butter and fine herbs for Chicken Kiev.  When the chicken is folded around the filling, dip in flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs and bake, again to an internal temp. of 160' F.

use the bones and skin to make chicken broth for gravies and soups, or fry the skins until browned and crisp.  Lightly salt and serve up as cracklings.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## roadster1200xl (Feb 15, 2013)

Thanks for the information about brines and marinades.  It sounds like you use one or the other but not both?

I'm going to give marinades another try next as I was able to get the chicken fairly juicy by cooking it with lower heat.  But it sounds like a flavored brine could be interesting, too.


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## chopper (Feb 15, 2013)

Great ideas here.  Another way I sometimes do chicken breasts is to cut them into strips and marinade them in teriyaki.  Then I thread them onto skewers and grill for only a few minutes.  I think only eight or ten.  Serve over rice with grilled onions and bell peppers.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 16, 2013)

roadster1200xl said:


> Thanks for the information about brines and marinades.  It sounds like you use one or the other but not both?
> 
> I'm going to give marinades another try next as I was able to get the chicken fairly juicy by cooking it with lower heat.  But it sounds like a flavored brine could be interesting, too.



I use both, just not at the same time.  It all depends on what I'm making.  My spicy Smouldering Chicken recipe uses a marinade before the chicken goes on the grill.  My BBQ turkey gets a brine.  I've also been known to inject brine into whole birds, chicken and turkey.

I took, venison tenderloin and put it into a corning solution (read brine), and it came out wonderful.  And I've cut pork, chicken, and beef and placed them into marinades before velveting them.

There are a good number of people around here that marinade their chicken in buttermilk, swearing that it gives them the best chicken ever.  I'm not the guy to dispute that.  I'm the guy who hears how to make something in a way that I haven't tried yet, and has to try it.

Both solutions have their uses in my kitchen.  I just wanted to let you know the difference between the two.

If you discover a great way to make your chicken moist and juicy, then I say, great job.  

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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