My Best Grilled Chicken Breasts

[johnec00]

I've never much cared for grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts . . . tasteless and dry. But we've started doing them like this and they are exceptional (IMHO).

~Got fresh half breasts, pounded out to about 1/2 inch thick,
~Brined for 20 minutes in a quart of water with 1/4 cup kosher salt and 1/8 cup sugar.
~While they brined, preheated the gasser on low with grill grates.
~Patted dry, sprayed with EVO, applied Henrik 's Pork and Poultry rub prepared without the salt.
~Grilled 3 minutes on one side, flipped for 5 minutes or until IT 160.

These come out very juicy, just the right saltiness (for me) and great mild flavor. Quick . . . easy . . . tasty!

Pictures:

[Sid P]

They sure look good!

[Jerod Broussard]

Love chicken breast on a bed of rice.

Great job!!

[HawkerXP]

Nice!

[Redwng]

Good job!

[Henrik]

Nice one 👌!

[RiverJeff]

Can't go wrong with a little help from Henrik's

[jfmorris]

I need to mix up a batch of Henrik 's rub. Thanks for reminding me. I used my last of it quite some time ago.

I find Grillgrates are one of the best ways to cook chicken without overcooking it, at least on my gasser and kettle. I need to try pounding out the chicken breasts to flatten them, as most of the ones these days are huge and thick. I've thought of butterflying them too, to get the meat thinner for a faster cook.

I also need to try a wet brine like that some time.

[johnec00]

Yea, and they're only too thick on the wishbone end. I tried butterflying, but I invariably ended with thinner and thicker areas. Pounding yielded more or less constant thickness.

[HotSun]

Nice, thanks for sharing. I've been shopping around for a grilled chicken breast recipe as my 'go-to'. Haven't settled on anything yet, so maybe this is it.

[johnec00]

If you try it, let us know what you think.

BTW, From your avatar, it looks like we agree on the proper way to cook picanha

[HotSun]

Thanks johnec00 , I'll let you know how the chicken turns out. With picanha, I prefer to skewer if I'm using a Brazilian style outdoor grill with long skewers, but I don't have one and use a kamado knock-off. Skewers can be awkward. I now do mine as shown here:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/food-recipes-techniques-show-us-what-youre-cooking/show-tell/1741540-show-us-what-you-re-cooking-suwyc-volume-38-summer-2025?p=1742730#post1742730

[Bkhuna]

Good job! It's great to have a grilled chicken breast around for salads, fast pasta dishes and just plain I need a snack moments.

[johnec00]

An update to this post, easier than pounding the breasts to 1/2 inch thick, buy what the groceries like Aldi shown here call "Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts". Much easier and just as good.

[ssennott]

Looks like they came out great.

[Alan Brice]

I love to marinate B/S chicken breasts in Italian dressing for a cpl hours then just put them up on the warming rack for 10 - 15 minutes, in the gasser. The dressing makes a wonderful glaze that takes on a nice color and the chicken slow cooks til done. Nice presentation.
Smoke tube n handful of pellets would not hurt a bit.