Juicy Grilled Chicken Breast
The secret to juicy grilled chicken breast is to not overcook them. Chicken breasts should be cooked until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Overcooked chicken breasts tend to become tough and dry. You can also marinate the chicken before cooking to add flavor and moisture. Another tip is to pound the chicken breasts to a uniform thickness so that they cook evenly. Finally, let the chicken rest for a few minutes after cooking to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
How to Juicy Grilled Chicken Breast
If you’ve made it this far in this grilled chicken tutorial, yahoo! It’s time to grill your chicken. This easy tutorial is specifically for grilled chicken breast.
- Remove Moisture: First things first, remove your chicken from the package and then use a paper towel to blot as much moisture out of it as you can.
- Flavor: Next, flavor your chicken with either a dry rub or marinade. If you scroll up, we give some great options!
- Grill: Preheat your grill (gas or charcoal) to around 400ºF. We know that grill temps fluctuate, so don’t freak out if it isn’t exact! We’ve found that 400ºF is the perfect temp for grilled chicken. Hot enough to get you gorgeous grill marks, but not too hot to dry out your chicken. Grill your chicken for around 7-8 minutes over direct heat, flip, and grill for 8-10 more minutes. PS: this is for a 6 oz. chicken breast!
- Internal Temp: You know your chicken is completely cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. We use an instant read thermometer for this, that way you don’t take any risks in eating raw chicken. You can learn more about cooking here from this great article by the USDA.
- Let Rest: What is rest time? After you remove the chicken from the grill and it sits, it will continue to cook to the final temperature. We recommend letting your chicken rest for at least 5 minutes so that you can ensure it reaches at least 165ºF to destroy any bacteria.
