Grilling Chicken Breast
What You Need To Know About Grilling Chicken Breast
The thought of grilling chicken breast tends to call to mind a vision of chewing white chunks of cardboard, as this can be a difficult cut of meat to keep moist. The issue with chicken breast is that it has a low natural occurrence of moisture, even before introduction to heat. It is almost always recommended that this portion be infused with moisture before preparation, by way of either broth injection or long a long marinating session. Open flame is the most harsh form of cooking, as the intense dry heat pulls as much moisture as possible from the food. A quick sear will help to seal some moisture inside of the meat, but grilling chicken breast has its fair share of challenges. Let’s tackle them now.
Injecting moisture in preparation for grilling chicken breast is a pretty easy and straightforward process. Injectors can be found at any kitchen supply store, as well as many sporting goods stores. It is basically a syringe with a sharp plastic needle tip, which is filled with the liquid of your choice and then use to carefully puncture the meat and distribute the liquid throughout the middle. As the cooking process begins, the pockets of added liquid begin to move and penetrate the meat, tenderizing and flavoring it from the inside out. If you choose to marinate instead, you will want to keep your container sealed and cold while the infusion is in process.
Your grill should be set at a medium flame intensity and allowed to preheat for at least 15 minutes. This allows the grates to absorb the intense heat and apply it directly to the surface of your meat when it is placed on them. Every little bit of sealing opportunity is a good thing.
For grilling chicken breast with the bone and skin intact, you will want to sear the skinned side first, for at least 8 minutes, checking frequently for flare ups caused by the dripping of fat. A spray bottle of water will help to control any unruly flames. Be sure to spray the flames and not the meat. Once this sear is complete, the chicken breast can be flipped over to the bone side, where it will need about 9 more minutes to finish to perfection. The meat should be given at least 5 minutes to settle before it is served.
For grilling boneless, skinless chicken breast, the heat intensity is the same, but the cooking time is less. Chicken breast on the bone is thicker, because a strip of tenderloin meat is trapped between the breast meat and the bone. Also, the bone is a form of insulation and the heat takes longer to penetrate through it to the meat. Your boneless skinless breast will need no more than 6 minutes per side on the grill. Once removed from the heat, it should congeal for no less than 5 minutes before being served.