This is what Cricket looked like this morning:
Yeah, not a happy camper! We’ve been working like crazy and she is feeling exhausted too. She loves the time we spend together in the kitchen but she is missing some of those fabled doggie activities – you know- chasing squirrels, eating only the finest meats (i.e. no kibble!), tummy rubs, and rolling around around in the grass (her favorite!)
She also ran out of her Primal Nuggets (her raw-meat doggie food) and pulled the bag out of the garbage and ran around with it on her head. It was hilarious- here is the video- worth watching if you need a laugh!:
I haven’t made any MEAT lately, so to cheer up Cricket, and to please the hubby, good old grilled chicken is what’s for dinner tonight!
So I wanted to share HOW TO Make the ULTIMATE Grilled Chicken!
Grilled chicken can be AWESOME. JUICY. TENDER. FLAVORFUL.
Or it can be DRY, CHALKY, and FLAVORLESS-yuck 🙁
Does your chicken turn out awesome every time you take it off the grill? Mine certainly did not until I spent some serious time learning about the proper steps to grill the ultimate juiciest chicken EVER.
Let me preface- I am NOT a grill master. My place is in the kitchen- Stovetop? -check! Oven?-I’ve got that! But BBQ?-ummmm, honey!? Yeah, I usually pass the BBQing off to the hubby, but recently I made the executive decision to further my culinary skill and really learn how to grill, and do it well!
So today we will start with chicken breast! Here are the steps to make your family smile with juicy, charred, flavor-bursting chicken:
1. If your chicken breasts are thick in the middle and thin on the ends (not even), use a meat mallet to flatten them out slightly so they are closer to the same width throughout. Alternatively you can butterfly cut the breast.
2. Use a Jacquard tool, or my cheat tool- a fork with small tines, to pierce the breast all over to allow the marinade to penetrate into the meat.
3. Make a brine/marinade: Combine water, sugar, salt, pepper, thyme, lemon and apple cider vinegar on the stove. Bring it to a rolling boil, then remove and allow to cool after the sugar is dissolved. Don’t worry about the brine being too salty- it should be because the salt is what tenderizes the meat and helps it retain moisture!
4. Once the brine is cool, place it along with the chicken in a ziplock bag. Store in the fridge overnight (or for most of the day if you are prepping in the morning). I did read that you can brine your chicken for only 30 minutes and still get the benefits, but I have not tried this myself.
5. Next day! Oil the grill grate to ensure the chicken doesn’t stick. Then fire up the grill to medium high. Allow it to get up to temperature. Do not throw the chicken on a grill that isn’t warmed up! The high temperature is what seals in the flavor and moisture. The grill should be around 400-425 degrees F.
6. Place the chicken on the hot grill. Exact cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts. Mine cooked for about 4 minutes (on each side) and had lovely dark brown grill marks. I then moved them to the other half of the grill where I turned down the temperature to medium and cooked for a few more minutes until the chicken was done. A meat thermometer should read 160 degrees F in the middle of the thickest part of the breast. Try to avoid making cuts to see the inside if possible as it will make the chicken less tender.
Here is a infographic on cooking times that is very helpful, thanks to eatingwell.com:
7. Let it sit! Do not cut the chicken for 10 minutes. This gives the meat time to reabsorb the juice! Top with sauce and enjoy!
8. Lastly, and most importantly, make sure you save some for the pup!
The ULTIMATE Grilled Chicken with Lemon-Avo Sauce {How-To}{Paleo, Gluten- Free}
The Ultimate Juiciest and Tender Grilled Chicken with Lemon-Avo Sauce.
- 4 Chicken Breasts (All-Natural, Organic or best choice- Pasture-Raised!)
- Brine:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1/2 lemon (juiced plus rind)
- 1/2 tablespoon thyme
- 2 garlic cloves (diced)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Lemon-Avo Sauce:
- 1/2 avocado
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 lemon (juice only)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro or parsley
- a few tablespoons of water to thin out
- Combine all the brine ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium-high.
- Allow the brine to come to a rolling boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat and let it cool fully.
- Make sure the chicken breasts are even in thickness (use a meat mallet if necessary to even out the thickness.)
- Pierce the chicken breasts all over with a fork or Jacquard tool.
- Place the breasts and the cooled brine in a zip lock bag and allow to sit at least 3-4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat the grill to around 425 degree F.
- Place the chicken on the oiled hot grill and cook for around 4-5 minutes each side (depends on the size of the breasts) until there are dark brown grill marks.
- Move breast to other side of grill (heat should be on medium) and continue to cook until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.
- Allow breast to cool 10 minutes before cutting.
- To make the sauce combine the avocado, lemon, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper and cilantro or parsley in a small blender or food processor.
- Add enough water to process/blend. Add more water if needed to thin it out according to personal preferance.
Loved the video of Cricket – bet she was a lot happier when she got some pieces of that yummy chicken!!
Love that brine action, but that lemon avocado sauce.. Wow! Beautiful photos, thanks!
Thanks so much Kevin!