You can grill super moist, healthy, and tender grilled chicken breasts. Use a combination of a tasty marinade/brine and a simple reverse-searing method to keep the moisture going.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts
Brine/marinade—vegetable oil, crushed garlic, sugar, salt, pepper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Featured Comment from Dana:
"That is absolutely the best chicken I have ever grilled. Thank you so much for this recipe. I think the reverse grill definitely makes a difference."
😊Why you will want to make this recipe
- It has a tasty marinade made with everyday ingredients. The marinade also acts as a brine to add moisture and tenderness to the chicken.
- The indirect cooking technique also contributes to the super moist and tender results.
- Works well on both charcoal and gas grills.
Based on a Cook's Country recipe (subscription required.) Now simplified with expanded discussion.
👨🍳How to Reverse Sear Chicken Breast on a Gas Grill
Start by mixing brine/marinade in a zip lock bag of 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of water, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
Trim chicken breasts. If your chicken is thick, pound that area down a little with a meat hammer or the bottom of a heavy pan to even them out. Aim for about ¾ inch thick.
Add to the brine. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and allow it to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes while preheating the grill on maximum. Clean and oil well.
Turn off half of the grill. Keep the lite burners on high. Place chicken on the side you turned off, but keep the edge of the chicken breast within 4 inches of the lite burner. The thicker end of the chicken should be towards the heat.
Cook undisturbed for about 10-12 minutes. You should have some grill marks and no pink left on the bottom surface before flipping. When you flip, place the thinner end towards the lite burner side.
Cook until internal temp of 140°—about another 10-12 minutes. Then place over the lite burners (still on high) for about 5 minutes per side until internal temp of 165°.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
✔️Tips to get it right every time
- The marinade also acts like a brine.
- This recipe has more timing variability than most recipes, primarily due to the variability of the grills. The thickness of the chicken will also affect the timing. So an instant-read thermometer is a requirement.
- Try to use chicken breasts of about the same size and thickness.
- If the thickness of the breasts is more than ¾ inches, use a meat mallet to thin the breasts.
- Let the chicken breast set at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before grilling.
- You can use a gas or charcoal grill.
- Check out A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for tips on grill temperature.
Other Grilled Chicken Breast Recipes
Other boneless chicken breast recipes you may like How to Grill Chicken Breasts, How to BBQ Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast, and How to Bake Chicken Breasts.
Serving
The grill will be tied up with the chicken, so moving to the stove for side dishes. Serve with Microwave Corn on the Cob, Simple Spinach Salad, a garden salad, oven French fries, or Broccoli Slaw Salad.
Storage of Leftovers
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container for 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
To reheat leftovers, first thaw overnight in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in the oven at 350° covered until hot or in an air fryer. A microwave can be used, but it will affect the texture.
Food safety for chicken
Raw chicken and other poultry should be considered contaminated and handled with care. Wash your hands carefully before and after touching raw chicken.
We do NOT wash raw chicken routinely due to water splatter. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more information.
You must cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° for safety—see the USDA for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.
Most recipes contain estimated times for cooking (including this recipe). They are provided for planning purposes. You can not cook safely by time—you must use a thermometer.
See Summer Food Safety for more safety tips.
FAQs
Reverse searing is frequently used for cooking thicker meats to get the preferred internal temperature, then a nice tasty sear. Traditional higher-temperature cooking will overcook the surface of thick meat before the internal temperature is done. It is also used to get more moist and tender results by not using prolonged higher temperatures.
Reverse searing cooks meat with lower heat until near finished temperature, then finished cooking over high heat to sear the outside and finish cooking the inside. So it is the reverse of what is usually done.
Reverse searing can be done on most meats and can be done inside with an oven and stovetop. Or on the grill using an indirect or lower heat zone and then moving to a high-heat area to finish cooking.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
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📖 Recipe
Super Moist Grilled Reversed Seared Chicken Breast with Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Brine/marinade
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Start by mixing brine/marinade in a zip lock bag of 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of water, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
- Trim chicken breasts. If your chicken is thick, pound that area down a little with a meat hammer or the bottom of a heavy pan to even them out. Aim for about ¾ inch thick.
- Add to the brine. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and allow it to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes while preheating the grill on maximum. Clean and oil well.
- Turn off half of the grill. Keep the lite burners on high. Place chicken on the side you turned off but keep the edge of the chicken breast within 4 inches of the lite burner. The thicker end of the chicken should be towards the heat.
- Cook undisturbed for about 10-12 minutes. You should have some grill marks and no pink left on the bottom surface before flipping. When you flip, place the thinner end towards the lite burner side.
- Cook until internal temp of 140°—about another 10-12 minutes. Then place over the lite burners (still on high) for about 5 minutes per side until internal temp of 165°.
- Remove from grill and allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Do not brine. The marinade is a combination marinade with a brine. Do not rinse before cooking this one.
- Try to use chicken breast of about the same size. Flatten with a meat mallet or bottom of a pan to make the same thickness. Aim for about ¾ inch.
- Allow to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before starting to grill will be helpful getting the internal temperature of the chicken right without burning.
- Cook to a final internal temperature of 165° then rest for at least 5 minutes before serving
- This is a very "your mileage may vary" type of recipe. The variables are quite a few. The thickness and size of the chicken breast. The grill... not only the power of the grill but the configuration will affect this recipe. So keep your eyes open and the thermometer at hand. You will be rewarded with ultra-moist chicken.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published May 22, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Dana
That is absolutely the best chicken I have ever grilled. Thank you so much for this recipe. I think the reverse grill definately makes a difference.
Beverly
When cooking this recipe on a grill do you leave the lid open or do you close it?
Thanks in advance
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Closed. A general rule — less than 1/2 inch thick can be open or closed. Between 1/2 to 1 inch thick either but better closed. Over 1 inch is always closed.