A great tasting, moist, and tender grilled BBQ skinless boneless chicken breast. A simple short brine gets you the moist chicken breast you want. A light coat of BBQ sauce then grills carefully. Umm, chicken heaven.
Introduction
Everybody wants to grill skinless boneless chicken breasts (AKA SBCB), but they all get hockey pucks. To address this issue, I started with a simple brine to help with the moisture problem you can have with SBCB. Add a little cayenne for taste to the brine.
Let set in the brine for about 30 minutes while the grill is heating. Rinse, pat dry, and a light coat of sauce. Grill carefully for about 30 minutes and add another coat of sauce a few minutes before removing. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve.
My Rating
Tasty and easy to do. A classic recipe. I was a high four, but having redone this a number of times, I'm at a low five along with my wife.
🐓Chicken Breasts
Skinless boneless chicken breasts have gotten much bigger over the years. It is always easier to cook chicken that is about the same size and thickness. So try to even it out when you pick your chicken.
If you get these really plump ones, flatten them down a little with a meat mallet or bottom of a pan. Try for about ¾ inch thickness.
🥣The Brine
The recommended brine is relatively heavy in salt. According to Cooks Illustrated, this concentration of brine is recommended for chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours. The chicken gets saltier if over 1 hour, so I'm suggesting 1-hour max.
To me (a safety guy), I don't like raw chicken at room temperature for more than 20 minutes. Actually, 20 minutes will do a fairly good job of brining these.
While we no longer recommend rinsing chicken, you should always rinse carefully after brining. Also, don't add any more salt after brine is used. You can grill a chicken breast and keep it moist without the brine, but it requires attention and skill. Skip the brine at your own risk.
♨️The Grill
The grill temperature is the most important part of our keep it moist quest. For any chicken, I feel you can not "sock the heat to it." The outside will be burnt before the center is safe to eat. Also, the light coat of sauce can burn easily.
I like to cook all chicken with a grill surface temperature of about 450°, give or take a little. This is medium on my current grill, which is a "hot" grill. It is medium-high on most gas grills. Please see my guide A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill and get it right.
I like to add a very light coat of BBQ sauce at the beginning to create a base for the last coat. You do not have to do that, but I recommend it.
Use the BBQ sauce of your choice. I love Gates BBQ of KC sauce but used Bulls Eye Original, which Cooks Illustrated likes (me too). My Memphis BBQ Sauce would also be great.
📖Chicken Breast Recipes
How to Grill Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill
Super Moist Grilled Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
Grilled Blackened Chicken Breasts
How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven
30 Minute Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Trim skinless boneless chicken breast of any trim-able fat. Try to use chicken breasts of about the same size. And if you get some that are very plump, flatten them down a little with a meat mallet or bottom of a pan to about ¾ inch thick.
Mix brine of 3 cups water,1 ½ tablespoons table salt, 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar, and ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional). Add chicken and submerge and refrigerate for 30 minutes (no more than 1 hour).
Clean and oil grill grates and preheat to a surface temperature of 450°-500°, which is about medium-high on most grills. I recommend a surface thermometer to be able to control your grill well.
Remove chicken from brine and rinse lightly under running water. Pat dry. Please be careful and wash up the surrounding area and your hands.
Brush lightly with BBQ sauce of your choice.
Place over direct heat.
Flip about every 5 minutes. About 3-4 minutes before done, brush both sides with sauce. Remove from the grill at an internal temperature of 165°—about 30 minutes of total grill time. But total time will vary by the exact grill temperature and thickness of the breasts. The thinner breast may be in the 25-minute range, and those huge thick ones may take 35 minutes.
Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
📖Recipe
BBQ Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast on a Gas Grill
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoon BBQ sauce of choice
Brine (optional)
- 3 cups water - cold
- 1 ½ tablespoons table salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
Instructions
- Trim skinless boneless chicken breast of any trim-able fat. Try to use chicken breasts of about the same size. And if you get some that are very plump, flatten them down a little with a meat mallet or bottom of a pan to about ¾ inch thick.
- Optional Brine: Mix brine of 3 cups water,1 ½ tablespoons table salt, 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar and ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional.) Add chicken and submerge and refrigerate for 30 minutes (no more than 1 hour)
- Clean and oil grill grates and preheat to a surface temperature of 450°-500° which is about medium-high on most grills. I recommend a surface thermometer to be able to control your grill well.
- Remove chicken from brine and rinse lightly under running water. Pat dry. Please be careful and wash up the surrounding area and your hands.
- Brush lightly with BBQ sauce of your choice.
- Place over direct heat.
- Flip about every 5 minutes. About 3-4 minutes before done, brush both sides with sauce. Remove from the grill at an internal temperature of 165°. About 30 minutes of total grill time. But total time will vary by the exact grill temperature and thickness of the breasts. The thinner breast may be in the 25-minute range, and those huge thick ones may take 35 minutes.
- Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
- This brine is relatively heavy in salt so a maximum time of 1 hour please. Rinse to remove extra salt. The brine is optional but recommended.
- Total grilling time will vary by the exact grill temperature and thickness of the breasts. Thinner breast may be in the 25-minute range, and those huge thick ones may take 35 minutes.
- If you have a breast that has a large variation in thickness, using a meat mallet to even things out a bit is a good idea. Try for about ¾ inches thick.
- I like a very light coat of BBQ sauce at the start to create a base for later. It does not burn but omit if you which.
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
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editors Note: Originally published August 1, 2011. It was in need of a rewrite, some better photo editing, and some clarification of technique.
This Recipe Featured in These Recipe Roundups
Independence Day Recipe Recommendations
Happy Labor Day and End of Summer Recipe Recommendations
Rick
Hi Dan -
I was excited to try this recipe yet cautious as my wife is a retired chef. I did everything according to the recipe but the chicken came out rubbery. Temp was 165° when I took it off the grill. I flipped the meat every 4-5 minutes, total cooking time was 30 minutes. The chicken ended up in the trash. I really hoped I could finally grill chicken the right way but failed.
DrDan
Hi Rick,
Sorry it didn't work well for you. You might want to try a brine for a few hours next time. A simple brine of 1/4 cup of kosher salt dissolved in 1 quart (4 cups) of warm water. I like to add a 1/4 cup of brown sugar also. Add the trimmed chicken and brine in the refrigerator for a few hours. Rinse well, add some pepper and grill.
Dan
Lauri Freers
I'm planning to try this today, Do you have any recommendations for a Foreman grill regarding the 2nd coat of Barbecue? I'm going to be using small sized pieces cut thin so It will cook quickly--there may be no time for the 2nd coating of sauce(?).
DrDan
I haven't used a Foreman for many years. I have no idea of time etc. I'm worried that the direct contact with the grill surface that the Foreman requires would burn the sauce quickly. So I'm not even sure of the first light coat.
Dan
Kristopher S
Incredible! The best BBQ chicken I've had!
DrDan
THANKS
Dan
Dani M.
Hello! Question...is any additional seasoning is required?
DrDan
Not for me. The salt is in the brine and lots of spice in the sauce.
Dan
ROSE
Excellent! Everyone loved it!
DrDan
Thanks so much for the note.
Dan
Ian
Hi,
Hopefully you see this comment before I start cooking.
If I have the time to let the brine sit in the fridge for a couple of hours, would I still need to poke holes in the breasts? I do a similar brine when I make pork chops and have never poked any holes in them, regardless of how much time I let them brine, which is usually a couple of hours.
Thanks,
DrDan
As you assumed, the holes are to speed things up some. If you have 2 hours or even one then now holes will be fine. But it is OK for them holes even at 2 hours.
Dan
Ian
I erred on the side of caution and went with holes, even though I knew I was going to be brining the breasts for about 2hrs. They were great. I'm now thinking I'll do the same thing for pork chops the next time I make them to see if there is a difference.
If you are interested, my pork chop brine is 3 cups of water (2 cups brought to a boil + 1 cup cold water), when the water is boiling I add 3 tbsp of kosher salt, couple of crushed garlics, 1 tsp of peppercorns and a bay leaf or two, I put all that into the boiling water and when the salt has dissolved, I add the cup of cold water.
Thanks,
Ian
jen
never heard of your site but google made it my top pic when I searched 'best barbecue chicken breast.' very yummy, I ended up brushing the chicken every few min with the sauce and it came out really thick and caramelized. thanks for the recipe!jen
Dan Mikesell
Hi Jen,
Thanks for the note. I actually do similar to what you describe most of the the time, but you can get to a burnt point fairly easily and I hate to send people close to that point. So I went with a light base then adding at the end which still gives a nice coat with some nice caramelization. I do believe the brine is so important here to prevent the old "hockey puck" syndrome.
Dan
Christopher Smith
Tried this yesterday amazing. The best chicken I have ever grilled. Thanks
Sylvia
Can you make brine without salt v
DrDan
No, the salt is required for a brine. It is what does the work of pulling the moisture into the meat.
N. Law
Well worth you trying this one ! More often than not, trying to make B-B-QUE chicken without skin or bones turns out terrible. Very dry and the chicken on the outside is hard. However, this recipe will prevent that. It is simple to make and tastes great. Chicken remains moist and outside is NOT hard. I made it in the oven and I will definately try it on the grill.
DrDan
Thank for the note and rating. I do believe the brine is so important for this to escape the "hockey puck" syndrome common with the skinless boneless breast.
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
Ken Balsillie
Question: Some meat is cooked to a "doneness" by touching a utensil to the surface of the meat~might this be true for SBCB as well? I realize this method might be in conjunction with the time. Thanks
DrDan
I'm not a fan of the touch method. Almost impossible to be correct outside of very controlled conditions and lots of repetition. Like a profession cooking a steak of a set size and thickness over the same heat repeatedly. Also time is never good. I only give an approximate time for planning reasons. Always cook to a final temperature on meats especially chicken or ground meat. See https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/kitchen-cheat-sheets/#temperatures
DrDan
Bob
Thanks a lot for the quick response, DrDan. We do have a meat thermometer and will be shopping for that grill surface thermometer. As for today, I'm going for it! Will let you know how it went.
Bob
Pretty new to grilling, Dan. Do I leave the lid closed or open? Also, we have a 3-burner, brand new Brinkman propane grill, but it has no temp. gauge on it. Is there a way to tell without a gauge? Also, you talked about leaving brine for 1-2 hrs in fridge. do you mean chicken in brine, as long as it's in the fridge? Thanks a lot...going to try your recipe today.
DrDan
So lets go in order. Lid closed. Temperature gauges on the hood of grills are useless anyways. Next time you order from Amazon or shopping at Lowe's or similar store pick up a grill surface thermometer (about $10). For now go with medium-high. Most three burner can get to 550 or so on high but medium is usually about 400ish. Here you would want to be 450-500 range. You MUST have a meat thermometer to be successful at all with grilling so you need that before you start. Overcooked will be hockey pucks and undercooked dangerous. A cheap $10-$15 one will do. And yes the chicken is in the brine in the refrigerator.
DrDan
Ana
Can I use the oven instead?
DrDan
Oven needs a little different technique. Check out https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/30-minute-skinless-boneless-chicken/ . Try this but cut back the spices some and coat top with sauce the last 5 minutes or so. I use cast iron but any oven safe pan that can tolerate as stove top should be fine.
DrDan
Jennifer
This sounds very good, however I don't have sugar! Will the brine still be ok without it?
DrDan
Skip the sugar... I only use it some times.
DrDan
Wendy
My chicken came out fabulous!! Thanks
Bryant
Just made this recipe to the letter. Now for the payoff. Review to follow...
Bryant
Ok. Overall I was pleased. My grill temp was 550F at start. I wouldn't recommend getting grill as hot as you can, as I did. I have a three burner propane grill. Grill temp lowered to 450F after chicken was on. Also worthy to note I doubled this recipe, so two breasts would have cooked faster. Brine kept chicken from drying out. If I cooked again this same way, grill burning wide open, I would cook for about 16 minutes. 5 minutes on each side then 3 and 3. OR, grill temp of 475F start temp instead of 550F+. Hope you find this helpful.
Bryant
Thanks for the recipe Dan!
DrDan
Thanks for the notes Bryant. Yep I agree the the 550 was a bit high but do-able if you watch carefully. I like the 450-500 range better.
Thanks for the rating too
Dan
John
Awesome tip about the brine, and the grilling! I have now done this 4 times. Will never sklp the brine again. Thank you!