Few things seem easier than grilling a skinless, boneless chicken breast. However, grilling a tender, juicy and flavorful chicken breast can be a difficult task. Without the chicken's protective skin and because of the uneven thickness, you frequently end up with a dry piece of meat by the time it's done. Pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness, brining and grilling it over a high, direct heat will solve this problem.
Pounding: When you buy skinless, boneless chicken breasts they have a tapered shape and attached tenderloin. For grilling purposes it is best to remove the tenderloin since it's thin shape will cook much too fast to be any good before the rest of the chicken is cooked. To even out the meat, pound it to about 1/2 inch thickness. This will give the breast a uniform thickness and break up the meat, which will allow the brine to permeate the meat quickly.
Brining: To brine the chicken, dissolve 1-1/2 tablespoons of unionized table salt (or 1/4 cup of kosher salt) with 1/4 cup of sugar in 8 cups of cold water. This will make enough brine for 4 chicken breasts. If you are making more of less, adjust the amount of brine accordingly. The sugar in the brine will caramelize on the surface of the chicken as it cooks, giving it a good, grilled coloring. To help dissolve the sugar and water you can add it to 1 cup of boiling water, stir until dissolved and add to the remaining water. Make sure the brine is cool before you add the chicken. You can brine in a shallow, covered baking dish or a large zip lock bag. Brine for 30 minutes. It is important that you give the brine enough time to work, but that you don't over do it.
Grilling: Have your grill completely heated when the brining is done. You will want to take the chicken directly from the brine to the grill. With the grill hot, put the chicken over the hottest part of the fire. The total cooking time should be about 4 minutes. Turn the chicken only once and leave the lid off the grill. You want to cook by direct heat, and only direct heat. Timing is very important because of the short cooking time. Be careful not to over cook, and you will end up with the perfect chicken breast for any recipe.
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