Whether it’s football season, thanksgiving, the holidays, or just some small barbeque gathering with friends, you can never go wrong with some grilled cooking sessions. You don’t need to be a professional chef to show off your skills on the grill. You just need the right meat and some decent cooking knowledge to whip up the best barbeque in the block.
One of the best types of meat to grill on a fresh and sunny day is some good old chicken breast. The protein in chicken quickly dries out when you’re not paying close attention to the heat. When chicken meat stays on the grill for too long, it could lose its tenderness, making your barbeque have a bland flavor.
Are you worried about your cooking not being good enough to make the best juicy grilled chicken breasts? Worry no more; this article will provide you with the five best ways to cook chicken breast for your next barbeque cook-off.
Prepare the chicken meat
First and foremost, prepare the chicken breast by tenderizing it at just the right amount. Wrap the meat in plastic wrap or parchment paper enough to fit its size, then proceed by placing the chicken and wrapping it up with another piece of parchment paper.
For the next step, take a mallet or a heavy utensil such as a rolling pin or ladle and give the chicken breast good and firm whacks. Cuts don’t need to be pulverized to their fullest but enough for the breast meat to have an even thickness from its ends.
If you think this step is long enough, then wait till you know how long it takes to grill chicken as this is only the first part, and things are definitely about to get way steamier.
Prepare the chicken breast for marinating
Time to marinate the chicken breast by placing it in a medium-sized bowl and combining it with oil, vinegar, lemon, and pepper to flavor the meat. Coat the chicken with the mixed ingredients, then place the chicken inside the fridge for an hour or overnight if the barbeque session isn’t till the next day.
Whoever told you to skip the marinating part isn’t reliable, as marinating your meat is always essential before cooking. Marinating gives that juicy and extra flavoring to all sorts of meat, in this case, the chicken breast. Once you think the marinating is enough, drain the sauce and let the chicken rest for about 30 minutes.
Cook the chicken breast with a brick
You’ve probably heard a thing or two about unique cooking techniques from chefs such as Gordon Ramsey or some skits from Master Chef, but there’s also an easy and exciting way to grill chicken.
In Italy, pollo al motone is a basic cooking method by wrapping a brick with aluminum foil and placing the chicken meat on top while it grills. The brick will serve as a great help in cooking the chicken breast more evenly and also helps in getting good grill marks. Once you press the meat against the grate, give it around ten to 15 minutes.
Another tool that can also be useful is a steel skillet or cast-iron, which uses the same procedure, which is to wrap the tool with foil on its underside. The aluminum foil helps in avoiding the chicken meat from drying out.
Start the grill, time to get cooking
Get the fire going, and clean the grilling grates cause it’s time to get cooking! Turn the fire to a medium; place the chicken breasts on the grill using your tongs. Make sure that the grates are clean before doing so.
Check the temperature by holding out your hands a few inches on top of the cooking grate. You’ll know when the heat is at the right setting when you can comfortably keep your hand out for at least four to six seconds.
Lastly, cover the grill, leave the chicken for about five to seven minutes, and flip it over. Give the chicken breasts another flip for five to seven minutes just to get the sides evenly cooked.
Glaze the chicken breast with herbs and spices
Do you ever notice how some grilled meat has a nice, spiced-up savory crust? That’s because of a rub. It’s a mix of spices, and herbs dry using powdered seasonings or wet by combining liquid flavorings. Now, don’t get it mixed with marinating; as aforementioned, marinating is liquid mixing, while a rub is a purely dry combination of powdered spices and herbs.
Adding glaze to your chicken breast gives an extra juicy flavor, by adding butter, melted brown sugar or rum, to add that sweet yet savory kick. Moreover, it also gives your grilled glazed chicken breast a shiny, golden brown appearance. This method will only take a couple of minutes to do, quite easy.
Takeaway
Anytime is always a good time for some barbeque session; whether it’s a small gathering with friends and family or a huge party to kick off a sports championship season, barbeque is
always the best way to spend it. You don’t have to be as good as Chef Gordon Ramsay to whip up the best juicy grilled chicken breasts with these five best easy steps this article has for you.
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