Let's talk chicken

[Rondo]

I can cook ribs pretty darn good. That's not just me saying, I get compliments on them. When it comes to chicken I struggle with consistency. Lot of times we just want to cook up some boneless skinless chicken breast. My wife thinks there under cooked at 165. I think their to dry at 180. I've played around with but looking for some tips. Maybe foil them, brine them, idk.

[wyd]

I normally don't brine too much but on skinless boneless chicken I have made up a brine or I marinade them.  Once I get the grill good and hot I normally sear them on both sides and then do indirect til 165 to 170 degrees.  For me I find searing them up front helps to lock the juices in more.  During the cook I do like to spray them on the outside with some apple juice to also help keep them juicer.  I do normally cook them fast and hot at around 375 to 400 degrees.

Not sure if this will help you out and I'm sure others will chime in with more ideas or better ideas than I have.

[Metal Mike]

simple prep I've had best luck w/:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/02/ask-the-food-lab-why-do-i-pound-my-breasts.html

[Metal Mike]

I knew I had seen it explained better (w/ pics:)

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/pounding_chicken_breasts.html

Meathead @ AR has some good articles

[1buckie]

You can try injecting bnls / skls breast.........smoke or not, it will  give you some extra leeway to then take the temp up higher without drying out....



the two on the right both come with injectors, about $4~6 in most large grocer's sometimes in the ethnic sections......only dump out enough to for what you're going to use to avoid contaminating the bottle contents.....



Works good on pork tenderloin too.....



You can use any kind of marinade, but if it has chunky little bits, get an inexpensive strainer & strain into a soup cup or the like so the injector won't clog.........

[CharliefromLI]

@Rondo, do you cook direct or indirect? I grew up doing chicken direct but i am doing more indirect now and feel like i get more even juicy cooking.

I grill chicken cutlets constantly to bring to work for Caesar salad. Lately my best results are cook indirect to ~160-165 and give a good sear over direct coals to finish.  I prefer my chicken in the 170 range. i find using a therm allows you get the sweet spot.

As for prep: cooking chicken evenly and quickly is a bit easier if your chick is flat and you pieces are uniformed size and shape. You can wrap in plastic wrap and pound flat with a mallet or just use the bottom of a flat heavy pan. If youre lazy (like i am at times) You can always fillet in half. 

I have never brined cutlets but i do marinate. If i am using for something like a Caesar salad i go with italian style seasoning. I throw in a one gallon ziplock bag with with some vinegar EVOO and some herbs and spices: garlic onion oregano salt pepper etc or simply marinate in italian dressing. Give the bag a good shake, and lay flat. flip bag occasionally to ensure proper coating. Like most marinades the longer the better but a quick marinade works if you are doing a quick week night cook.  Many times i prep the chicken and leave bagged on the counter  to marinate while i start my charcoal.

This goes without saying but obviously handling raw chicken should be done with care to avoid salmonella. I've worked to get a system in place where all my tooks and ingredients are out and ready before i ever touch the chicken.  Mixing marinade ingredients in the bag and putting containers away before ever touching the chicken prevents any contamination on jars bottles cabinet handles etc. I try to prep in a small area right next to sink to allow immediate hand washing, and i have separate tongs for the raw meat and cooked meat as well. 

NOTE: In the time it took this to post 4 other responses came in so please excuse any redundancy.

[1buckie]

NOTE: In the time it took this to post 4 other responses came in so please excuse and redundancy.


All good stuff Charlie....esp. the food handling !!!!!

[austin87]

Buy a whole chicken for the same price as 2 boneless skinless breasts. Break it down into pieces (leg quarters, wings, and split the breasts) and cook the chicken breasts bone in, skin on, with bone-side down over indirect heat. The bones and skin protect the chicken and will come out really juicy (finish 155-170 depending on personal taste). You can thrown the chicken skin-side down over the coals to crisp up but if you aren't eating the skin anyways then it doesn't make much difference.

Or just buy bone in split breasts. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are ridiculously expensive compared to any part of the bird, or even the whole bird itself.

Once you cook breasts with bones and skin you'll never go back and marinating/brining becomes an afterthought.

[Metal Mike]

Buy a whole chicken for the same price as 2 boneless skinless breasts. Break it down into pieces (leg quarters, wings, and split the breasts) and cook the chicken breasts bone in, skin on, with bone-side down over indirect heat. The bones and skin protect the chicken and will come out really juicy (finish 155-170 depending on personal taste). You can thrown the chicken skin-side down over the coals to crisp up but if you aren't eating the skin anyways then it doesn't make much difference.

Or just buy bone in split breasts. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are ridiculously expensive compared to any part of the bird, or even the whole bird itself.

Once you cook splitbreasts with bones and skin you'll never go back and marinating/brining becomes an afterthought.

Split bone-in has prolly 3-4x meat per side vs. the BSCB & taste SOO much better...

& the skin crisps up like "chicken bacon"

[LaTuFu]

Buy a whole chicken for the same price as 2 boneless skinless breasts. Break it down into pieces (leg quarters, wings, and split the breasts) and cook the chicken breasts bone in, skin on, with bone-side down over indirect heat. The bones and skin protect the chicken and will come out really juicy (finish 155-170 depending on personal taste). You can thrown the chicken skin-side down over the coals to crisp up but if you aren't eating the skin anyways then it doesn't make much difference.

Or just buy bone in split breasts. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are ridiculously expensive compared to any part of the bird, or even the whole bird itself.

Once you cook breasts with bones and skin you'll never go back and marinating/brining becomes an afterthought.

This is how my wife cooks our chicken on the grill.  Split breasts are definitely the way to go.

[CharliefromLI]

Prior posters are right that bone in has more flavor.

I only do boneless if its getting chopped up for use in something else...

[Matt_T]

Fresh never frozen - Bone in - Skin on - Indirect - Bone side down until 165+ but always under 175 - Quick hit of high heat skin side down, no more than 2 min for deep color - Apple and Hickory wood with lump for fuel - Kettle running at bout 425+/- a few degrees for one hour+/-

That's the nuts and bolts of it. I like to butcher a whole chicken and season it myself. I get the best results over just buying boneless skinless breasts. Some people call this more work, I call it more relaxing with a side of more beer.

Cheers and happy researching       

[Rondo]

That's a lot of good information. I will try and put some of it to good use!

[Jammato]

Chicken to me is a special cook, it seems what works for dark does not work for breast
so we need to learn that we cook each separately at the same time. Also what works with whole chicken seems not to work with parts of chicken.
I judge my beer can chicken by temp prob, I do my parts chicken by sight. And sight is a very long time thing to learn, but it does pay off.

Poke prod and tickle parts chicken till you learn what a cooked chicken breast looks like, as well as a thigh does.

Hey it might not be the answer you wanted, but remember, if it were easy, anyone could do it. You want to earn the name Grillfella, get to grillin and become part of the elite.

[Rondo]

I did actually do some indirect and cooked it until 170. Came out great. A little tweaking and I think I will improve. All advice is great. I will try a couple different things next time.