Help With Chicken Breasts

Unknown

Hello Egg Nation![p]I am very new but have had a few good experiences with my XL. I love chicken and generally like wings, and quarters. The wife purchased a bunch of boneless, skinless breasts and said, "impress me". I feel confident to cook any other part of the chicken on any device but I have had little experience or success with breasts on any type on a grill. Particularly the boneless, skinless type. After reading Dr. BBQ's book and a bunch of recipes on this forum I am even more confused.[p]I assumed that some type of rub or marinade followed by a low and slow cook would be the way to go but most folks seem to grill them for a higher temp for what seems to me to be a really short time.[p]I would be really grateful for some idiot proof ideas for these babies and let me know if we are talking direct or indirect. I have enough issues with performance anxiety as it is. Wait..wait.. I mean I worry about not drying out the burgers! Really.[p]Thanks in advance. The amazing thing about this forum is that I leave this message at midnight and in the morning I will magically have a lot of ideas. I am so happy I bought my Egg. It is like having a bunch of out of town relatives...that all cook really well.[p]Mike

Unknown

Liled,[p]I usually use Trex's method below. Marinade for a couple hours and or over night. On a raised grill cook at 400, turning every 5 minutes for a total of 20 minutes. At this point they should be 160-165. This methods always works for me. Don't worry if the temps creeps up to 450, then you might want to pull after 15min[p]
http://houseoffaulkner.com/chicken2.html[p]

Unknown

gdub16,[p]Thanks for the advice. I am going to try your method. You are right, this is not the tastiest piece of meat, nor the easiest to prepare. The window is small and usually slams shut on my head.[p]On my XL, the grate is 6-7 inches from the lump. I do not have a raised grill set up but could proably rig one up. What is the optimum distance from the fire? I do not mean to be difficult but little things can make a big difference, particularly with these[p]I enjoyed your website.[p]Thanks again,Mike

Essex County

Liled,
Chicken breasts are a little tricky. While the egg is forgiving, they can be overcooked if you're not careful. [p]Brine them for a few hours. Remove, pat dry and rub with a little olive oil and a spice mix like Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin or just some salt and a hefty dose of black pepper. If you want to get fancier, you can cook them on top of lemon or orange slices. I cook them direct at about 350-375 on the cooler part of the grill. On my egg, that means avoiding the very center and the very back. Cook for about 20-25 minutes or to a temp of 160. Flip about every 5 minutes. Depending on your prior seasoning you may want to brush on BBQ sauce or some kind of marinade during the last 7-8 minutes.[p]If you like hot, roast a bunch of fresh jalapenos and some onion slices brushed with olive oil. This can go in the hot part of the grill. I remove stems, seeds and as much of the charred skin as comes off easily. Coarsely chop the peppers and onion, chop a tomato, throw it together in a bowl with salt and fresh pepper. Serve as a smokey salsa alongside your chicken.[p]One more idea. There is a recipe for a raspberry chipolte marinade/sauce that pops up on the forum every so often. It is usually applied to pork tenderloin but would be a good match with boneless chicken breasts. Don't have a link but maybe someone else does.[p]As far as low and slow boneless chicken breasts, I've never liked the texture. Others may disagree though.[p]Have fun![p]Paul

BlueSmoke

Liled,
In my explorations into planking, I planked two boneless skinless breast halves. Brined them in 12 ounces beer, 12 ounces water, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup salt, and a few whole cloves and mustard seeds. Six hours later I put them on a soaked maple plank, and cooked them (direct? - except for the plank) at 350 for 40 minutes.[p]The plank side was a ghostly white, the exposed side a light caramel color. The taste was fantastic; moist and tender with just a hint of smokiness. But I gotta do something about the appearance.[p]Ken

Chasb

Liled,[p]About even with the seal, check out the picture in the link.[p]http://houseoffaulkner.com/chicken2.html

Frank King

<p />Liled,[p]I have had success with skinless boneless chicken breast, but you just have to watch them as they can dry out quick. I marinate mine in Plum sauce ( sometimes mixed with rasberry jam) overnight. The I cook them fairly hot flipping only once at around 350 degrees. After 5-7 minutes i flip them and lower to around 275-300. Then I baste with a mixture of balsamic vinegar, citrus honey, olice oil and fresh basil. I like to lay a few slices of goat or bocconcini cheese once they have been flipped. If this link works, there is a picture of them.

tn slagamater

Liled, as the others have indicated, the key to chicken breasts is not to overcook. Breasts seem to dry out rapidly over 175 meat temp.I try to take them out as they hit 165. If you do not have a thermapen or other accurate temp guage it will help a lot to get one.....