What temp / time do you guys cook chix breast and burgers?

Unknown

Made some breasts (fairly small about 1" thick) tonight. Cooked about 4 to 5 min per side at 450. They came out juicy but a little chewy (tough). I think I overcooked a bit. Where do you folks set for either chix breasts or burgers...[p]Thanks

TRex

Nardi,[p]I do 3/4" - 1" thick burgers at around 500 F for roughly 5 minutes a side. Usually I flip them when the juice sweating out of the top surface of the burgers just turns from red to pink. Try a little hickory wood for a nice flavor. Also, buy ground chuck (~18% fat) and put your patties in the fridge for about 10 minutes before you place them on a hot, well-oiled grill (rubbing grill down with a paper towel soaked in olive oil works great). These measures keep them from falling apart and sticking, respectively. You might already know/do these things, but these were crucial lessons for me, so I thought I'd pass on the info.[p]I don't really have great advice for chicken breasts because I don't do them much anymore. If I do, I usually marinate them first for several hours then cook them around 400 or so, but I too have had mixed results with some being chewy (but still juicy) and others being very tender. A couple of times I tenderized the breasts with a hammer, and that works fine if you don't mind flat chicken. Otherwise, I don't do chicken breasts much - I'd rather do a whole chicken the Spatchcock way per Naked Whiz, which produces great breast meat and dark meat every time.[p]TRex

Stuckeydude from Oz

Nardi,[p]I cook chicken breasts regularly. I prepare them by covering with baking paper and flattening each breast by hand, so they're an even thickness but not too thin. Then I usually dust them with one of the Dizzy Pig rubs, then onto the grill at a dome temp of about 350-375F. About 10 minutes a side, and I take them off as soon as the internal temp reaches 160F. I stick a Polder clone into one of the breasts just before I think they're done - don't like to leave them in for the whole cook at that dome temp, as I don't want to risk frying a probe. The breasts come out perfectly, nice smokey flavour (even without using wood chunks or chips), and very moist. I like to cook about 1kg's worth of them on the weekend to have throughout the week, and they're still very moist when I reheat in the microwave. HTH.

Unknown

Stuckeydude from Oz,[p]THanks. Just for my reference... about how thick would you estimate them to be... 1" or so?

Stuckeydude from Oz

Nardi,[p]Yeah, an inch thick would be about right. I recommend that you get some kind of thermometer, if you haven't already. They're very convenient and you won't regret it! I believe that as long as you don't overcook the breasts, there's no need to brine them. Good luck

Unknown

TRex,
Thanks, Hey I'm looking forward to trying your steak method.... probably this weekend.....

TRex

Nardi,[p]Cool - let me know what you think.[p]Good luck.[p]TRex