LISTEN — I’m team chicken thighs all day, but sometimes I really do just want a grilled chicken salad, and this chicken delivers every single time.
So finally, say goodbye to dry, flavorless chicken breast. This is the only way you need to grill your chicken to get a juicy result that you won’t hate eating.
The secret is not only in how you handle the chicken before you grill it — but also how to handle it after grilling.
How to Grill Chicken
For the sake of this recipe, I’m going to be using an indoor grill pan (but you can do the same thing on a BBQ).
1. Make sure your chicken is one thickness
The first thing I do with chicken breast is I make sure that the entire piece is one thickness. How do I do that? I typically make two chicken breasts out of one by slicing horizontally to get two pieces.
Once I have that, I lay plastic wrap on top of one breast and I pound it out with a meat mallet (you can also use a rolling pin for this if you don’t have a mallet).
Make sure you aren’t wacking it too hard though. Just enough to even out the chicken.
2. Stab the chicken all over with a fork.
Once my chicken is sliced and evened out, I then stab it all over — on both sides — with a fork. This helps to not only let the marinade soak in, but I really feel like it helps tenderize the chicken even more.
3. Make your marinade.
Now since chicken breast is super lean, you’ll want to add a couple of elements to help bring it to life: acid & fat.
To achieve this, I made a simple marinade out of lemon juice (acid), olive oil (fat), mashed garlic, and then my spices (for this I used a mixture of kosher salt, black pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes.
Once the marinade is all mixed up, I pour it over the chicken and let everything hang out for ~4 hours in the refrigerator (but you can really just let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes and call it a day).
Just make sure that if you are letting it marinade longer, that you remember to let it come to room temperate for ~30 minutes before you start to grill it.
4. Grill your chicken.
Now just grill those baby’s up on a grill pan over medium/high eat for ~4–4.5 minutes per side (only flipping one time). Just make sure your internal temperate is ~165 degrees F (but even a little lower is OK because it will continue to cook in the next step).
5. Let your chicken rest, COVERED
Now once your chicken is done, add it to a clean pot or bowl and cover it completely for ~10 minutes. (I usually just use my saute pan and pop the lid on it.) This is going to help your chicken stay gorgeously juicy.
6. Only slice what you need.
Now if you’re meal prepping these, don’t slice all of the chicken! Store them whole in the refrigerator, and only slice them after they’ve heated up.
When it comes to heating them up, don’t go crazy with the microwave. I blast them for 30 second increments or else you run the risk of drying them out.
Juicy Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts sliced to make 4 breasts
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves mashed or minced
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tsp oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Take each slice of chicken and place it under plastic wrap. Pound them out until they reach one thickness.
- Stab each chicken on both sides all over with a fork. Add to a clean bowl.
- Mix the marinade up and pour over the chicken, making sure every breast is covered. Leave on the counter for ~20 minutes, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours (letting come to room temperature ~30 minutes before cooking).
- Heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Spray with oil. Grill each chicken for ~4–4.5 minutes per side, or until the internal temperate reaches just about 165 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken and let sit in a pot with the lid on for ~10 minutes before slicing.
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