Grilled Chicken Breasts with Flavor!

The other night I actually managed to cook a decent meal. That has been a rarity in our house since I have been studying for the bar exam.


I wondered how to grill chicken breasts without having them taste dry and bland. It seems like every time I've grilled chicken breasts they don't have much flavor even if I sprinkle spices on the top. I found just the solution in a YouTube video featuring an old-time country guy who explained how to brine your chicken breasts. This sounded like a great idea. I brined our Thanksgiving turkey last year, and it was delicious, so I was eager to brine chicken.


Brined Chicken Breasts for the Grill


Step 1: make the brine


2 quarts of cold water
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1/2 cup course salt (if you use regular table salt, reduce to 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar


Step 2: brine the breasts


Soak the chicken breasts in the brine for about an hour. Do not leave them in longer than an hour and 15 minutes. If you brine them longer, they will be too salty.


Step 3: prepare for grilling


Heat the grill to medium high. Remove the breasts from the brine. Dry off the chicken breasts. Drizzle oil over both sides of the breasts.
Step 4: Grill.


A trick when you grill chicken breasts is to move them around a little bit when you first put them on the grill. This will keep them from sticking. Once the breasts sear on the outside a little, you can stop moving them until you flip.


Grill on medium high for about 4 minutes per side.


The chicken was juicy and flavorful. I was concerned that the cayenne pepper would make them too spicy, but they weren't actually spicy at all, but they were delicious. You can certainly vary the types of spices you use. I'm going to try it with brown sugar and put some bbq sauce on the breasts when I grill them next time.


The other thing I loved about this brining recipe is that it only takes about an hour and a half of forethought to grill your chicken this way. I like to marinade meat overnight, but I usually can't think far enough ahead to do that the night before.


Let me know if you try this and what you think.