Are you frustrated by chicken breasts drying out on the grill? That won’t happen with this recipe for BBQ chicken breasts that are tender and juicy every time!
You are going to LOVE this BBQ chicken breast recipe. You’ll use a quick brine to get extra moisture right into the chicken meat. Then you’ll add in some delicious seasonings, and after grilling for a little while, some BBQ sauce goes on so that it caramelizes a little bit but also stays moist, contributing to the overall juiciness of the finished chicken breasts.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Do I Need To Brine Chicken Breasts?
Brining is truly my secret weapon to make sure that lean meat like chicken breast stays juicy when cooked over high, dry heat like the grill produces. I’ve even done a series of experiments on chicken breasts to find out what has the best effect.
For today’s recipe, the boneless skinless chicken breasts are in the brine for 30 minutes to an hour before you cook them. If you only have 15 minutes though, even that will help them end up more flavorful.
All you’ll be doing is mixing together some salt with cool water, and then adding the chicken breasts to it (the amounts are given in the recipe below. If you’re brining for 60 minutes or less, you can leave them on the counter at room temperature (the cold water and cold chicken will not end up at an unsafe temperature for long enough to cause any problems). If you’ll be brining for more than 60 minutes, it’s best to put the chicken in the brine into the fridge.
After the brining time is done, take the chicken out of the brine and pat it dry. No need to rinse it. The only real thing to know is that you don’t want to add any more salt to the chicken. Use the seasonings in the recipe below, or any blend you’d like, but be sure to choose one without salt.
Seasoning For BBQ Chicken Breasts
We’ll be using a BBQ sauce, so it’s best to choose seasonings that go well with that and also to not overdo it since the sauce does have a lot of flavor.
I like to go with brown sugar (to help with caramelization for color, flavor, and to add extra sweetness), paprika (regular or smoked paprika), garlic powder, and black pepper. Or, I use this Montreal Chicken Seasoning but I omit the salt because of the brining caution given earlier. I’m also partial to this Santa Maria Seasoning, which is traditionally used on beef but is seriously good on anything that’s hitting the grill (just omit the salt).
Grill Temperature For Chicken Breasts
For perfectly grilled chicken breasts, you’ll create a medium-hot zone (325F-250F) and a cooler zone (300F-325F) on your grill. My grill has three burners, so I turn the first two to medium and the third to low. You can create this with your charcoal grill by moving a majority of the coals to one side of the grill.
It’s difficult to use your grill’s thermometer to gauge the temperature of the grill when you have it set two two different levels. Instead, here is how you will determine if your grill’s temperatures are correct.
Once you think the grill is at the correct temperatures, put your hands palm side down about 5 inches over the grill grates. Count seconds like this “one Mississippi, 2 Mississipi, etc). If you get to 5-6 seconds, then it is medium heat. 10-12 seconds is low heat. And for your future references, 2-3 seconds is high heat and will be too high for this chicken breast recipe.
How To Grill BBQ Chicken Breasts
Start by placing the breasts top side down on the grate over the burners set to medium and allow them to cook for 6 – 8 minutes. Then flip the chicken breasts over as you move them to the side of the grill that has been heated to low. This helps to ensure that the BBQ sauce you’re about to add doesn’t burn. It also more gently cooks the chicken for the final stretch so that it is less likely to dry out.
And yes, at this point, after flipping and moving the chicken breasts, brush the tops with barbecue sauce. You can use homemade BBQ sauce or your favorite store-bought version. Then close the lid and cook for another 6 minutes. At that point, check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. If it registers 160˚F, remove the chicken breasts to a plate and allow them to rest for 5 minutes. The carry over cooking will leave you with perfectly cooked chicken at 165°F.
If they haven’t reached the proper temperature when you test it, brush on a little more BBQ sauce and continue cooking until the proper temperature is reached.
Can I Bake BBQ Chicken Breasts?
Not a great day for grilling and want to cook BBQ chicken in the oven instead? No problem. You can use the temperature and timing from this Baked Chicken Breasts recipe as a guide, 20-25 minutes at 400°F. Use the spice rub from the recipe below and wait until the last 5-10 minutes of cooking before brushing them with BBQ sauce. To get some char, you can finish them under the broiler, where they will only need a minute or two.
Or, even better, make this Air Fryer BBQ chicken recipe which looks and tastes just like grilled chicken. It’s pretty crazy, actually.
More Chicken Recipes
If you love this BBQ chicken recipe, make sure to check out all our other amazing chicken recipes here. Or, here are links to some of my favorites:
- Grilled Chicken Leg Quarters
- Grilled Chicken Kebobs
- Southwestern Chicken and Rice Bowls
- Sous Vide Chicken Breasts
- Avocado Chicken Salad
Podcast Episode: BBQing Chicken Breasts
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
BBQ Chicken Breasts Recipe
These BBQ Chicken Breasts are optionally brined for extra juiciness, then grilled at two different temperatures for perfecly cooked, never dry, chicken breast meat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Brine Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 and 1/2 Tbsp. Morton’s kosher salt* (optional)
- 4 cups cold water (optional)
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Optional step: In a medium-sized bowl, stir the salt into the water until it dissolves. Add the chicken breasts and let sit on the counter for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove chicken from the liquid and pat dry.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. If you didn’t do the optional step of soaking the chicken breasts in salt and water, then be sure to add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to this mixture as well.
- Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the spice mixture, making sure to cover all sides.
- Heat grill so that one side is medium heat (350F to 375F) and the other side is low (300F to 325F).**
- Place the chicken top side down on the grate over the medium heat side and grill 6 minutes.
- Then, brush BBQ sauce on the side facing up, and then turn the chicken over as you move it to the low-heat side of the grill. Brush the sides that are now on top with sauce as well.
- Continue to cook on the low side until the sauce is caramelized and an instant read thermometer registers 160˚F, about 6 more minutes.
- Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
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Notes
*If you have a different type of salt, you will possibly need to use a different amount. If using regular table salt, you’ll use 3 tablespoons. If using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, you’ll use 6 tablespoons.
**If your grill doesn’t have a thermometer or you can’t tell the temperature for each side, here’s what you do. Once you think the grill is at the correct temperatures, put your hands palm side down about 5 inches over the grill. Count seconds like “one Mississippi, 2 Mississipi, etc). If you get to 5-6 seconds, then it is medium heat. 10-12 seconds is low heat. And for your future references, 2-3 seconds is high heat and will be too high for this chicken breast recipe.
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