Simple [Dare I Say, Perfect,] Grilled Chicken Breasts

(Skip to the recipe file here.)

I’m posting this chicken grilling technique simply because it’s fool-proof, and while we probably all know how to grill a chicken breast, you just might not know a couple of these steps that make it so easy to grill up a perfect grilled chicken breast. This makes a lovely, simple (but still flavorful, don’t get me wrong!) main to round out a perfect meal in a hurry. I love to fix these when I make my Radish Greens Pesto (which I will share as soon as my radish greens pop up next month!), but it’s also such a simple main to pair alongside a really special side like my husband’s Grilled Anaheim Peppers, which are Anaheim peppers stuffed with sharp white cheddar and slow-grilled on the upper rack of the grill for about 20 minutes. (See my Grilled Anaheim post for those.) With a complex (digestion-wise) side dish such as a cheese-stuffed-nightshade, I like to put a simple protein along with it.

Enter Simple [Dare I Say, Perfect,] Grilled Chicken Breasts

I was initially going to post the Grilled Anaheim recipe closer to July (and this Simple Grilled Chicken technique around the same time), since it makes more sense seasonally, but I needed something easy, right now, both to make and to post. As soon as I got into even the slightest groove of blog posting, Kevin asked, “So when are you going to start doing videos?” He even bought me a super light-weight camera that feasibly I’m supposed to be able to mount under my cabinets for a decent view of what my buttery fingers are doing when mixing pie dough, rolling croissants, etc. I did even film my making my Lasagna recipe, but it’s riddled with the hot-water heater coming on, leather tooling in the background, the inane repetitive theme song from Dragon Life (or whatever) in the background and FOX News on in the living room. Open kitchens are all well and good, but they’re best when no one is home. I’m a true introvert. I’d prefer to be able whip egg whites ad infinitum while I work on a pipeable marshmallow recipe or make vinegar reduction whenever I’m craving it, without disturbing anybody. And I’d also like to just tinker away in the kitchen with a camera rolling in the background and be able to get a Julia Child-worthy, inspiring tutorial at the end. But this is real life, and I have to plan these things. But last week, or maybe the week before, I’ve lost track, my stepdaughter was in school and Kevin was going to an appointment with an acupuncturist which we knew would take several hours. So the house was quiet! That was my chance! After a thirty-minute hunt for a tripod (because I am not yet set up to mount my camera under the cabinets) I couldn’t even figure out how to mount my camera to the tripod. It was missing a plate, and I could not devise anything that I had to make a connection, and I thought, “I remember being reasonably competent at simple tasks; what happened?! I can’t even attach a camera to a tripod!” Long story short, I broke into a tears for a good 15 minutes, and after pulling myself together and going to the hardware store to buy a bolt coupler, I had missed my quiet window.

So I will proceed with making a video on puff pastry and a couple of my favorite things to do with it, but until then, enjoy this:

Simple [Dare I Say, Perfect,] Grilled Chicken Breasts

You’ll Need:

(Quantities are for four servings, feel free to divide or multiply at will)

• 2 chicken breast, approx. 11-12 oz. each
• 1 pat of butter, room temperature, divided
• 1 pinch of Celtic Sea Salt per piece, optional
• 1 pinch of Himalayan salt (or your favorite type of salt) per piece
• A few grinds of freshly ground black pepper per piece

Preheat your grill to medium or medium high (about 400˚F).

First, I’m assuming all locales are pretty similar, and all of our meat comes wrapped in plastic, I rinse mine and pat it dry. Rinse and pat your chicken breasts all the way dry.

Chicken breasts are also pretty massive, so I cut them in half. I like about 6 to 8 oz of animal protein max at a time, and this works really well, cutting in half lengthwise. It also helps with the grilling time, giving the middle time to cook in the same amount of time it takes the outside to get those crispy, grilled-butter grill lines.

Spread each side of the top pieces with about ¼ of a pat of butter, I’d say that’s about ½ tsp of butter per side, per piece. (Your hands are the best tool for spreading the butter.)

Note: The butter needs to be room temperature in order to spread, AND, once you’ve got it spread, don’t go back and try to re-smooth or even it out more that you got it on the first pass. If you try to smooth it out more, the chicken will have cooled the butter, and it will just flake right off.

Add’l Note: I often brush olive oil on things like lamb chops, and olive oil would work here too, if you’re opposed to using butter. Olive oil will work if you’ve sliced your chicken breasts in half, making them thinner. (Olive oil works really well for coating spices onto lamb destined for the grill because of lamb’s short cooking time, but these sliced breasts also have a very short cooking time, and so olive oil would work here too.)

(You’ll most likely want to give your hands a quick wash.) Then sprinkle the tops of each butter-coated breast with a pinch of a couple kinds of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Flip the breasts over and repeat: ¼ pat of butter, pinches of salts, grinds of pepper.

 Grill the breasts on your preheated grill for 4 minutes per side. And serve immediately.

(The internal temperature should be about 162˚F when removing from the grill, and therefore 165˚F when serving.)

And I say to serve these immediately, but I always eat the leftover breasts cold, sliced up with lunch the next day, and it’s amazing cold.

Enjoy the simple life!

—Becky

Download the recipe file here.