4 ways to make the juiciest grilled chicken
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Lemon-garlic grilled chicken breasts.
PHOTO: DAVID MALOSH/NYTIMES
Genevieve Ko
UNITED STATES – This smoky beauty of a recipe – with its juicy swirl of lemon and olive oil, its fragrant charred garlic and parsley – is mouthwatering in the primal way of fried drumsticks and saucy wings.
The leanness of the chicken breast, compared with the richness of increasingly popular thighs, gives the marinated meat a crystalline brightness, like a blue summer sky after a thunderstorm.
Culinary professionals often dismiss that pure flavour as boring. But Dennis Mao prefers it.
“I really enjoy the breast,” says the founder and owner of Jidori Chicken in Los Angeles, which sells bespoke birds to fine-dining restaurants. “If it’s cooked properly, it’s really good. It has a light chicken flavour and it’s very clean.”
This is true of the ones he raises because they are small, in the 110g to 230g range.
Commercially available breasts are much larger, which can make that meat bland. It is not only the lack of fat, but also the monotony of texture, the uniform thready strands, prone to cottony dryness since the meat takes so long to cook through.
But it is not just size that matters. Mao says that no one factor determines a bird’s quality, like “heritage breed” or “free-range”, but a combination of how the chicken is fed, raised, handled, processed and shipped.
For regular supermarket shoppers, he advises looking for the freshest meat since there is “a huge taste difference with that subtle shift”.
The ideal option is “something slaughtered recently”, but labels do not reveal that detail. So, look for the latest “use before” and “sell by” dates if they are listed and the terms “fresh” or “keep refrigerated” – markers that the chicken has not been frozen, which deteriorates its quality.
Here is how to make supermarket chicken breasts the star of summer.
Flatten the meat
Often, butterflying the breast by slicing it in half leaves you with a thick slab of uniform meat striations that gets boring after the second bite.
Instead, cut the breast to a third of its original height by slicing two shutters: Start with a deep slit from the centre of the fat rounded top down to the pointy end without cutting all the way through. Then, position the knife at the halfway point of one cut side and slice to open up that side without piercing through. Repeat on the other side and you end up with two shutters that open out from the centre.
Once unfurled, the thinner breast can be smacked into an even layer. (I use my bare palm, but a meat mallet or skillet works too.) The breast will not end up like a heart-shaped cutlet or even symmetrical like a Rorschach splotch, but that is why it will be as irresistible as steak. The fibres are now not only shortened, but they run in different directions so each bite will offer some variety in chew.
Marinate quickly
Marinades bolster flavour, but mainly on the meat’s surface: That is another reason this chicken breast benefits from being so svelte. Besides, it needs only 15 to 30 minutes in the marinade – the time it takes to heat a grill.
Olive oil does a lot of work here, carrying the aromas of the garlic, lemon zest and pepper and ensuring that the meat tastes rich and browns well. The herbs, which char nicely, bring freshness; and the salt, along with the acid in the lemon juice, keeps the chicken tender and moist.
Get your grill hotter
Many summers ago, French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten told me that most home cooks do not get their grills hot enough to develop deep smokiness.
A blazing fire will leave a whole breast burnt outside and raw within, but will give these extra thin cutlets a rich char to encase juicy centres.
The heat is right when you can hold your hand 13cm above the grate for three to five seconds.
On a gas dial, that tends to be on the higher side of medium-high; and with charcoal, the lumps or briquettes should be ashed over and glowing red bright beneath the grey-white surface.
Cover a gas grill while cooking to maintain that intensity of heat.
Remove the meat earlier
If the chicken breast is not cooked through, you can always put it back on the grate, but you cannot fix a dry, overcooked one.
These slender planks are done in about five minutes and should be just opaque throughout with the faintest hint of pink, like a blush that fades after your crush walks away.
To check one, move it to a plate, stick a paring knife in the centre and pull the blade back so you can see the meat top to bottom.
If the breast needs a little more time, put it back on the grill and peek again in under a minute.
Hot off the grill or cold over the next few days, this dish bursts with the richness and zing that make even chicken breast doubters believe.
Lemon-garlic Grilled Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
900g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large lemon, plus wedges for serving
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups leaves and tender stems of parsley, cilantro, basil, mint or a combination, finely chopped
3 Tbs olive oil, plus more for greasing grill
1¼ tsp kosher salt
¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Method
Start by flattening the chicken breasts: Place a breast smooth side down on a cutting board, with the thick end at the top and the pointy end at the bottom. Cut a deep slit – without cutting all the way through the meat – down the centre of its length. Prise open the slit, turn the knife blade to the left, parallel to the board, and slice perpendicular to the initial cut without cutting all the way through the meat. Repeat on the right side to end up with two flaps that open out from the centre like window shutters to form a broader, flatter piece of meat. Use your palm to smack the lumpy parts flat, but do not pound so hard that you tear the meat. Repeat with the remaining breasts.
Make the marinade: Use a fine grater to zest the lemon directly over a large bowl or airtight container, then run the garlic cloves over the grater. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon, then stir in the herbs, oil, salt and pepper.
Marinate the chicken: Add the flattened chicken and turn and rub it evenly with the marinade. Let the meat stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes if grilling right away or cover and refrigerate for up to four hours. If chilled, take it out of the fridge right before heating the grill.
Prepare the grill: Heat an outdoor grill to the higher side of medium-high. When it is ready, you should be able to hold your hand 13cm above the grate for three to five seconds. If the grill grates are not already clean, use a grill brush to remove anything stuck to them. Oil a wadded up paper towel, grip it with tongs and rub it over the grate. (See Tip for indoor cooking)
Set the chicken and any marinade clinging to it on the oiled grate, spreading each piece in a single, even layer. Cook, covered if using a gas grill, until the bottom is deeply browned and releases easily from the grate for three to five minutes. Flip each piece and cook until a paring knife inserted in the centre reveals meat that is just opaque throughout but still juicy, for two to three minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and rest the meat for about five minutes before slicing and serving with lemon wedges for squeezing. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days.
Serves four to eight
Tip
You can also use a cast-iron grill pan on the stovetop. Heat it over high and lightly oil it before adding the chicken. Cook in batches if needed, turning the meat when it releases easily from the pan, until the meat is opaque but still juicy. NYTIMES
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
