The BEST Grilled Lemon Chicken | How to Grill Chicken (Easy Recipe!) (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to grilling chicken? ›

Grill over indirect or direct heat but keep the lid closed

If you're cooking a larger or thicker piece of chicken breast, grill over indirect heat before or after charring, especially if you want to be sure that it's cooked all the way through.

Lemon is acidic and helps balance the stronger flavor of the dark meat in thighs and legs, and the fat from the chicken skin.

A combination of direct heat for prominent grill marks followed by indirect heat to cook the chicken to the correct temperature without drying it out makes for pretty, juicy chicken breasts.

Olive oil helps to brown the outside of the chicken, bringing it to a beautiful golden color, while still maintaining the meat's internal moistness. This is especially important when grilling, as chicken can quickly become dried out when cooked directly over the grill's heat.

At Least 30 Minutes Before Cooking: Marinate the Chicken

Zest and juice one lemon into a large bowl. Add ¼ cup olive oil, 5 crushed or minced garlic cloves (use minced for a stronger flavor), 1 ½ teaspoons of Italian seasoning, and ¼ cup of chopped parsley.

Tender Juicy Chicken: The acidic lemon juice helps break down muscle fibers, making the chicken more tender. The oil and other ingredients help lock in moisture, guaranteeing juicy, flavorful chicken. Flavorful: Lemon and garlic are a classic combo, while mustard adds tang, and red pepper flakes add a subtle kick.

Marinade: How you marinate the chicken will not only flavor the dish, but it can also help to make it more juicy. My grilled lemon chicken marinade is made with olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and garlic. The acid from the lemon helps tenderize the chicken. Just be careful to not let it marinate too long.

Place your chicken breasts on your preheated grill, and close the lid. It's important to keep the lid of your grill closed while your chicken is cooking so that no heat escapes. Cook your chicken breast on the grill for 6-8 minutes on one side. After 6-8 minutes flip your chicken breast and cook for 6-8 minutes more.

Overcooking chicken and buying woody chicken breast are two of the main causes behind rubbery chicken. You can stop this from happening by: buying “slow-growing” chicken. cooking your chicken in moisture.

Why does my chicken always burn on the grill? ›

Chicken on the bone or large, un-pounded breasts should be grilled more slowly over medium-high heat so the outside doesn't burn while the inside reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.

For the most part, chicken should be grilled at 350º to 450º F over direct or indirect medium heat. The only exception is when you're smoking the chicken. Often used with wings or whole chickens, smoking meat involves indirect cooking over very low heat, 225º to 250º F, with the addition of smoldering wood chunks.

The goal is to maintain a low enough grill temp so that the chicken cooks "low and slow." The chicken is done when the internal temperature of the chicken pieces are 160°F for breasts and 170°F for thighs, when tested with a meat thermometer.

You should grill chicken breasts for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Keep your grill on medium heat between 425 and 450 degrees, says grill manufacturer Weber.

How do you grill chicken breast without drying it out? Brining is the secret to juicy grilled chicken breasts. It requires a bit of extra time, but the soak in the a brine helps to tenderize the meat, which makes it less tough once it's grilled. Also, a brine is a great way to add flavor if you want.

Instead, brine your chicken, soaking it in a saltwater solution a couple of hours before cooking. The salt breaks down muscle fibers, allowing the meat to absorb moisture but also preventing the fibers from contracting quite so much under heat, thus releasing that moisture.

Fat from the chicken can drip and burn, too. As a result, explains Harvard Health Publications, chemicals called heterocyclic amines and aromatic hydrocarbons from, and they have been linked to cancer. Reduce the formation of these compounds by putting chicken in foil on the grill.

If you set the temperature extremely high, the chicken won't cook properly on the inside but can burn on the outside. It will cook more thoroughly and evenly with lower heat. Fix: Choose medium heat on a gas grill or medium-low on a charcoal grill to cook your chicken.