How To Grill Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce

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Today we are doing more of a ‘how to’ on The Schmidty Wife, opposed to a recipe. How To Grill Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce.

Over the month of July I took the time to write down what we had for dinner every night. With the intention of sharing what I feed my family most often with my readers. Well turns out this summer was pretty predictable with some simple barbecue grilled chicken. I turn to the grill most of the time during the summer so it is no surprise to me that we had this for dinner the most often. So let’s talk about how to grill chicken breasts with barbecue sauce.

It’s all about the grill and the chicken breast today. Now if you know me you know I’d take a chicken thigh over a breast any day but there is also something so deliciously basic about a barbecued chicken breast on the grill, when done right I can barely resist it.

So often chicken breasts can be overcooked and dried out which makes them no good. It can also be tricky to realize when to add the sauce during grilling. So today we are going to go over some of the basics of How To Grill Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce.

The Chicken

I read somewhere that almost 40% of millennials are afraid to touch raw chicken. Seriously you guys?!? It won’t bite you! In all fairness yes if you aren’t handling it properly and cross contaminating then you get get sick, in a majorly bad way. But it’s not that hard to keep a clean safe environment.

First, don’t cross contaminate. I have a glass cutting board I use specifically and only for raw meats. I chose glass because it is super easy to clean up and dishwasher safe. I only let my raw meats touch that board and nothing else. I also do not share knives between my raw meats and anything else in the same session unless 2 things happen, that knife was washed super well, or I am 100% done cutting other things and my raw meat is the only thing left to cut. Never cut raw meat and immediately cut vegetables (or whatever else you need to cut), I feel like that is common sense but I am going to say it any way.

Second, wash hands. I feel like this probably should have been first, but whatever. Wash your hands before and immediately after handling raw meats. If you are really really scared of touching raw meat get over yourself buy some disposable gloves.

Its basically that simple, keep it clean.

Why do you need to touch the raw chicken? Because grilled chicken it so much better as a cutlet.

So Let’s talk how to prepare the chicken cutlet.

A chicken cutlet is basically just a fancy word for cutting your large chicken breast in half. You can cut it in half yourself so easily (or you can also buy cutlets at the store).

In a clean space, butterfly cut your chicken breast in half and voila you are ready for the grill.

So I have two reasons why I love grilling a cutlet opposed to a whole breast. First, it tastes better. I find that a whole chicken breast tends to cook unevenly and can either appear rubbery or dried out. With the cutlet, the pieces are more uniform giving it a more even cook. Second, they cook so much faster. Like half the time of a full chicken breast, so dinner is to your family faster.

The Grilling

I love grilling. I don’t talk about it enough on the blog. There is something about grilling that takes you back to a simpler time, like food and fire, a little bit back to nature if you will. Plus because we choose to live where there is 2 feet of snow on the grill for months at a time I like to take advantage of it when I can.

You will want to bring your grill to a medium-high heat. The chicken will go over direct heat for in total about 10 minutes. I would like to note that each grill is going to be a little different, especially charcoal vs gas, so ultimately you’ll want to go for as long as it takes to reach an internal temperature of 165º F.

To get the barbecue sauce cooked nicely on the chicken this is how you cook it. Lightly oil the chicken and give each piece of dash of salt and pepper. (P.S. I’ve become obsessed with this Cooking Spray Oil this summer, I just give each side a light spray, so easy). Place the oiled chicken over direct heat. Cook 4 minutes. Flip chicken, immediately drizzle and brush cooked side of chicken with barbecue sauce, cook 4 minutes. Flip chicken again so that the barbecued side is now on the grill, immediately drizzle and brush the second side with barbecue sauce, cook 1 minute. Flip chicken one last time, cook an additional 1 minute or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165º F.

Remove chicken from grill and cover with aluminum foil for 3-5 minutes. Serve with extra sauce on the side if desired.

So that is How To Grill Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce. It is quick and easy making it the perfect meal to feed your family (especially during summer). So don’t over think dinner and get grilling now!

TIPS & TRICKS:

• I know I just talked a lot about cutting your chicken BUT you can also buy cutlets at the grocery store, look for cutlets that are 6-8oz each

• Use whatever barbecue sauce or any other of your favorite sauces using this method (like buffalo sauce)

Peace & Love

Lauren, The Schmidty Wife

P.S. Looking for more grilling options like How To Grill Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce? Check out my Pineapple Chicken Kabobs or my Prosciutto Pesto Burger.