Grilled Lemon-Parsley Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill (Chipotle-Lime variation and Orange-Tarragon variation may be made on a Charcoal Grill)

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(from Bethany’s recipe box)

SERVES 4
This chicken can be served with a simply prepared vegetable for a light dinner. It can also be used in a sandwich or tossed with greens for a salad. The chicken should be marinated no less than 30 minutes and no more than 1 hour.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our perfectly grilled chicken breast recipe had to produce moist, tender chicken whose flavor could stand on its own. We discovered that placing the breasts on the cooler side of the grill and covering them with a disposable pan trapped the heat and kept the breasts moist while cooking. To finish our grilled chicken breast recipe, we gave the breasts a quick sear afterward on the hot part of the grill for color and true grilled flavor.

Source: Cook's Illustrated Published July 1, 2007

Categories: Poultry

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
  • Salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 3 (medium) cloves garlic, minced, or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tbsp)
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat, (6 to 8-oz)
  • Vegetable oil for grill rack
  • LEMON-PARSLEY VARIATION
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
  • CHIPOTLE-LIME VARIATION
  • 1 teaspoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
  • 7 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
  • ORANGE-TARRAGON VARIATION
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
  • FOR CHARCOAL GRILL
  • 1 disposable aluminum baking pan, (13 x 9-inch)

Directions

  1. Whisk together 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Add select variation ingredients and half of juice and olive oil; set aside.

  2. Whisk together remaining juice, remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, remaining teaspoon sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, garlic, and water in medium bowl. Place marinade and chicken in gallon-size zipper-lock bag and toss to coat; press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate 30 minutes, flipping bag after 15 minutes.

  3. FOR GAS GRILL Turn all burners to high and heat with lid down until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape grate clean with grill brush. Dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burners.

  4. FOR GAS GRILL Remove chicken from bag, allowing excess marinade to drip off. Place chicken on cooler part of grill, smooth-side down, with thicker side facing lit burner. Cover and cook until bottom of chicken just begins to develop light grill marks and is no longer translucent, 6 to 9 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and rotate so that thinner side faces lit burner. Cover and continue to cook until chicken is opaque and firm to touch and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 140°F, 6 to 9 minutes longer.

  5. FOR GAS GRILL Move chicken to hotter side of grill and cook, uncovered, until dark grill marks appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and cook until dark grill marks appear and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160°F, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let rest, tented with foil, 5 minutes. Slice each breast on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices and transfer to individual plates. Drizzle with reserved sauce and serve.

  6. FOR CHARCOAL GRILL Meanwhile, light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 qts, or about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Build modified two-level fire by arranging all coals over half of grill, leaving other half empty. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush. Dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate. Grill is ready when side with coals is medium-hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grate for 3 to 4 seconds).

  7. FOR CHARCOAL GRILL Remove chicken from bag, allowing excess marinade to drip off. Place chicken on cooler side of grill, smooth-side down, with thicker side facing coals. Cover with disposable pan and cook until bottom of chicken just begins to develop light grill marks and is no longer translucent, 6 to 9 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and rotate so that thinner side faces coals. Cover with disposable pan and continue to cook until chicken is opaque and firm to touch and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 140°F, 6 to 9 minutes longer.

  8. FOR CHARCOAL GRILL Move chicken to hotter side of grill and cook, uncovered, until dark grill marks appear, 1 to 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and cook until dark grill marks appear and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160°F, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let rest, tented with foil, 5 minutes. Slice each breast on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices and transfer to individual plates. Drizzle with reserved sauce and serve.

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