Grilled Chicken Breast

4.80 from 5 votes

This grilled chicken breast recipe will be the JUICIEST you’ve ever had. The secret is a marinating technique borrowed from Chinese cooking.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Marinating Time12

Total Time12 30

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 296kcal

Author: Kaitlin

Ingredients

1 pound boneless chicken breasts (with or without skin)
⅓-½ cup water
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pound the chicken breast on both sides with the back of a Chinese cleaver/chef’s knife, rotating the chicken 90° to make a crosshatch pattern. (You could also use a meat mallet.) This process will loosen the meat texture so the marinade can better penetrate.
In a large bowl, mix the chicken breast with the water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, massaging it in with your hands until the chicken absorbs it. Keep adding it a couple tablespoons at a time until the chicken stops absorbing water. The process takes about 10 minutes.
To make the marinade, strip the tender thyme leaves off the woody stems and discard the stems. Do the same with the oregano. Finely chop the herbs. Next, mince the garlic.
Add the chopped herbs and garlic to the bowl with the chicken, along with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
Take the chicken out 1 hour before grilling so it’s not stone cold when it hits the hot grill. Preheat your grill. You want to start with a brushed grate and a hot temperature (in the ballpark of 400-500°F/200-260°C).
If you’re using skin-on chicken, place the chicken skin side down. Use any remaining marinade to baste the chicken at the beginning of the grilling process. Rotate the chicken a half turn to get nice grill marks before flipping. The chicken should take about 6-8 minutes to cook depending on how hot your grill is (3-4 minutes per side). Try not to flip the chicken too many times during the grilling process.
We grilled ours on a gas grill, and it took closer to 8 minutes. If we were using very hot charcoal, it probably would be done in about 6 minutes. Thinner pieces will also cook faster. When in doubt, use an instant read thermometer. We consider chicken to be done at around 160°F-ish. It will continue to come up to 165°F as it rests. Let the chicken rest under an overturned plate or foil for 5-10 minutes before serving!

Video

Notes

Total time includes 12 hours marinating time (overnight).

Nutrition

Grilled Chicken Breast by The Woks of Life. Recipe URL: https://body-goals.fit/grilled-chicken-breast-recipe/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-80092":{"type":"food","name":"Grilled Chicken Breast","slug":"wprm-grilled-chicken-breast","image_url":"https:\/\/thewoksoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/grilled-chicken-11.jpg","rating":{"count":5,"total":24,"average":4.8,"type":{"comment":5,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":1,"amount":"1","unit":"pound","name":"boneless chicken breasts","notes":"(with or without skin)","converted":{"2":{"amount":"450","unit":"g","unit_id":5264}},"unit_id":5275,"id":5840,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"pound","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"pound","unitParsed":"pound"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"450","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"\u2153-\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"water","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"80-120","unit":"ml","unit_id":5271}},"unit_id":5269,"id":332,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u2153-\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u2153-\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"80-120","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"finely chopped fresh thyme","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"","unit":""}},"unit_id":5262,"id":5841,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"finely chopped fresh oregano","notes":"","unit_id":5262,"id":5842,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"minced garlic","notes":"","unit_id":5262,"id":685,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","name":"extra virgin olive oil","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"45","unit":"ml","unit_id":5271}},"unit_id":5259,"id":1176,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"45","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"\u00be","unit":"teaspoon","name":"salt","notes":"(or to taste)","unit_id":5268,"id":260,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00be","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00be","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","name":"ground black pepper","notes":"","unit_id":5268,"id":490,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774159665000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1,2],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}