How can I grill chicken and keep it tender and moist? I could also use some marinating ideas.?

Question

When I grill chicken, the white meat is always so dry. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

Easy .... marinate it in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes. When grilling, only turn the chicken once ... don't move it around a lot. Doing so breaks the fibers up and this results in loss of moisture. Make sure your grill is smoking hot when you first put the chicken on the grill. Turn it down to medium once you turn it over. Cooking times depend on the size and presence of bones. Let it rest for 5 minutes or so with foil covering it before you serve it up. This allows the juices to redistribute through out the meat. These tips will produce a tender, juicy, and flavorful piece of chicken.

Answer 2

you have to baste it  almost all the time you are grilling the chicken and try marinating it prior to grilling  .

marinate in a large freezer bag with worchchire and some garlic and onion and season salt and pepper

baster it with a watery marinade  

Answer 3

An easy and delicious marinade is Italian dressing.

Don't cook it directly over the fire and baste regularly with Italian dressing. Also let the chicken set for 10 minutes, before serving.

*TIP* During the cooking process, all the juices are pushed to the center. If you let the chicken rest the juices return to the meat.  

You'll thank me for this if you try it..

Answer 4

I marinate chicken in lemon juice, olive oil and grill seasoning.  We grill it until it's almost cooked through and then pull it off the grill and place in a pan covered very tightly with aluminum foil.  Make sure to cover the pan tightly and make sure no holes are in the foil.  Let the chicken continue to cook, which is called carry-over cooking, and this way it's always moist and juicy because it hasn't over cooked once it's been taken off the grill when cooked all the way through.  I let it sit in the tightly covered pan for at least 10-15 minutes and this way it cooks through and the juices redistribute and don't leech out of the chicken when you cut into it.

Answer 5

I go for the 30 minute marinades they are the best and they fit any taste bud.

I grill the chicken until brown then throw into the over for 20 minutes on 375 in a glass pan with a lid (lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up) it always comes out perfect keeps it moist and still grilled.  

Answer 6

light soy, ginger, and garlic let it sit in the marinade for 30-60 min then grill or pan fry. make extra for the next day to put on a salad.good eating.

Answer 7

The very best way to keep it moist, is to inject the marinade INTO the thickest part of the white meat.   But, I like Lawry's marinades (so many of them are REALLY good).  Put the marinade into a big ziplock baggie with the chicken and let it set at least an hour.   When you grill it, my husband sears it quickly on the hot part of the grate, then moves it to a cooler part to finish cooking.  Remember that white meat takes longer than drumsticks or wings, so you might actually need to cook it on that upper rack for awhile (top down on the grill).   ... Just DON'T use Italian dressing, which so many people seem to recommend.  I used it once and it was the blandest, dry chicken I'd ever made.  I was embarrassed to serve it:)  Plus, there's oil in salad dressing that can catch fire on the grill.....

Answer 8

first you are over cooking it.  You only cook it until the meat juice run clear.  Push on it and see.  Now for marinating:  what mood are you in?  ginger, garlic and soy, little sesame oil and olive oil/  pesto sauce is good/  mustard, olive oil, onions or powder, garlic or powder,salt and pepper/  sage, salt, pepper, chicken broth, olive oil, /  white wine garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil.  Here are a few to start with.  good luck.

Answer 9

Pound the chicken until the thickness is even throughout.  Read the back of spice jars to get an idea what goes on chicken.  Rub spices in with olive oil or butter.  Lemon, Italian dressing, barbecue sauce, whatever suits your fancy will make a fine marinade.  Grill on one side until it is white half-way along the edge of the chicken.  Flip and watch for clear juice to rise up.  Remove from heat.  Cover for 10 minutes before serving as per above suggestions.  

Answer 10

Spend $5 and get a meat thermometer.  It's the best way, unless you have x-ray vision.  Don't forget to calibrate the therm. in a cup of ice water.  I think it should read 22F (check to be sure).  After awhile, you can just feel when the chickens done.  The perfect internal temp would be 150F, as it will go up 5 degrees as it rests.  Resting the meat redistributes the juices, rest at least 8 min. covered in foil on a warm plate.

Also, like someone else mentioned the juices should run clear.

Chicken is one of the hardest meats to grill because it takes so long to cook and most of the time the outside burns while the inside is raw.  If you let the chicken come to room temp. before grilling that will help it cook evenly and also use the bbq's cover to get the oven effect.