How to Grill Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill | Tips & Techniques

Grilling moist and tender chicken breasts can seem impossible at times, but Chef Tom is here to show you proven techniques for producing great chicken on the grill for easy weeknight meals.
We're using the Napoleon Prestige P500RSIB today, but as always these techniques apply to whatever gas grill you have.
► FULL RECIPE: (www.atbbq.com/thesauce/recipe...)
HOW TO MAKE A BASIC BRINE: www.atbbq.com/thesauce/tips-t...
RECIPE COOKED ON: (www.atbbq.com/in-stock/in-sto...)
SUBSCRIBE for NEW RECIPES every Tuesday + Friday: bit.ly/3fDhNtT
WATCH OUR FAVORITES NOW! ► bit.ly/33euiXM
________________________________________________
** CHEF TOM’S TOP PICKS **
BEST PELLET GRILL: bit.ly/3f5rK3X
BEST CHARCOAL GRILL: bit.ly/3hLJrHB
BEST GAS GRILL: bit.ly/3oDd4wm
KITCHEN TOOLS: bit.ly/3ytztRe
GET THE GEAR: bit.ly/3v8gE3Z
_________________________________________________
** FOLLOW US **
FACEBOOK: / allthingsbbq
TWITTER: @atbbq
INSTAGRAM: @atbbq @cheftomjackson

[@skudge3136]

Wish you would have expanded on closing grill lid or not and also when to use the indirect heat, I'm sure a different video will tell me

[@sspiff75]

I love videos like this that help us do the basics better.

[@Darthtater98]

That looks amazing….I’ve helped my dad grill for several years now, and just bought a gas grill for my wife and I a few weeks ago, so just getting a refresher before firing up the grill and his weekend!

[@Calicaveman]

Hey Chef 101 Back to the Basics love that chef to many times I share well all the time I share ATBBQ’s recipes and many ask those kind of questions or they think your recipes are high on the difficulty level thanks for stepping back with simple techniques 👍🏾 people love your videos I know I do 👍🏾👍🏾🙏🏾

[@allthingsbbq]

Thanks for watching!!

[@SanDiegoUteFan]

Thanks, Tom. Solid instruction. I have been tinkering with grilling chicken for decades and do it pretty much like you've shown on my own Weber gas grill with a couple of changes. 1. I like to fillet in half horizontally. 2. Instead of brine I marinate the breast fillets (for at least a couple of hours) in a zip-lock with a quality salad dressing like Paul Newman's, Girard's or Lawry's . 3. I cook at a medium-low temperature (320-325ish) for a bit longer for more juiciness. I whole-heartedly agree on the 155 final temperature, but I remove chicken from the grill and cover with foil for 5 minutes. Try it, you'll love it.

[@dylanredding2048]

Love watching food video and this guy! Currently deployed and I can’t wait to get back order the book and get to cooking!

[@RCJyoutube]

Watched your video and learned a whole lot. Best chicken I ever made on the grill today. All because of you. I never brined or pulled before 165-170. I was doing it all wrong. I used the hot side to get it rolling and to get grill marks then moved it over to the side with no heat and just checked the temp until 160 and pulled them. I’ll pull sooner next time. Going to do a 4 hour marinade tomorrow and try again. THANK YOU 🙏🏼 AND BLESS YOU.

[@lachingona]

I'd love to see how often you open and closed the lid. Otherwise, this was great! Gonna try tonight!

[@ivse9696]

Perfect description and instructions, as always 👍👍👍

[@rockklimber24]

Very nice walkthrough. Thanks very much.

[@robwilkie5382]

This is solid vital info for all of us BBQ'ers out there!! Keep the breasts moist!! Thanks for sharing, Chef Tom!

[@matteodeef]

I love all your recipe, congratulations you are doing an amazing job

[@shadowknight0979]

Thank you for making this great tutorial.

[@Bigudey]

Great video Chef! I really appreciate this kind of content

[@allthingsbbq]

Thanks for watching!

[@nhjonas]

Thanks Chef Tom!!!

[@brainyhead1]

Everyone loves to hate on gas grills, I have smokers, charcoal grills, pellet, ect, but I love a gas grill for week night chicken cooks, or something quick and healthy.

[@MoesSmokeStackGrill]

Looks delicious!

[@OneSmellyTaco]

If it's a thick chicken breast I preheat the grill to 350-400. I place the chicken there for 15 mins then turn it over. At 10-12 mins I get my thermometer and check the temp, if it's 165 then I take it out, wrap it in foil and rest it for 5 minutes. Comes out juicy everytime, unless it's windy, my gas grill is harder to regulate. Was curious on other methods. Edit: if it's a thin piece, I do 15 mins on one side and shave off time on the other, I might check it after 5,10,15 mins...depending on the size of the breast

[@aliholliday8471]

Thanks for including temps and time. This is the part most beginners need more than anything else, myself included.

[@paulroueche7003]

Good tips.

[@WhitieMcWhite]

Chef Tom, love your videos and I'm always looking for new tips. I would add another important thing is to make sure your boneless chicken breast is a close to the same thickness as possible so it cooks evenly (You won't have one part overdone and the other part just right). This can be accomplished by either trimming it horizontally with a knife to the same thickness or put the chicken in a plastic zip lock bag with cooking oil and pound it flat. I also save leftover pickle juice that I would otherwise throw out and use it for a brine; adds a nice flavor. Thanks for the great videos.

[@CharlieSmithv2]

I would say this the single most important tip right here.

[@thecake60]

Great tips Chef Tom, so glad we never miss a video! You are obviously well trained, wondering where you trained? You are not the average BBQ Guy! We don't have your array of beautiful Grills, but we have adapted with our Weber and electric smoker, or gas oven if the weather is brutal! Thank you!

[@allthingsbbq]

Chef Tom Jackson is a Kansas native, born and raised in Wichita. In 2008 he and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon where he attended Oregon Culinary Institute. Tom studied both general culinary skills as well as baking and pastry while working as a cook in a variety of restaurants. After graduating from Oregon Culinary Institute he began working as a bread baker and pastry chef at the renowned Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Northwest Portland. He spent more than four years honing his skills under James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Ken Forkish. In that time he and his wife had their first child, and the draw of home and family grew stronger. Longtime friends of the Cary family, owners of All Things Barbecue, they returned to Kansas to help All Things Barbecue continue to excel in their cooking classes. Tom has been further developing and building cooking classes and private events at All Things Barbecue since March 2014.

[@thecake60]

@@allthingsbbq Thank You very much! Like I said, I knew there was a reason we SO enjoy your videos. We have learned so much!

[@realpdm]

One thing I learned long ago was to pre-heat the gas girll on high for 15 minutes to help clean off the grate before cooking. This served me well a long time but recently I got a higher end gas grill and well when I do that the thing gets to like 700F. It takes a good while for the grates to cool back off so I can cook chicken at that medium high temp. I burned many a chicken breast on this new grill before I figured this out. What is your startup procedure on these nicer gas grills you use?

[@theartist4557]

Temperature?

[@wheresthepizza]

This is fantastic. What do you do different for grilled chicken thighs?

[@mattgreyson6950]

Thank you ❤️

[@Putrid186]

The world needs to know this gospel. Keep preaching.

[@ericmontaephoto]

Chef Tom, do you close the grill or does it remain open during the entire cook?

[@jaleelbyars403]

Thanks for the vid

[@allthingsbbq]

You are welcome. Hope you will give this one a try.

[@wolfcreek1308]

Thanks mate

[@Matdog2010]

I bought this as my first propane grill. It's been a fun, learning experience kzbin.infoUgkxCx5fHawkK9OoV-ojFrY8JLnZrFwAmvUt . I think it's a bit too pricey after looking at other grills, but it wasn't hard to put together and it works really well. I love the side burner option for heating food during a power outage. I have an electric stove and live in the South (Hurricane season), so this was a bonus. I also bought a cover for it and it has protected it nicely (the Char Broil All-Season Grill Cover 3-4 Burner: Large). Every few grill sessions, I take the rack (or grate) and burner covers off and clean them with a non-abrasive scrubby and mild soap. I wipe the excess off of the bottom as well, taking care to avoid the gas and pilot lines.

[@MGR12272]

Beautiful Chicken

[@64pmo]

More gas grill techniques 💯

[@agoogleuser1035]

great video, sir. i do have a question to ask you. if i grill chicken and the breasts are thin and tenderized, how long would be an estimated time for grilling and how many degrees also? my concern is over cooking the chicken, since these i have are more thin sliced. any tips would be very helpful.

[@johnathanparker536]

You’re a good lad

[@D3DNS1D3]

Hey Chef Tom, hope you and your family are doing well

[@richardwelterii7311]

I'd like to request a cook on the Yoder Cheyenne!

[@AgentLight427]

I’m surprised I never see you doing a dry brine. Is it preference or do you find the wet brine is better?

[@jonboiii8706]

How hot r u getting your grill before putting chicken on? Do u let your chicken sit out a bit before cooking so it’s not too cold prior to grilling? If so how long?

[@jrizzle50]

Hey Chef, is there any part of this process that specifically prevents the leathery, tough outer layer to the breast? That’s something I’ve experienced and was curious as to what caused it. Bad chicken, too high of initial heat? Curious to your thoughts. Btw I just got my fireboard spark. Friggin love it. First test was a wagyu gold grade tri tip and the cook turned out exceptionally. We used the external probe and I monitored from inside the house and it worked flawlessly.

[@spankymcduff9683]

Your running too hot...by the time the insides are done you've over cooked the outside..

[@btownplayr]

does the 1/4 c salt + 1 qrt water brine differ depending on how many breasts one uses? Also, just imo, id love to see y'all use your own spice blends more often, once in awhile at least and list em out. Your channel is one of my fav's on the Tubes but not everyone can afford the prepacked branded spice mixes you use.

[@randalwarren109]

How long did you grill the chicken before you flipped it. And then how long after that

[@MrThrewblurryeyes]

So, he mentions two zones, but didn't specify which he used, or if he started on one (direct, until a nice sear -> then indirect until at/near temp?). Also, do we want the chicken brought to or close to room temp - or straight from the fridge? Thanks!

[@christchild37]

Dear Chef Tom, I like to marinate my chicken in Italian dressing or teriyaki sauce, but first, I'm wondering how long to marinate them, and second, how do I cook them after marinating them? I don't want to burn the outsides and have the inside raw still. Can you do a video about that as well? Thanks!

[@foucoult]

this video has a huge problem with grillin part. will it be closed or open , how long is generally necessary. just grill marks and flip and done ?

[@imtruth69]

Did you cook over the flame or no?

[@rgeorge9260]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but... Why did you set-up two zone cooking, when it appears you only grilled using the hot / on side of the gas grill? I was half expecting you to put grill marks on the chicken, using the hot side of the grill, and maybe finishing on the side of the grill that was turned off (closing the lid to make the grill work more like an oven). Thank you.

[@arthur_p_dent4282]

I was also a bit confused. The video was super informative, but the part where the actual chicken cooking happened could have been done a bit better. If I had to make an educated guess, id say you’re right. Start with high heat to get the grill marks, and use the other zone to finish off the cooking process?

[@swb3248]

@@arthur_p_dent4282yea why the 2 zones in this video?

[@MattiRemonen_Hki]

My question exactly the same. I wouldn’t mind to have a comment on this @allthingsbbq

[@gregorysabol4172]

Sear the breasts quickly and move off heat to finish. Check doneness with digital thermometer. Over-cooking on high makes for a tough and dry piece of chicken.

[@jeremylowe2309]

It’s a precaution. You never know how meat reacts. Always better to have a 2-zone fire if you need it.

[@mylesdeep1736]

Serious question here chef Tom. But if you were choosing the salt water brine as the way to go why would regular pre brined chicken in most supermarkets be a bad idea? I've had plenty of the "solution" brined chicken breast with nothing but the packaged brine and it was nowhere near to salty.

[@rdmenotte]

When you put the chicken on the grill, are you placing them on the direct or indirect side of the grill? You also mention the color is combination of opening and closing the lid. Can you expand on this?

[@phil29681]

I was going to post the same thing.

[@WhitieMcWhite]

Direct heat first to get color/grill marks then move the chicken to the indirect side to finish to the proper internal temp.

[@phil29681]

The point we were trying to make is that he was not clear on what he did. Folks not knowing how to grill may want to know.

[@doug_errickson]

Grill temps? Average times per side?

[@BeaverPelt66]

grill temp …place on high heat area or indirect?

[@bobbykimble6358]

Learned everything about grill chicken except what I am looking for.. what temp to make the grill? lol

[@lj9513]

Great video quality thank you!

[@allthingsbbq]

Thanks for watching!

[@jaredlamar]

what camera do you guys shoot on? your stuff looks really good! props to the production team

[@tommyroberts867]

Can you go overnight in the bucket, or is that to long?

[@klefdnb]

It would it be nice to have the temperatures told in real scales. The video is actually watched all over the world.

[@ericgeorgetruckgrilling]

I always buy bone in skin on chicken breast. Everyone knows that the bone and skin keeps it moist. The other thing I see is people tend to overcook them. Once I get them browned up I turn the heat down and use a rectangular cake on on top to create a lid.

[@crisworkizer]

Is there a link for the brine and brine accessories

[@allthingsbbq]

www.atbbq.com/thesauce/recipes/how-to-grill-chicken-breasts-gas-grill

[@calvinh208]

Recently I've been having trouble with bscb's having long chewy protein fibers. I think this comes from growing them too quick and the breed, but it seems like every grocer I try is getting the same birds. I would eat thighs almost exclusively anyway, but my wife is brainwashed by her clean and some eats recipes.

[@polaris911]

the brine doesn't make it too salty?

[@madeupname7226]

Can you do a gumbo recipe video?

[@jakemf1]

Very unclear how long of each side when to cook over direct vs indirect also what temp is the grill?

[@discgolfer1000]

Med Hi heat, drink a beer, flip, drink a beer, get the thermometer check until 155f-160f pull from grill, drink a beer and enjoy 😂

[@dave1927p]

No one says what the set grill to. This isn’t helpful at all as a result

[@mrskipdiggidy2725]

What chicken brand do you recommend?

[@jacobmcguire3089]

😂

[@Mikey196601]

The first words out of your mouth is the exact mistake I always make, I marinate my chicken breasts in Italian dressing

[@lx2nv]

Excellent video, I brine my breasts every time! And ALWAYS use my instant read for every piece of meat.

[@swb3248]

What is the minimum internal temperature that is still safe?

[@allthingsbbq]

Great question. The USDA says 165-degrees for white meat. To adhere to that you would grill to the high 150's/160 and then pull, foil tent and rest, the thermal inertia will carry the temp to approximately 165-degrees. Here is a quote from a well-known food blog - "Unsure what temperature your chicken should be so that it is safe to eat without being dry and overdone? The short answer for juicy, properly cooked chicken is 150 F for at least 3 minutes for white meat and 175 F for dark meat. Read on for more information about where these numbers come from and for tips and tricks for cooking the best chicken possible." In an internet search, you will notice that if a target internal temperature of 150 to 155 is suggested, that comes with a mandate to hold at that temp for a specified period of time. Thanks for watching.

[@joeyp978]

What’s medium high heat!!!!

[@adrieloth]

the thing i always miss is 1 part of the chicken breast is always thinner. in this video breasts look like they are kinda even throughout, but when i buy my breasts are just too thin on the one side. how should i cook it in this case? 1 part always gets either overcooked or undercooked(thick part in this case)

[@CharlieSmithv2]

I’ll eyeball the breast and determine whether I should cut the breast in half to create two thinner pieces (creating less of a size contrast) or throw them in a bag and Beat My Meat

[@MrMel4me]

You didn't say anything about how long this process takes... How many minutes per side... And your temperature was pretty vague medium to high that can mean a pretty big range.

[@bornatchula]

Would have been helpful to know how long to wait before the first flip

[@allthingsbbq]

The time depends on the grate temperature. The best answer is when the chicken lifts and releases from the grates. Thanks for watching!

[@jefferyneu3915]

That foes look like a perfect. I believe the FDA. Hanged their minimum cook temperature to 160 degrees.👍

[@turnemoveratstop]

Any other teenagers watching this bc their dad won’t teach them 😂

[@allthingsbbq]

If there are any cooking methods, techniques or recipes you would like to see in action, drop your request to [e-mail]. Thanks for watching!

[@KeatonAGarcia]

Not a teenager buuut didn’t have anyone to teach me and the best thing I learned was cook on lower heat than straight on a flame because you’ll burn so much food🥲 practice makes perfect but videos like this definitely help🫡

[@googleuser2795]

Watching this because my husband will be too tired tonight after work to grill our chicken for Alfredo pasta🥲😩

[@chrissulin7202]

What about a pellet grill?!

[@timr0by]

Chicken breast stays juicy up to about 180. No need to risk it to watch water run out on the first cut. I pull mine at 170 and have never had dry chicken breasts. Now 200+ yeah it turns to rubber.

[@AC-hj9tv]

Good to know 🔥

[@midgeta6864]

…Or you could sous vide cook it the the perfect temp/texture, ice bath for a minute and sear it on the same gas grill….

[@RawgerNorth]

Nothing was said about grill temperature or anything lol

[@pflick13]

All great tips. My first tip would be stick to thighs. 😆

[@thekermitcamper]

7 min summary. Check your temps!

[@escanor9743]

Great video, not a big deal, but you are cutting the chicken wrong, you are supposed to cut long ways, against the grain

[@allthingsbbq]

Thanks for the tip! And thanks for watching.

[@jernigan007]

I prefer thighs !

[@utatx]

This should be called, "better off cooking in a cast iron on your stovetop/oven."

[@sergejsstanevics3237]

where are tips and tehniques? :)

[@allthingsbbq]

www.atbbq.com/thesauce/tips-techniques/

[@tonybean5162]

The best way to not over cook any meat on a gas grill? Never use a gas grill!! Besides gas doesn’t add any flavor.

[@sic-n-tiredtired4273]

It would be nice if you did Bonin

[@allthingsbbq]

Request noted. Thanks for watching!

[@smithmorgan5674]

I think..... the chicken breast is a little bit overcooked

[@neverever1270]

Step 1: be a man and cook with charcoal