Boneless chicken breasts marinated in a brine made with sea salt, sugar, fresh thyme, lemon juice and zest; then grilled is super juicy.
Grilling season has officially arrived here in NJ. Well at least at our house since we don’t like to use the outside grill unless it’s above 50 degrees.
I couldn’t wait to try out some new grilled chicken recipes. The first one I experimented with was a basic brine marinade like I’ve used in the past on pork, and came up with this Lemon Thyme Brined Grilled Chicken.
I’ve said it before that brining makes your meat incredibly moist and this recipe was no exception. I especially like to use a brine when grilling since I tend to overcook chicken on the grill.
How do you make Lemon Thyme Brined Grilled Chicken?
For this recipe you’ll need boneless chicken breasts, water, granulated sugar, sea salt, a lemon and fresh thyme. Combine the water, sugar, salt, lemon zest and juice and fresh thyme in a bowl and whisk together.
Add the chicken to a resealable plastic bag; then add in the liquid. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken from the refrigerator 15 minutes prior to grilling, discard the liquid and grill the chicken to the proper internal temperature (minimum 165 degrees).
This Lemon Thyme Brined Chicken was so light, flavorful and super juicy. Because a brine is made with salt, I don’t recommend marinating it for more than 8 hours.
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Ingredients
- 4- (4-ounce) boneless chicken breasts
- 3/4 cups cold water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (removed from stem)
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar, salt, lemon zest and juice and fresh thyme in a bowl and whisk together.
- Add the chicken to a resealable plastic bag; then add in the liquid. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 4 hours (no more than 8 hours)
- Remove chicken from the refrigerator 15 minutes prior to grilling, discard the liquid and grill the chicken to the proper internal temperature (minimum 165 degrees F).
Carrie,
Your chicken looks great! Before he left, my spouse set me up with a large propane tank, so I intend to get my grill on this summer. At least a little bit! I tend to over or under cook things, so I’m glad to learn this brining trick.
Thanks!
It definitely helps. I used to overcook everything on the grill, but have gotten much better at it over the last few years.