Please, please tell me how you do it... I'm not a chef by no means but I think that most everything I cook comes out pretty well. And then there comes the grilled chicken For one, I always over cook it for some reason. I also can never get it tender even if I marinade it for a day. I used a marinade yesterday that consists of olive oil, lemon juice, liquid smoke, etc and it smelled so good. I just knew the chicken would come out juicy and full of flavor. WRONG!! It was DRY, DRY, DRY!!! If any of you have a favorite recipe for grilling out chicken, please share with me. I'm on a mission now and I won't rest until I get it right. Thanks so much guys.........

My fav recipe is simple... use a bottle of Zesty Italian to marinate the chicken. YUM... As far as grilling, I was having that problem, so I googled it last year and found a tutorial
http://www.howtodothings.com/food-and-drink/a3611-how-to-grill-chicken.html
Also, I'm not sure where you live, but around here, THE most popular chicken is Chiavetta's... http://www.chiavettas.com/products.php3
maybe you can order a bottle and try it? Good luck!

I think you answered you own question, if you are ending up with a dry chicken its cause you are over cooking it.

When grilling (i use gas) chicken i turn the heat down low and don't rush it, i also, keep an extra piece on the grill that i can check with a knife.

Thanks so much guys. I've always grilled skinless chicken and I'm wondering if maybe that contributes to the moisture loss also. Do you grill chicken with or without the skin? Thanks again...

without skin, but I always brush the grill with oil so the chicken doesn't stick...

A couple things:

1. Trim off any visible fat and any visible tendon (usually only there if the "tender" is still attached). If they are the jumbo huge breasts, cut in half horizontally to produce 2 cutlets.

2. Get yourself a heavy duty meat mallet, so you can pound the chicken breasts to thinner cutlets. Put the chicken in a storage bag, and whack at it for a couple minutes until you have a uniform cutlet. This does three things - it tenderizes the chicken; it produces a thin cutlet that cooks quickly, and it produces a cutlet that is uniform in thickness to cook evenly.

3. Marinate the chicken breasts overnight/about 24 hours, and up to 2 days. Put them in a ziploc bag, add enough marinade to coat the chicken well, and put it on a cookie sheet in case the bag leaks. Spread the chicken out as evenly as possible, and shake and flip the bag over a couple times when you remember to. (Incidentally, you can make a whole BUNCH of chicken like this, then freeze in the marinade - that way you can just thaw and throw on the grill).

4. Monitor the grill carefully - because they're thinner, uniform cutlets, they'll grill pretty quickly. Don't cook on higher than medium until you get the hang of it; no higher than medium high when you know what you're doing. If you're brave, use the "poke" test - I can tell how cooked they are by how firm they are. Alternatively you can use an instant-read thermometer, or cut open a little bit.

I do chicken like this all the time and it always comes out flavorful and tender.

I live in an apartment, so I don't grill outdoors...besides it's too hot and I'm too lazy...and around here, if you turn your back on it for a second someone will steal your meat. But I have found that the Foreman grill makes perfect, moist, tender grilled chicken. You even get the little stripes on it It doesn't matter very much how you marinate it either, and you can use liquid smoke to give it that outdoors grill taste.

Just grill it over a VERY low heat. My ex-boyfriend was a fantastic chicken griller (the ONLY thing I miss about him) but it would take him an hour to grill a chicken breast. However, that was the most tender, moist chicken ever - I actually used to get tired of "perfect" chicken. LOL

Cooked to long. Get your grill good, and hot. Turn down the grill on one side, or how ever it's layed out. Put the chicken on. Get the tongs out. When you can lift it off that side is done. flip, and repeat.

Keep in mind marinating break done the cell walls. You don't want to M chicken to long.

When your ready for ribs let me know. WoooHoooo

Mike

yuuuuuummmmmm, now I'm in the mood for ribs Thanks so much everyone. Got some great suggestions here and I appreciate them all soooooo much. Gonna give it a shot again next week and see what happens. I'm gonna master grilling out chicken even if it takes all summer to do it. Once I do, I'm gonna pm Mike and see how he does the ribs

Ohh I wanna be in on the rib recipe!!!!! YUMMMY

Honestly, cook on a low to medium heat at turn only once (just like steak).
Save yourself a huge hassle and get yourself a thermometor. Put in on a slight angle in the thickest part of the chicken. It should reach 165 degrees and hold for at least 5-10 seconds at that temp. This means the chicken is completely done. If you are worried about part of the chicken being thinner which would make it cook faster in that section you can always tuck it under to make the chicken breast the same thickness or pound the chicken out to were it is the same thickness before hand (this is what I do whenever I cook chicken)

I grill a lot!!! meat, fish, veggies, fruit, bread, pizza. I love grilling! Invest a few bucks for a thermometor and you won't regret it at all. They are usually around $5 - $6 I have about 6 of them that I use so if I get to busy to run in and wash it off after checking the first time (if the foods not done) I have another on hand.

If you need help calibrating it just pm me and I'll tell you how. It's not hard at all.

This sounds crazy, but it's so good and soooo easy. We use bone-in chicken, and we boil it first to precook it. We usually boil it in beer. That way all you have to do is crisp up the chicken on the grill to get the smokey flavor. If you boil it first it stays nice and juicey, and you don't have to worry about raw chicken, or burnt chicken. After it's done grilling I sometimes toss it in equal parts melted butter and franks red hot. Add more or less hot sauce depending on taste, and you have the most delicious buffalo chicken.

This sounds crazy, but it's so good and soooo easy. We use bone-in chicken, and we boil it first to precook it. We usually boil it in beer. That way all you have to do is crisp up the chicken on the grill to get the smokey flavor. If you boil it first it stays nice and juicey, and you don't have to worry about raw chicken, or burnt chicken. After it's done grilling I sometimes toss it in equal parts melted butter and franks red hot. Add more or less hot sauce depending on taste, and you have the most delicious buffalo chicken.

Just wanted to add that soaking your chicken in buttermilk overnight is a great way to add moisture without adding fat.
It doesn't really add flavor but it's very moist and tender!

Jodie