How to Grill Chicken

While there are whole schools of thought on grilling steak, chicken is actually the most popular meat to grill. And whether you are grilling Thomas Keller's whole chicken, Sheldon Simeon's wings, Anita Lo's chicken breasts, or Bricia Lopez's Yucatán-style chicken thighs, you want to do it well.

According to many chefs, chicken is actually much harder to cook than steak. "Chicken is one of the most unforgiving types of meat," says Jon Sloan, culinary director at Crack Shack. "Unlike beef, it doesn't have any connective tissue or fat collagen, with the exception of the thigh."

Because of chicken's lower fat content, you have to nail the cooking times and technique exactly or else you'll end up with dry, stringy meat. Chicken needs to be fully cooked to 165 degrees due to salmonella concerns, unlike steak, which can be finished rare. This can make it harder to get a juicy piece of chicken, says Angelo Auriana, chef at BRERA Ristorante in Los Angeles, but he notes that you just need to remember a few things. Here are some tips Auriana and other pros suggest when it comes to purchasing and cooking chicken.

Buy fresh (not frozen) meat when possible

We're going for juicy chicken, and juiciness comes from locking in water content. When chicken, or any meat, is previously frozen, it can dry out from that process. Look for the "fresh, never frozen" label on packaged chicken. But sometimes you can't even trust that, says James Wilschke, sous chef at Middle Eastern restaurant Bavel in Los Angeles.

"I'm sure there are grocery stores that are overstocked on product, and if they don't want the chicken to spoil, they might freeze it to extend its life," he says. He recommends checking with your butcher at the meat case just to be safe.

Avoid chicken that is brine-injected or has added water

This may seem like a paradox, because we just said that water is important for juicy chicken, but brine-injected chicken can actually have compromised texture and flavor, because industrial brining helps mask deficiencies in both. It's much better to purchase a higher-quality chicken if your budget allows.

Sloan also recommends staying away from chicken with added dyes. "I think it's important to use chickens with non-GMO feed and that are pasture-raised," he says. "'Free-range' is meaningless. The diet is what gives the chicken a certain taste and texture."

Pick the right cut — and don't be afraid of skin and bones

Boneless chicken breasts may be the least intimidating cut for new cooks, but they dry out easily.

"The breast is one of the most difficult [cuts] to cook," Sloan says. Chef Aaron Robins of Boneyard Bistro in Los Angeles agrees. "Thighs will come out the best," he says.

Even though cooking chicken breasts may seem more straightforward than chicken legs or bone-in thighs — which take longer to cook and are asymmetrical, potentially complicating the cooking process — the latter cuts are actually more forgiving. You can vary the cooking time by a minute or two on a bone-in thigh and still end up with a pretty juicy piece of meat. Craig Hopson, executive chef at The Strand House in Los Angeles, agrees that chicken thighs are best for newbie cooks. "They're the least likely to dry out, and they're also the most flavorful cuts on their own," he says.

Chefs agree that bone-in chicken thighs and legs are some of the best cuts to grill, because the bone helps the meat retain moisture. "There's fat in the bone that's going to melt and keep the meat moist, and it'll also provide a lot more flavor," Wilschke notes. Keeping the skin on the meat helps keep it moist; as the skin chars its fat melts into the meat.

But if you prefer chicken breasts, Wilschke suggests butterflying them. The technique, which refers to splitting open a piece of meat horizontally and then opening it like a book, creates an even thickness for a breast that's otherwise wedge-shaped, which makes for even cooking. Alternatively, you can use a meat mallet to even out the meat; start at the fattest part of the muscle and work your way towards the edge.

Brine it

This one is super important. Brining is one step most chefs do but a lot of home cooks skip, according to Wilschke. "It's basically soaking the meat in a solution of salt water and sometimes sugar, sometimes herbs," he says. "It's not only going to season the meat inside and out, it's going to help the meat retain moisture when you cook it."

Sloan agrees on the virtues of brining. "Chicken is extremely easy to overcook, which is one of the reasons we brine all of our chicken," he says. "We do this for two reasons: to maintain moisture, and so it cooks evenly."

Besides seasoning the meat to the bone — versus just a surface sprinkle of salt — brining also helps denature the proteins in the muscle. This makes it more tender. For all these reasons, you want to brine your chicken for at least two to three hours, Wilschke notes. If you're brining a whole chicken, he suggests soaking it for five to eight hours.

Air-dry the meat in the fridge

This step sounds kind of contradictory. We want juicy meat, right? So why do we dry it and take moisture out of it? Well, we want the inside to be juicy, but we want that lovely caramelized crust on the outside — and we can get both when we brine first, and then dry it.

"People want to get really crispy meat, and the general rule of cooking is moisture is the enemy of caramelization," Wilschke says. "When you want to get meat crispy, you want the skin as dry as possible."

He advises removing the meat from the package and air-drying it fridge for at least four hours. Pat it down with a clean paper towel to soak up any remaining moisture.

"You can even have it air-dry in your refrigerator for a day or two if you want," he says. "That's a trick for my fried chicken. I'll bread the chicken the night before, and the flour soaks up a lot of that moisture from the meat, which allows for a crispier crust."

Take the chill off the meat

Just as when you are cooking steak, you don't want to start with an ice-cold piece of meat fresh out of the fridge; this can lead to overcooking and uneven cooking.

"A lot of chefs will temper their meat," Wilschke says, explaining that it's just a matter of letting it come to room temperature over an extended period of time. While Robins recommends taking it out of the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before cooking, Wilschke advocates for longer, as long as a couple of hours. Just make sure to give it another pat dry with a paper towel before you put it on the grill.

Let it rest

When it's finished cooking, just like a good steak, chicken needs to rest. "Once you've hit 165 degrees, stop the heat and let it rest for few minutes before cutting, so the juices redistribute themselves back through the meat," Robins says. This process allows for the collagen to thicken the juices, resulting in the moistest possible piece of meat.