Moist Grilled Chicken

I have several embarrassing moments in my cooking career, but one that stands out vividly happened last summer when old friends came by for dinner. Grilled chicken breasts seemed like a good idea, so my kind husband fired up the grill and did the job of cooking the meat. I’ll never forget seeing that platter come to the table – it was as dry as the hot

summer day, and was a flavorful as the kabob stick on which it was grilled! I grabbed ketchup from the fridge and I think some Ranch dressing to try to rescue this pathetic meal. My guests were gracious, but I remember being mortified and also determined to never ever grill chicken for guests again.

But because I hate admitting defeat in the kitchen, guess what I did last week? I grilled chicken FOR GUESTS! I’m either dumb or stubborn, but I was determined to get it right! I’m happy to say, it was juicy and flavorful!!I wondered if anyone else struggles with chicken breasts on the grill, so after writing down exactly what I did, I decided to share my method on my blog.

I started by making a marinade. I put the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a Ziplock bag and sprinkled it with Chili lime seasoning and salt. Then I poured in lime juice – equivalent to about one lime. I tucked it into the fridge for the night.

The next day I butterflied the chicken breasts (see this video if you’re not sure how to do that!) so they wouldn’t take as long to cook. I fired up the grill to about a medium heat. I mixed up another marinade of a couple tablespoons of olive oil, lime juice and Chili Lime seasoning. As I cooked the chicken, I kept brushing them with the marinade. I cooked them until they were right at 165 degrees. Then I placed them on a plate and covered them with foil to keep in all the juices.

After they were cooled a bit, I sliced them into pieces. The meat was tender, moist and flavorful! I was so happy!!

I served the chicken with homemade tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, and cherry tomatoes. Yum. It’s a favorite meal at our house.

My menu:

• Homemade Grilled Tortillas with chicken
• Black Bean Dip and tortilla chips
• Corn Saute’
• Strawberry Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
• Frozen Lemonade Pie & Chocolate Cake Roll with Chocolate Sauce

Sometimes I struggle with a whole menu when having guests over, so when one works, I try to document it well so I can repeat it. This is one of those that will be recorded!

I hope my recipe/method helps anyone else who struggles with boneless chicken breasts being dry! Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!

What’s your embarrassing cooking story?