Grilled bbq chicken breast are a protein packed, juicy way to start the summer grilling season with a little sweetness. This bbq sauce is easy to make with only 4 ingredients!
Imagine a summer go by without grilled chicken?
Grilling season is the best time of the year and these grilled bbq chicken breast need to be added to the agenda.
Tossed in a sweet, spicy apricot barbecue sauce these chicken breast cutlets will be a cookout or party favorite.
Everything about this recipe is made to be as easy to make as it is delicious. Lets dive in and I’ll show you exactly how it’s done, keep reading.
How To Make Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
Ingredients Needed
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Apricot preserves
- Garlic
- Honey
- Buffalo sauce
- Salt & black pepper
Quick tips before starting the recipe
- The size of the chicken breast only matter depending on how fast you want the recipe to cook. For these grilled bbq chicken breast I used thin chicken cutlets because they cook really fast at a high heat.
- Save the sauce for last. Do not add the sauce to the chicken before the chicken has had the chance to cook through.
- This recipe can be adopted to any chicken and taste better on chicken with skin like my grilled chicken wings recipe.
Cooking the grilled bbq chicken breast
- To start, you want to make the bbq sauce first. This way when the chicken is done you are reading to add the sauce and glaze the chicken breast.
- In a small pot, add in apricot preserve, honey and buffalo sauce on a medium low heat. Stir until everything has came together, well at least the honey is melted. Now, pour the sauce into a blender with the garlic and blend until a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Season the chicken breast with salt and black pepper.
- Light the grill and bring the grates up to temperature. At least 400ºF. When the grill is up to temp add the chicken. Do not crowd the chicken and do not close the lid to the grill.
- Cook each side about 5 minutes before flipping the chicken. Continue this rotation until the chicken has reached an internal temp of 165ºF.
- Then, brush the barbecue sauce across the chicken and grill the chicken with the sauce briefly. This will caramelized the sage to the chicken for the best flavor. Sauce both sides then remove from grill.
- You can brush the chicken or dip it then place back on the grill. Both are right. After cooking serve chicken immediately and enjoy.
How to store grilled chicken breast
In an airtight container with a lid or in something like aluminum foil or plastic wrap. The chicken will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator. to add, this is a great recipe to freeze for later.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you bbq chicken breast without drying it out?
There are several ways to do this but my biggest tool is a temperature probe. This is you best friend when it comes to cooking meat. You can monitor the meat and pull the chicken as it’s approaching it’s done temperature. This will guarantee you juicy chicken every time.
Another problem could be not bringing the chicken to room temp and also not having the heat high enough or too hot in some cases. You don’t want to grill ice cold chicken because the outside will cook while the inside is freezing.
When the temp is too high, you char the outside while the chicken is too thick for the heat to penetrate the center in time and not dry out the outside. Do not be hard on yourself you will make mistakes when learning.
When the temperature is too low, while the chicken is cooking it’s releasing all the moisture before it reaches the proper internal temp. Then when it finally gets there the chicken has dried itself out.
A last tip, soak the chicken in salt water before grilling. This will add some extra moisture similar to marinades or buttermilk.
In this grilled bbq chicken breast recipe I suggest you use thin cuts of chicken at a high temp with a meat probe to ensure you pull the chicken in time.
Do you put bbq sauce on chicken before grilling?
No, the sugars in the sauce will burn before the chicken is fully cooked. You always add the salt last. Another tip to avoid dry chicken is to let the chicken cook fully. Then, remove the chicken from the grill and allow it to rest 10 minutes. Then add the sauce and glaze the chicken quickly before serving.
What to serve with grilled bbq chicken breast?
Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup apricot preserves
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
- 3 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, add apricot preserves, honey and buffalo sauce. You're only heating the sauce up to melt the honey and the preserves. Once the sauce is smooth remove it from heat.
- Then, add the sauce into a blender with garlic cloves. Blend the sauce until smooth and creamy.Â
- About an hour before grilling, remove the chicken breast so they can come to room temp. I recommend thinly sliced breast but any cutlets will work and you can always cut them thinly. Season chicken with salt and black pepper
- Fire up the grill, you want to bring the grates to 400ºF
- Once the grill is hot add chicken. Flip every 5 minutes until you reach an internal temp of 165°F. Then remove from the grill and allow chicken to rest 10 minutes. During the rest, brush or dip the chicken with the sauce.
- Now take the glazed chicken back outside to the grill and caramelized the sauce to the chicken. Once finished, serve.