Bone-in chicken breasts, marinated overnight or up to 24 hours, in a brown sugar and apple juice or cider-based brine, then flame grilled.
Apple Brined Grilled Chicken
Y'all. Summer is coming to an end soon and I am not unhappy about it.
While I know many of you, including some of my very good friends who also live down south, and those of you who live in cold climates especially, y'all do love the heat of summer. I don't. And, it gets HOT in the Deep South. Fall can't come quick enough!
It also seems the grandkids just got out of school and there they were right back to it! We didn't really get to see them a whole lot because their summers are always as busy as the school year, filled with camp and activities and frankly nothing has really been "back to normal" anyway.
Do you wonder, like me, if it ever will?
Even though as we speak, it's September and Labor Day weekend - the unofficial end of summer - grilling season goes on down here for a long time. At least it goes on if you can stand the heat outside to stand perched over a grill, because here in the Deep South, we don't get a hint of fall very often until November!
Beside that, no matter the season, grilling, of some kind, has been made easier - thank goodness - with multipurpose appliances that are also indoor grills like the Ninja Foodi that I use more often these days than my outside gas grill or even the pellet smoker.
The chicken pictured here was a package of extra-large, bone-in chicken breasts with ribs and were done on my outdoor, gas grill. I don't know what it is, but I do love that direct grilling, flame broiled char that you can only get over fire, even though "they" say that's not particularly good for us. I. Don't. Care.
Apple Brined Grilled Chicken, pictured here with my Pulled Pork Piggy Mac and Cheese, Classic Southern-Style Baked Beans and BLT Salad.
Here's how to make my Apple Brined Grilled Chicken.
As always, full recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, are a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step-by-step pictures below.Today, I'm using an apple juice based brine with brown sugar, salt, black and red pepper. You can use apple cider as well.
Whisk the brine ingredients together.
Place the chicken breasts in a zippered bag and pour the mixture over the top.
Zip the bag up tightly, place the bag into a bowl and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
My apologies, I missed photographing the grilling process. It happens all the time! But, when you're ready to grill, preheat the full grill surface to 400 degrees F. and grill chicken as noted in the instructions below. Basically, I start off with a quick sear over direct heat, then turn off half the grill and let the chicken continue to cook over the indirect side.
Generally, this will be about 45 minutes start to finish, but it really depends on what cut of chicken you are using and the size of the pieces. Cook until juices run clear and chicken reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.
Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Although I picture one full breast on a plate for the purposes of photography, these large breasts are easily cut away from the bones and sliced up for multiple servings.
Dig in y'all!
Also pictured:
- Piggy Mac Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese
- Classic Southern-Style Baked Beans
- Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato "BLT" Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
Unable to view the printable below on your device? Tap/click here.
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