The Technique That Ensures Your BBQ Chicken Doesn't Dry Out

Perfect barbecue chicken should be juicy and tender, with the right amount of char. But while it's simple to prepare, chicken — especially chicken breast — is also easy to overcook. Of course, undercooked chicken is not something to mess with, so it's understandable that it might get left on the grill too long or cooked at too high a temperature. To deliver the yummiest, most flavorful barbecue chicken, avoid the mistakes everyone makes with chicken on the grill and follow some pro tips for grilling chicken breast without drying it out, including using a two-zone grilling technique.

Rich Parente, chef and owner of Clock Tower Grill in Brewster, New York, gave Chowhound exclusive advice on how to cook juicy barbecue chicken. He says, "To make sure barbecue chicken doesn't dry out, use the two-zone fire method on the grill. Cook it first on the hot side of the grill to develop a tasty sear, and then finish cooking it gently on the less hot side of the grill until the meat reaches 155 degrees Fahrenheit [internally] for chicken breast or 175 degrees Fahrenheit for the leg and thigh. Then let the chicken rest for a few minutes and enjoy."

Two-zone grilling is a smart hack that will change the way you grill forever. This method features direct and indirect heat to cook your food. The direct heat zone involves cooking directly above the flames and is ideal for providing a quick sear on your meat. Meanwhile, the indirect heat zone can be found on the part of the grill without flames where it still provides enough heat to cook your food. 

After achieving a tasty sear on your chicken, slowly cooking over indirect heat results in juicier, more tender chicken. Two-zone grilling is often done using charcoal grills since the charcoal can be positioned on one side of the grill. However, you can also employ this method on a gas grill as long as it has two burners. 

According to USDA guidelines, chicken should be cooked internally to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. (You can verify this with a digital device like the ThermoPro Digital Meat Thermometer.) If you pull your chicken breast from the grill just before it reaches the proper temperature, as chef Rich Parente recommends, it will come to temperature as it rests. You may want to keep the chicken warm as it continues to cook while resting by tenting it with foil for five or so minutes.