Why This Recipe Works

The perfect grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts are juicy, savory, and well browned and can be served as is or added to salads or sandwiches. We started by pounding them to a ½-inch thickness so that they cooked through evenly. Soaking the chicken for 30 minutes in a potent “brinerade” seasoned it and added moisture that helped keep it juicy during cooking; we spiked the salt water with just enough umami-rich fish sauce to add savory depth without any trace of fishiness, as well as honey that encouraged browning and balanced the salt. Coating the chicken in a little oil before grilling kept it from sticking to the grate, and cooking it over a hot fire ensured that it browned deeply.

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Before You Begin

Serve this chicken with a sauce (such as this Red Pepper–Almond Sauce), pair it with a vegetable, use it in sandwiches or tacos, or slice it and add it to a salad. This recipe can easily be doubled.

Instructions

Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound gently with meat pounder until ½ inch thick. Whisk water, fish sauce, honey, salt, and pepper together in bowl. Transfer mixture to 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Add chicken, press out air, seal bag, and turn bag so contents are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.

Remove chicken from brine, letting excess drip off (do not pat dry), then toss with oil in second bowl until evenly coated.

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken, skinned side down, on grill and cook (covered if using gas) until chicken develops dark grill marks, 3 to 5 minutes. Gently release chicken from cooking grate, flip, and continue to cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board and tent with aluminum foil. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.