Perfect Grilled Chicken Breasts

Okay, so for Mother's Day (yes, it has been a long time since I've posted, please forgive me) I made grilled herbed chicken breasts with a lemon basil butter sauce. I always worry about grilling boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they dry out so quickly. So I tried brining them this time. Now I know many people have touted the benefits of brining but honestly I associated it with whole turkeys and whole chickens, not with skinless parts. But I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.

I brined six breasts in a quart of water mixed with a quarter cup each of kosher salt and sugar. Mix the brine mixture until the sugar and salt dissolve. Put the breasts in and refrigerate. You want to brine them for only about an hour, no more than two. If you brine small pieces like this longer than that you will make them too salty.

Once you remove them from the brine, brush them with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, black pepper, crushed red pepper and herbs (I used parsley, basil and thyme from my garden) and grill over medium high heat for five to six minutes per side (check their temperature with a meat thermometer to be sure, you want chicken to reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees).

These were fantastic. The chicken was so moist, even after grilling. They were flavorful both inside and out. I put goat cheese and lemon basil butter sauce on them, but honestly, it was gilding the lily. (Of course, I never met a lily that couldn't use a little gilding!) Try brining the next time you grill chicken breasts, I think you will be impressed with the flavor.

Lemon Basil Butter Sauce (I like it on chicken, but my brother uses it on steak as well)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1Tbsp. minced shallot
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. white wine
1/4 c. lemon juice
6 Tbsp. cold butter, sliced
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. white pepper*
1/2 tsp. salt*

Saute shallots and garlic in 2 Tbsp, butter in a small sauce pan over medioum heat until tender. Stir in the white wine and lemon juice, increase the heat to meduim high and bring to a simmer. Simmer until reduced by half. Remove the saucepan and add the cold butter, a pat at a time, stirring until completely incorporated after each addition. Stir in basil; salt and pepper to taste.

* I use salted butter for this recipe so I omit the salt. I also use black pepper since I'm not concerned about the color of the sauce so feel free to use whatever you have on hand.