Brined & Grilled Perfect Chicken Breasts with Quick Buffalo Hot Sauce Glaze
Jul 02, 2024, Updated Nov 02, 2024
It’s GRILLING SEASON! An Easy Brine Produces Tender and Succulent Chicken with A Zesty Buffalo Hot Sauce Glaze
Brined Chicken creates a juicy, succulent chicken! It’s EASY and takes only 30 minutes!
Simply grill chicken (that has been brushed with oil & smoky paprika or chiles) – then pour over the 5 minute Buffalo Hot Sauce Glaze – a delectable, sweet-savory flavor!
Take a closer look!
Buffalo Glaze is so simple to make, with dots of garlic – zip from hot sauce – sweetness from honey – flavor from the browned butter.
Pour over the chicken off the grill and enjoy! Extra on the side for dipping.
Why Brine? And How to Do It:
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A brine will ensure juicy chicken!
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By brining your chicken first, the chicken’s juices will get locked into the meat during the cooking process, keeping it moist and flavorful all the way through. (Chicken is a lean meat and can easily dry out.)
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A brine starts breaking down the meat or chicken’s protein and tenderizes. Brined meat tends to cook a little faster.
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Chicken can lose their wonderful texture if you brine them too long. 30 minutes produces a lightly salted flavor.
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Adding seasoning, infuses some flavor into your chicken.
Here’s How:
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Dissolve Kosher salt and sugar in a small amount of boiling water, stir to dissolve. Add remaining water and aromatics and cool.
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Add the chicken breasts, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (no more than 45 minutes.)
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Remove chicken, discard brine and pat the chicken dry. Continue with the recipe: Grilling Chicken & Quick Buffalo Hot Sauce Glaze.
Extra flavor with Browning the Butter!
Then add to the skillet: minced garlic, raw honey, hot sauce and a few pinches of sea salt. Glaze will thicken at room temperature.
Is Air Cooled Chicken Better? What is it?
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Sure it is. Is it worth the price? That’s a whole different question, and largely depends on your budget unless you happen to raise your own chickens or know someone that does.
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Most Poultry indicates on the package: 2% to 10% retained water. Poultry is not injected with water, but some water is absorbed during cooling in a “chill-tank,” a large vat of cold, moving water.
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During this water chilling process, poultry will absorb some of the water, and this amount must be prominently declared on the label. I feel is is absolutely fine for most dishes (especially when brining!)
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Good to know: Air-chilled is more expensive both because of marketing and because air chilling is more resource intensive. Because water-chilled adds water weight that inflates the weight as opposed to the higher price per pound of air-chilled chicken, water retained chicken: you are paying for the water weight.
I ALSO LOVE this recipe… Chicken is marinated (contains some salt) and cooks up beautifully:
Karen’s Lemon-Oregano Marinade ~ with Perfect Grilled Chicken (recipe)
Other GRILLING RECIPES I LOVE:
Lettuce Wrapped Chicken Burger with Zesty Ranch
Smoked Vinegar Mop and Sauce with Onion and Garlic – Great with Grilled Chicken
Grilled Romaine Lettuce with Corn, Green Bean & Tomato Salad
Grilled Corn in the Husk with Tomato-Basil Butter
Karen’s Spanish-Style Grilled Bread with Tomato
I hope you enjoy this delicious chicken recipe and the summer season!
Karen
Available Now ~ Check out my Farmers’ Market Jute Bag! It is designed by me with a zesty-flair and Fair Trade.
IT’S FARMERS’ MARKET SEASON!
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Brined & Grilled Perfect Chicken Breasts with Quick Buffalo Hot Sauce Glaze
It's GRILLING SEASON! An Easy Brine Produces Tender and Succulent Chicken with A Zesty Buffalo Hot Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken & Brine:
- 2.25 pounds chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), 4 large; trimmed
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt, I use Diamond Crystal
- 1 teaspoon pure cane sugar
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 3 medium bay leaves, broken in half
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
- 2 teaspoons neutral oil, (for grilling)
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika , (for grilling)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
Buffalo Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, I use organic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, peeled, minced
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 1/4 cup hot sauce*, choose mild or hot
- few pinches sea salt
Instructions
Brine:
- Boil 2 tablespoons water. Add to a one cup pyrex measuring cup. Add the 2 T. salt and 1 t. sugar; mix well with a fork until dissolved. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups cool water with the peppercorns, bay leaves and grated garlic; stir. Cool.
- When the brine has cooled add the trimmed chicken breasts and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (no more than 45 minutes.) Make Buffalo Glaze while chicken brines.
- Remove chicken from brine, discard brine. Pat chicken dry and add to a plate. Add 2 teaspoons of oil and 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, rub in.
Grilling the Chicken:
- Heat grill to 375 degrees. Add wood chips if you have that feature. When hot, add chicken breasts and turn heat down to 350 degrees. When golden on first side, turn over with tongs and cook the second side until just cooked through - check with a meat thermometer to 160 degrees (will continue to cook to 165.)
- Remove to a plate. Spoon over half of the Buffalo Glaze and save the remainder for dipping. Top with thyme leaves and enjoy. Sprinkle with chili flakes if you like spicier.
Buffalo Glaze:
- Heat butter in a 6 - 8" skillet over medium heat. Butter will start to color and become golden - swirl pan and cook until lightly browned - remove from heat.
- Let cool 5 minutes, then add the garlic and swirl. Add the honey, hot sauce and sea salt, mix with a spoon. Sauce will thicken as it cools on the counter.
Notes
Hot Sauce: I used my Karen’s Mild Gochujang Mild Hot Sauce made with Gochugaru Chili Flakes.
This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
Nutrition
Calories: 402kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 55gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 178mgSodium: 476mgPotassium: 992mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 382IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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