Make The BEST Grilled Chicken On Your Pellet Smoker!
Weeknight Grilling Without the Babysitting
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Introduction
Juicy Grilled Chicken Breasts on the Yoder
What's up BBQ fans! I've done countless videos on smoking meat, but today we're talking about grilling on your pellet grill. This is something I do throughout the week, and it's one of my favorite features of a pellet grill: juicy, delicious chicken breasts with some color on the outside, and no babysitting.
Prep the Grill
I have the stainless steel grate upgrade on my Yoder YS640s. If you have the stock wire grates, that's totally okay. They actually work better for this, because the stainless grates are a little more insulated.
Clean your grates. Scrape the bottom, flip them over and scrape the top. Buildup insulates the grates, and you won't get the sear you're looking for.
Clean out the firebox, then fire it up.
Set it to 550°F with stainless grates, since they absorb some heat. With stock grates, 475°F works perfectly. Hotter is fine.
Preheat for a good 10 to 15 minutes after it hits temp. We want to take advantage of that heat to get a sear.
For pellets, I used Bear Mountain Mesquite. For high-temp grilling, I like a heavier pellet. It's a really clean fire, so you won't get a ton of smoke flavor, but every little bit helps.
Marinate Longer Than the Bottle Says
Chicken is a blank canvas. Most store-bought marinades say 15 minutes. I like at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. These went about 16 hours in a zesty Italian marinade, and the result is great flavor, tender chicken and juicy chicken, provided you cook it right.
Cover the chicken, then jab it with a fork on both sides to push the marinade inside.
Halfway through, flip it if you remember, so every side gets seasoned.
If your packet marinade calls for oil, use avocado oil, not olive oil. People grill at 400 to 600°F with olive oil all the time, and at that point you're burning it. It won't taste good.
Pro tip: keep the chicken in the fridge until the second it goes on the grill. Ice-cold chicken gives the outside time to build a crust before the inside overcooks. If it sits on the counter, it cooks faster and you won't get the color.
The Cook
Put the breasts directly over the firebox. On the Yoder, the back half of the firebox is the hottest spot. If your firebox is in the middle, go right in the middle.
Presentation side down. That's the longest side.
Leave it alone for 10 minutes. That's what I love about a pellet grill: super high heat with no direct flame, so you don't have to babysit it.
Flip. After 10 minutes, I had great color and a nice crust.
Start checking temps. Big grocery store breasts can usually go 10 minutes per side. Mine were smaller, so I planned to check at 5 minutes, and at 3 minutes they were already done.
Pull at 150°F. The secret to juicy chicken is not overcooking it.
Rest It on a Rack
I rest the chicken on a rack, not a plate. I do this with steaks too. As a plate warms up, it pulls moisture out of the meat. Loosely tent it with foil and rest it for 10 minutes.
Taste Test
After the rest, there was barely any juice on the plate, and I drizzled what was there back over the top. Slicing into it, the chicken was so tender it fell apart before I got to the bottom, and you can see the moisture in there. With the overnight marinade, it was absolutely delicious.
Final Thoughts
Clean grates, a hot preheat, cold chicken, a long marinade and pulling at 150°F. That's how you make amazing grilled chicken breasts on a pellet grill on a weeknight, without standing over the grill.
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Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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