Master Recipe

Charcoal-Grilled Bone-In Chicken Breasts

serves four

NOTE: If the fire flares because of dripping fat or a gust of wind, move the chicken to the area of the grill without coals until the flames die down. Brining improves the chicken's flavor, but if you're short on time, skip step 1 and season the chicken generously with salt as well as pepper before cooking. Add flavorings before or during cooking: Rub the chicken parts with a spice rub or paste before they go on the grill, or brush them with barbecue sauce during the final 2 minutes of cooking.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Dissolve salt and sugar in 1 quart cold water in gallon-sized, zipper-lock plastic bag. Add chicken; press out as much air as possible from bag and seal; refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1¹/₂ hours.

2. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal and allow to burn until charcoal is covered with layer of fine gray ash. Build a two-level fire by stacking all coals on one side of grill (see figure 4). Set cooking rack in place, cover grill with lid, and let rack heat up, about 5 minutes. Use wire brush to scrape clean cooking rack.

3. Meanwhile, remove chicken from brine, rinse well, dry thoroughly with paper towels, and season with pepper to taste or with one of the spice rubs or pastes.

4. Cook chicken, uncovered, over hotter part of grill until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move chicken to cooler part of grill and cover with disposable aluminum roasting pan; continue to cook, skin-side up, for 10 minutes. Turn and cook for 5 minutes more or until done. To test for doneness, either peek into thickest part of chicken with tip of small knife (you should see no redness near the bone) or check internal temperature at thickest part with instant-read thermometer, which should register 160 degrees. Transfer to serving platter. Serve hot or at room temperature.

VARIATIONS:

Gas-Grilled Bone-In Chicken Breasts

With the lid down on a gas grill, there's no need to cook the chicken under a disposable roasting pan.

Follow master recipe, preheating grill with all burners set to high and lid down until grill is very hot, about 15 minutes. Use wire brush to scrape clean cooking grate. Leave one burner on high and turn other burner(s) down to medium-low. Cook chicken, covered, over hotter part of grill until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move chicken to cooler part of the grill; continue to cook, covered, as directed in master recipe.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Barbecue Sauce

Any homemade or store-bought tomato-based barbecue sauce will taste great on grilled chicken. Coat the chicken with the barbecue sauce once it is nearly done to prevent the sugars in the sauce from burning. Plan on using about ¹/₂ cup of barbecue sauce to coat four split breasts, more if you serve barbecue sauce at the table.

Follow master recipe, making the following changes: About 2 minutes before breasts will be done, brush some barbecue sauce on breasts, turn, and cook for 1 minute. Brush with more sauce, turn, and cook another minute or so. Transfer chicken to serving platter, brush with additional sauce to taste, and serve, with more sauce passed at table if desired.