Chicken is a common grilling mistake. It ends up burnt outside and raw inside, or cooked through but dry as cardboard. Both problems are avoidable with the right technique.
The Core Problem: Uneven Thickness
Chicken breasts are thick in the middle and thin at the edges. By the time the center reaches a safe temperature, the edges are overcooked. The fix is to pound breasts to an even thickness before grilling, or butterfly them (practical advice). Thighs, which are more forgiving, are a better choice for beginners.
Brining Makes a Real Difference
A simple brine of 1 tablespoon of salt per cup of water, applied for 30 minutes to 2 hours, pulls moisture into the meat and seasons it throughout (practical advice). Even a quick dry brine — salting the chicken and letting it rest uncovered in the refrigerator for an hour — can help the meat stay juicy.
Two-Zone Grilling for Chicken
Practical advice: set up a two-zone fire. Start chicken pieces skin-side down over indirect heat to render the fat and avoid flare-ups. When the chicken is nearly cooked through, move it briefly to direct heat for a few minutes to crisp the skin.
Safe Internal Temperatures
The USDA Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart gives 165°F (74°C) as the minimum for chicken and other poultry, including thighs. Practical advice: check the thickest part of the meat without touching bone.
Many cooks take thighs past the 165°F minimum for texture (practical advice). That is a texture choice, not a separate safety rule.
Avoiding Flare-Ups
Practical advice:
- Trim excess fat from thighs before grilling
- Keep a spray bottle of water on hand for small flare-ups
- Never grill skin-on chicken directly over high heat from the start
- Move pieces to indirect if flames get out of control
Patience and a thermometer are the two tools that separate dry, charred chicken from something genuinely worth eating.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Temperature Chart, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart (reproduced by the Virginia Department of Health: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/content/uploads/sites/6/2023/07/Cook_to_a_Safe_Minimum_Internal_Temperature.pdf). The FSIS page returned HTTP 403 to the fetch tool; the figures were confirmed from the VDH reproduction (last reviewed December 16, 2022). Checked 2026-10-08.