Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I use many marinades. Asian, italian, mexican, there are all kinds of things to marinade the boneless breast in. The problem I think your having is cooking/grilling them at too high a temp for too long. You sear the meat, then you let it finish so the center is about 164 degrees F or thereabouts.
When it reaches this temp yank it off the grill. Go get a meat thermometer and your chicken will improve.

If I was given a boneless, skinless chicken breast, I think I might do a quick stir fry with lots of flavorful veggies. After marinating it.

Or pound it thin, give it a little dust of flour and spices and do a quick fry.

You could do these things on a cast iron skillet, on the grill.

Grills are so hard to control the temp that the point between done and dry for a boneless, skinless breast is hard to judge. And if you keep poking and prodding with thermometers, you're draining the juices. A thermometer that you can leave in is better. The trick is to take them off when they're just barely done and let them rest and finish cooking. If you wait until they're completely done, it's too late.

This is one of the things that I had a hard time learning. I wanted to cook everything until it was perfectly done, and I was terrible about letting meat rest before cooking, so roasts and I weren't such good friends.

On the other hand, I also prefer the thighs, so I'm with you on that. You could buy both and cook them at the same time, and let him have his favorite part and you get yours. That's how chickens are made, so it's not so weird to be cooking different cuts of meat at the same time.

What I'd do, personally, is buy a whole chicken and cut it up. Breasts for him, thighs and legs for you, and the rest for chicken stock. Everybody wins. Well, not the chicken.

You really need to go hot and fast here, the only way to maintain juiciness, I'm here to tell you, if grilled is his only method. I'm with you on the thigh/leg meat, but have learned to cook boneless breast meat QUICKLY to be palatable. Other preps that work for me: piccata (pounded out, dredged in a bit of seasoned flour, sauted in a blend of olive oil and butter, finished with lemon juice and white wine) or shaved then stirfried in olive oil, maybe with a bit of garlic, onion and peppers and finished with a bit of white wine in a hot, hot pan--stuffed into pitas is delishoius, on topp of noodle, rice hot, or salad cold. Yummy.

Brining the chicken usually works for me....

I buy them all the time and use lots of different preps and cooking methods, but the secret to a juicy boneless breast is to buy it at the right market. Seriously. I thought I had lost my touch because they were dry and tasteless, until I went back to my little grocery with the awesome butchers. Whole different meat. We had some last night that I marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette and grilled. They were tender and juicy and delicious. Shop elsewhere. If their chicken isn't great, their other meats are probably sub-standard, as well.

Thanks for all of the suggestions....
My main concern is that my hubby wants GRILLED meat. I agree that there is nothing nicer than a good picatta, or marsala, or poached, or even a nicely fried pounded out cutlet...but alas, now that it's grilling weather, he's after me to grill as much as possible...which, like I mentioned, always seems to dry them out, no matter how much marinating I do. I've also tried the slightly undercooking them and letting them rest method, and have found that I'm still left with boring dry chicken. That's why I was sort of hoping for some interesting gravies or dressings or salsa to top them with, post-grilling. I think what I'm going to go back to doing is thawing some thighs for me and leave him to his breasts. so to speak.

What about trying turkey breast instead? Nutritionally comparable to the white meat, skinless, etc. It's so much bigger that it may be a little more forgiving on the grill. They've also been a little less industrialized thus far, compared to chicken, so may maintain a bit more of the animal goodness chicken is now devoid of.

Barring that, just make separate pieces, like you said. :)

Brining or marinating the chicken breasts often helps. You might also consider keeping some herbed butter in the freezer. Shape into a log and slice off what you need. One thing I really like is herbed blue cheese butter. As far as a sauce, what about this recipe for Cucumber Salsa and Tsatsiki from Gourmet magazine over at epicurious.com?

I agree with the people who said buy some breasts and some thighs/legs, and make both. I'm a white meat person, but if I were eating with people who hated white meat, I'd never force them into eating that.

Completely agree with the pouch on the grill approach, it will help keep the white meat tender. My brother in-law can't cook (well my sister is worse... they just don't like to!) but he has one go to recipe that is simple and surprisingly tasty (despite the strange ingredient list):
Jar of salsa
about 1/4-1/3c. peanut butter
cilantro/scallions
*toasted sesame/coconut (if you have it)
mix salsa and PB together either in a bowl or in a pan if you feel like having it a little thinner/warmer. Pour over cooked chicken and rice/couscous/noodles or whatever other starch you have on hand and feel like eating with chicken. Top with herbs. Sprinkle with lime, or if you have a lime and you're my brother in-law just put the lime in your corona/G&T instead!

Brining will make a huge difference in the juiciness of the meat; it works through a different process than marinating. Marinating uses acidity, which causes your mouth to salivate, giving the illusion of tenderness. Brining uses salt to force the meat cells to suck up more water, rendering them extra juicy.

It's not hard either! Just 4 c. cold water, and 2 Tbsp. salt. Let the breasts sit in there for at least two hours, then drain the brine, and pat the breasts dry with a paper towel, to rid excess salt.

As for sauces, since you're already grilling, how about a grilled tomato salsa?
-1 pound fresh tomatoes, sliced into quarters
-1/2 medium onion
-1 red bell pepper
-4 jalapeños, halved lengthwise, seeded
-1 clove garlic
-Juice of 1 lime
-Cilantro to taste
-Salt to taste
Brush the vegetables lightly with oil so they won't stick, and grill them directly on the grate. For really juicy tomatoes, you can cook them on foil. Once cooked, blend the grilled vegetables in a bar blender or food processor with the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and salt.
If tomatoes aren't in season, you can substitute a can of fire-roasted tomatoes. Or for a brighter salsa, try substituting the tomato and red bell pepper with tomatillos and a green bell pepper. The recipe is the same.

I grill boneless chicken breast all of the time. As mentioned already, brining is the key to a juicy boneless breast cooked on a charcoal grill. (I don't use gas, but I am sure the same could be said as well. Gas isn't grilling. Might as well cook in the kitchen) Pounding them to an even thickness is very important as well. Do that before you brine. You only need to leave te chicken in the brine for about a half an hour to an hour. It won't hurt to leave it longer, but if your in a rush, no less than mentioned.

You can cook them slow and slow or right over direct heat, but remember that it won't take very long either way, and if done right, you will no longer be eating wood. Don't give up. You will get it right sooner or later.

I would suggest a good BBQ sauce or a teriyaki sauce, basted on right near the end of grilling time, and you'll be in business. Yummy!

A lot of the frozen ones will also be pumped full of water and salt to increase the weight. The water burns off more quickly than the natural juices, and adds no flavour at all.

I've always been perplexed that, while people know about different breeds of cattle and in some places different breeds of pigs, there's very little interest in the many different breeds of chickens. There are hundreds of breeds, and no two taste the same. The standard food breed was bred to put weight on as fast as possible, with no regard to flavour, so it can be sent to the slaughterhouse in just a few months. Just as veal tastes different to beef, a true free-range old-breed chicken will taste different to the mass-production one.

can't you make what you like for yourself? is there a reason you can't grill thighs and breasts at the same time? i don't get it.

in any case, cooks illustrated has a great technique for grilled chicken breasts that includes a quick brine and gives multiple options for sauces.

I grill marinated chicken breasts rather often (I also slightly pound them before marinating) - they never taste like wood, never tough, always flavourful and juicy. I have several marinades that I use - tequila, white wine or shaoxing wine based. But the key is to not grill them longer than several minutes on each side, then let them rest covered with tin foil.

I don't always use sauces or salsas to top it, but If I use tequila-based marinade, I may make mango salsa, and when I use "schawarma" spices in a white wine based marinade (cumin, turmeric, etc), we usually make pita sandwiches with grilled chicken breasts, hummus/tahini sauce and fresh veg (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers).

Above all, the key to good chicken is temperature. Get a quick, accurate meat thermometer, and don't take the center of the chicken beyond 150 (government says 165, I say government likes the people to have dry chicken). It'll make a huge difference.

To me you have two issues at hand besides your hubby's lack of culinary diversity: 1) lack of flavor, 2) overcooked meat that has no internal fat to keep it moist during the cooking over very high heat.

You've mentioned that you are using a marinade which is good but you may not be leaving it in long enough. If the breast only sits in the brine/marinade for an hour it's not going to be as flavorful as if you left it overnight. I would go so far as to get a bunch of breasts and make a marinade for them to sit in over night and then package them for freezing so that they are readily available. I don't eat chicken or turkey that hasn't had an overnight soak. Otherwise it tastes like vaguely chicken-y cardboard.

Grilling as the only heat source only works with protein that is evenly shaped, fairly thin and is best when it doesn't need to be cooked through. Chicken breasts are a poor choice for that kind of application. I'd approach it like you would a thicker steak: sear it on the rocket hot grill for 2 minutes a side and then finish it in a 350 oven for a few minutes followed by a few minute rest. Partial poaching before grilling is going to make things tricky as the breast will have a lot of surface moisture and the high heat will not enable the char/crust that makes grilling/searing so tasty. Don't forget to let your meat come to room temperature before putting it on the grill or the internal temperature will have 25 or so degrees to catch up with the outside. Everyone forgets to do that.

cook's illustrated did a recipe not long ago which i've executed a few times with good results. it was a fairly "traditional" grilled chicken breast, with the cooking method tweaked so as to ensure juicy tasty meat.

You need to build a 2-level fire, or on a gas grill just heat up both sides of the grill so it gets ripping hot, then turn off the burners on one side. After a fairly quick marinade (half an hour), you cook the breasts on the cool side of the grill under a disposable aluminum roasting pan. turn them once so that it cooks through on both sides. When the chicken is almost cooked through (like 140 degrees), remove the pan and move them to the hot side, where you just sear the outside, 1-2 minutes a side.

a google search for "grilled lemon parsley chicken" should turn up the full recipe.

ONE SURE WAY TO HAVE JUICIER CHICKEN IS TO BROWN IT FIRST ABOUT 5 -6 MINUTES PER SIDE, COOL IT, SKIN IT AND THAN GRILL IT. USE A THERMOMETER AND DON'T OVER COOK IT. YOU CAN EVEN IMPROVE THAT BY REFRIGERATING AFTER YOU SKIN IT. JUICEY!!!!!! OLD CHEF

I agree with marinating and saucing. You can find a lot of recipes; check Indian (tandoori, yoghurt-based sauce), Greek, Italian, Asian, and North African for some good ideas for marinating. Some I like are oil, lemon juice, and oregano; soy sauce, oil, and garlic; yoghurt and ginnger and mustard seeds (crushed); mustard and oil and dill. Keep some of the marinade separate to use as brushing sauce while the breasts cook.

Some easy ones are to just whizz up anything you would do as a salsa to sauce consistency instead. Salsas that work best for turning into sauce are those based upon juicy fruits and veggies such as tomato or mango. Or you can place slices of tomatoes, lemons, oranges, apples, and other juicy things on the breasts to cook them. Another thing I do is take the juices from chutney, add a bit of curry powder, and use that to marinate/glaze the chucken. Then chop up the chutney and serve on top.

Something to remember is that you're better off with lower heat than high heat for things with little fat, like chicken breasts. You can sear to get the pretty grill marks, then move the breasts to a cooler area to finish cooking through. And if you prefer, see if you can buy breasts for you with skin and bones still in place, and either strip them for your husband, or just have a package of each. Yours will take longer than his to cook, but that's the cook's issue. If he makes you do the cooking, then he shouldn't mind if you cook something that you like for yourself, since you're cooking what he likes for him.

If it has to be grilled, and it has to be boneless, I agree with the foil pouch that contains fat like butter, bacon, cream, or a spicy broth. You could also try mayo or salad dressing.

I understand the "must be grilled" requirement, but why boneless? Husband and I both prefer thighs, but I occasionally do breasts for health reasons. I find the ones with the bone in are far, far better in flavor and texture. A stay-in probe is MANDATORY, and they must be cooked on indirect medium. For the record, they come out WAY better in the oven or pressure cooker than the grill, and I can use much less fat to get better flavor.

I do boneless, skinless breasts all the time. Either oven fry or on the grill. An exciting thing to do is with a sharp paring knife cut a slit in the middle leaving about 1/4 inch on three sides and stuff it and pin the opening closed with toothpicks. My best was stuffing with a mixture of bread crumbs, a little orange juice concentrate and bleu cheese, cook it on the grill and bast it with K.C. Masterpiece.
You can stuff em with anything. The combinations that you can come up with really make it fun. old chef

Here are juicy boneless skinless chicken breasts. First, ask which he prefers, tasty and juicy OR cooked on a grill. He wants grilled over tasty and juicy, he deserves dry chicken. He wants tasty and juicy, here ya go:
Mariinate in olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and S and P for 2 hours in fridge. Let come to room temperature. Saute in a little olive oil and butter for 3-4 mins per side over med hi heat then into a 350 deg oven for 10 mins or until instant read thermometer reads 150-155. Let rest 5 minutes and serve. Juicy and perfect every time.

yogurt makes a great tenderizer for meats... marinade overnight and you can choose to either keep the yogurt on or pat/rinse it off.