Brined Grill-Grate Chicken
A salt-and-sugar soak in a zip bag, then chicken over the fire that does not turn to rope.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 46
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 60 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 80 min
- water
- 950 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Boneless chicken breasts | 4 | frozen at home, thawing in the cooler as you drive |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 4 cups | potable, cold |
| Salt | 2 tbsp | |
| Sugar | 1/4 cup | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Granulated dried garlic | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Stir the salt and sugar into 4 cups of cold water in a heavy zip bag until you cannot feel grit. Add the chicken, press the air out, seal.
- Lay the bag in the cooler for 30 to 60 minutes. Longer is not better. Past an hour the meat goes properly salty.
- Build the fire early and let it burn down to coals. You want steady heat under the grate, not flames.
- Pull the chicken, pour the brine out well away from camp, and pat each piece dry with a paper towel. Wet meat steams instead of searing.
- Rub with the oil, then the pepper and garlic.
- Sear on the grate two minutes a side, then slide the pieces to the cooler edge of the coals. Cover with a foil tent and give them 15 to 18 more minutes, turning once.
- Cut into the thickest piece. Juices run clear and the center is white, not pink. Rest five minutes before slicing.
Chicken breast has almost no fat in it, which is why campfire chicken so often ends up dry and stringy. The brine is insurance. Salt loosens the muscle proteins so they hold water through the heat, and the sugar gives the surface something to brown with over coals that are never quite as even as a stove.
The source recipe finished in a 350F oven, which no one has at a campsite. Ice cubes in a pan are the same trick by another name. Here the indirect side of the fire does that job: sear over the hot coals, then move the meat to the edge under a foil tent so it coasts to done instead of scorching. This one needs a cooler, so it stays a car-camping and paddle dinner, not a backpacking one.
Packing
Salt, sugar, pepper, and garlic get premixed into one small jar at home so camp prep is one pour. Chicken travels frozen in a doubled zip bag at the bottom of the cooler; the ice keeps it under 40F for two days.
Variations
- Slice the rested breast into tortillas with hot sauce for the next day's lunch.
- Skip the grate and cook the pieces in a foil packet directly on the coals if the wind is bad.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/perfectly-grilled-chicken-breasts