Grilled Chicken Breasts With Cherry Tomatoes Recipe

Ideally, bone-in and skin on chicken breasts should come off the grill moist and tender. After all, the bone insulates the meat, and the skin protects it from drying out. But when we tried grilling our bone-in breasts over a single-level fire, they dried out every time. We found our solution in a half-fire grill set-up. After a quick sear on the hotter side of the grill to give them color, we placed the breasts on the cooler side to finish cooking through; covering the grill trapped the heat and kept the meat moist. To round out the meal, we tossed cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil, skewered them, and grilled them. A quick dressing of garlic, basil, olive oil, and red wine vinegar added big flavor to our easy supper. You will need four or five 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe, depending on the size of the tomatoes.

Chop ¼ cup basil, mince garlic, and combine with 6 tablespoons oil, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in bowl; set aside for serving. Toss tomatoes with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and thread through stem ends onto 12-inch metal skewers. Trim chicken, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.

Grilled Chicken Breasts With Cherry Tomatoes Charcoal Grill

Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Breasts With Cherry Tomatoes Gas Grill

Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) to medium-low. (Adjust burners as needed to maintain grill temperature around 350 degrees.)

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken, skin side down, on hotter side of grill. Cook (covered if using gas) until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Slide chicken to cooler side of grill, with skin side down and thicker ends facing hotter side of grill. Cover and cook, turning as needed, until chicken is well browned on both sides and registers l 60 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes.

Transfer chicken to platter, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest while finishing tomatoes. Place tomatoes on hotter side of grill. Cook, turning as needed, until skins begin to blister and wrinkle, about 5 minutes; transfer to platter and remove from skewers. Drizzle chicken and tomatoes with vinaigrette and serve.

Grilled Chicken Breasts With Cherry Tomatoes Serves 4-6

Fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1½ pounds cherry tomatoes
4 (10- to 12-ounce)bone-in split chicken breast