Brining. Salting. Marinating. Injecting. Buttering. Beer butting. (Is that even a word?) These are but a few of the methods that people use in an attempt to make moist, tasty chicken.

But I am now going to reveal to you the #1 Secret to grilling moist, delicious chicken every time you cook:

DO NOT OVERCOOK IT!

That’s right. Don’t overcook it. Get yourself a good instant-read thermometer and measure the internal temp during grilling. I don’t care how you season the bird or brine it or inject it…if you cook the breast meat to 160-165°F and the thigh meat to 170-175°F and then remove the chicken from the grill, I guarantee* you will have moist, delicious meat.

Yes, brining chicken provides a margin of error, allowing you to cook to higher internal temps than those listed above and still achieve moist meat, and it can flavor the meat, too. But you can get moist meat and perhaps more real chicken flavor if you don’t brine and keep the internal temp within the ranges above.

So season your chicken well, use your thermometer, don’t overcook it and tell us how it turns out on The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board. And remember, we like to see your photos!

* Guarantee not valid in the Americas, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, polar regions, or territorial & international waters.