How to Grill the Perfect Boneless Turkey Breast: The Ultimate Guide

Grilling boneless turkey breast is a great way to enjoy moist, juicy and flavorful turkey year-round. While whole turkeys are ideal for holidays like Thanksgiving, a boneless turkey breast is perfect for smaller gatherings of 4-6 people. It cooks faster than a whole bird, making it ideal for weeknight meals.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to grill boneless turkey breast to tender, juicy perfection.

Benefits of Grilling Boneless Turkey Breast

There are several advantages to grilling boneless turkey breast rather than a whole turkey:

• Quick cooking time: A 3-4 pound boneless turkey breast takes only about 1-1.5 hours to grill, versus 2-3 hours for a whole 12-15 pound turkey. This makes it ideal for weeknight meals.

• Easier to handle Without bones, a boneless breast is easier to maneuver on the grill and serve. You don’t have to worry about legs and wings charring or drying out

• More even cooking: With a whole turkey, the breast often dries out by the time the legs and thighs are done. Removing the bone allows the breast to cook evenly throughout.

• Less waste You canportion out exactly how much turkey you need reducing the amount of leftovers that may go to waste.

• More flavor options: It’s easier to add rubs, marinades and seasoning under the skin of a boneless breast.

Picking the Right Boneless Turkey Breast

When selecting a boneless turkey breast for grilling, there are a few things to look for

• Weight: A breast between 3 to 4 pounds will feed about 4 to 6 people. Go bigger if serving a larger crowd.

• Shape: Try to pick a breast that is evenly shaped without large lumps or tears in the meat. This helps it cook evenly.

• Skin on: Choose a breast with the skin still on. The skin protects the meat while grilling and keeps it extra moist.

• Fresh, not frozen: For the best flavor and texture, look for turkey breast that has not been previously frozen.

The boneless breast can come from either a hen (female) or tom (male) turkey. There usually isn’t much difference in taste.

Prepping the Breast for the Grill

Properly preparing the boneless turkey breast is key to achieving juicy, flavorful meat:

• Trim excess fat: Use a sharp knife to trim off any large chunks of fat, which can cause flare-ups on the grill.

• Loosen the skin: Slide your fingers under the skin to gently loosen it from the meat. This allows seasoning and smoke to penetrate.

• Brine if desired: For extra moist meat, you can brine the breast for 2-4 hours before grilling. Make a simple brine using salt, sugar and water.

• Pat dry: Thoroughly pat the breast dry before seasoning. Wet meat won’t absorb seasoning properly.

• Rub with oil: Coat the breast in a thin layer of oil like avocado, olive or grapeseed oil. This prevents sticking.

• Season: Salt and pepper the meat liberally. You can also use spice rubs. Get seasoning under the skin too.

• Let sit: Once seasoned, let the breast rest for 15-30 minutes before grilling. This helps the seasoning penetrate.

Setting Up the Grill

The key to perfectly grilled turkey breast is indirect heat. This allows the meat to gently cook through without burning or drying out. There are two easy ways to setup indirect heat:

Gas grill: Heat just one half of your two or three burner gas grill on medium heat. Place the boneless turkey breast on the cooler side, away from the lit burner. Add a drip pan underneath to catch drippings.

Charcoal grill: Bank charcoal on just one side of the grill, leaving the other empty. Place a drip pan in the empty side and put the turkey breast over the pan, away from the coals.

Either way, setup takes just a few minutes. Have a meat thermometer ready to monitor the internal temperature.

How to Grill Boneless Turkey Breast

Once your grill is preheated and set up for indirect cooking, it’s time to put the boneless turkey breast on:

• Place breast skin-side up over drip pan/unlit side.
• Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of breast, being careful not to touch bone.
• Close grill lid and cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes, maintaining even heat of 350°F.
• Check temperature after 1 hour. Breast is done at 165°F.
• If not done, continue cooking 10 minutes at a time, checking periodically.
• When done, transfer to cutting board and tent with foil to rest 10 minutes.

The breast may flare up briefly if there is excess fat. Spray with water to control flare-ups. Avoid charring the skin, which can make the meat taste burnt.

Carving and Serving the Turkey

After resting, the boneless turkey breast is ready to carve and serve:

• Using a sharp carving knife, slice the breast across the grain into thin slices.
• Slice only as much meat as needed for a single serving to keep the rest moist.
• Serve warm with favorite turkey side dishes and sauces.
• Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and enjoy within 3-4 days.

Slicing across the grain of the meat ensures tender, easy to chew slices. Any stuffing cooked inside the breast can be served alongside the carved meat.

Flavorful Recipes for Grilled Boneless Turkey Breast

While a simple salt and pepper dry rub is delicious, there are lots of ways to add flavor to your grilled boneless turkey breast:

Brines – Soak the meat for 2-4 hours before grilling in a salty brine to boost moisture and taste.

Marinades – Let the breast marinate for 1-2 hours in bold sauces, like teriyaki, barbecue or Italian dressing.

Rubs – For more flavor, coat the breast in spice rubs with ingredients like brown sugar, chili powder, garlic and onion.

Injections – Use an injection needle and syringe to infuse marinades deep into the meat before grilling.

Smoking – For extra flavor, add soaked wood chips to the grill when cooking the breast to get tender smoked turkey.

Stuffing – For more interest, carefully loosen the skin and stuff herb butter, citrus slices or onion slices under the skin before grilling.

There are endless ways to make your grilled boneless turkey breast uniquely flavorful. Now that you know the grilling basics, it’s easy to experiment with different tastes.

Troubleshooting Common Grilling Problems

If your boneless turkey breast doesn’t turn out quite right, here are some common problems and how to fix them:

Problem: Turkey breast is burnt or charred on outside.

Solution: Make sure you are using indirect heat and maintaining proper grill temperature. Move breast to cooler area if flare-ups occur.

Problem: Turkey breast is pink near the bone.

Solution: Use a meat thermometer to ensure breast reaches 165°F internally. Color is not a good doneness indicator.

Problem: Turkey breast is undercooked and raw tasting.

Solution: Return to grill and cook longer, checking temperature frequently, until desired doneness is achieved.

Problem: Turkey breast is dry and stringy.

Solution: Ensure breast is not overcooked. Remove from grill when it reaches 165°F and tent before serving. Brine breast next time.

Problem: Skin is limp and won’t crisp up.

Solution: Make sure skin is thoroughly dried before grilling. Move breast directly over flame briefly to crisp skin at end.

Enjoy Perfectly Grilled Boneless Turkey Breast

Now that you’re armed with all the right techniques, you can achieve perfectly cooked boneless turkey breast on the grill every time. The key steps are using indirect heat, brining or injecting for moisture, maintaining proper temperature, and letting the meat rest before slicing.

In less than two hours, you can be sitting down to juicy, tender and full-flavored grilled turkey breast that beats the deli version any day. Get creative with different marinades and rubs to make it exactly how your family likes it best.

Grilled boneless turkey breast is ideal for easy summer meals, intimate holiday gatherings and anytime you crave turkey with a deliciously smoky flavor. Once you master the simple process, this versatile white meat will earn a regular spot in your outdoor cooking rotation.