When the Dr. suggested that I better start watching my diet and drop a few pounds you really focus on the quality and taste of what's available to eat. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are a great alternative to red meat. They eliminate much of the fat and calories of skin on chicken and are quick and easy to fix.

Unfortunately on the barbecue they presented a real challenge. The dreaded rubber chicken syndrome. Without the skin and fat layer I found that grilling caused a dry flavourless breast every time. Ok marinade that's the ticket, overnight with a wide variety of off the shelf products from salad dressing to mustard sauces, no joy, same results. Then its time to try the BBQ sauce's, again same thing, while the sauces helped, they didn't mask the dry little rubber chicken breast underneath.

Luckily I happened across an article in a food magazine, they mentioned brining fowl before cooking. It sounded to simple but since it was no trouble to try I gave it a whirl. A half hour before cooking I placed the breasts in a heavy freezer bag and added water and a great deal of Kosher salt, almost to the point where the water reached saturation point. While the chicken soaked it gave an opportunity to warm the grill and get the rice cooker fired up. After the rice had clicked off I started the chicken on the grill.

The results where a happy surprise, the breasts retained a lot more moisture and where quite flavourfull. While I still prefer to add a little sauce depending on the side dishes, the chicken is something to look forward to rather than choke down.


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