Step 1

Cut the chicken breast in half width-wise. Cover one portion in plastic wrap to stop chicken juice from flying around your kitchen when you pound it.

Step 2

Pound it to an even thickness. If you have a meat tenderizer with a flat side, like this one, use that. If not, a rolling pin works. So you just smack the chicken breast, focusing on where it is thickest and trying to get it to be even with the thinnest part.

Step 3

Once all of your portions have been pounded to an even thickness, put them into a ziptop bag or a large bowl. In a medium bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Pour it over the chicken breasts. Refrigerate for an hour at most. You’re just trying to get some flavor on there.

Step 4

Oil your grill grates: When your grill is cold, dip paper towel into an oil that has a high smoking point, like vegetable oil or grapeseed oil. Then use tongs to rub that oiled towel onto your grates. Then preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat (around 400ºF). If your grill doesn’t have a thermometer, here’s how to find out what temperature it’s at.

Step 5

Once your grill is at the right temperature, remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Throw out the marinade. Put the chicken breasts onto the grill in a single layer, as spaced out as you can given your surface and the number of breasts you have. Cook for about 4 minutes per side with the grill lid open. Test if they’re done using an instant read thermometer. You want it to read 165ºF. Or you can cut into one and see if it’s white all the way through, not pink. They’ll be nice and brown with good char marks when they’re done.

Step 6

Take them off of the grill and put them on a clean serving plate. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. This resting time is so that the juices won’t rush out of the chicken when you cut in for that first bite.