🍊 Orange-Brined Garlic Butter Chicken🧄

Orange-Brined Garlic Butter Chicken is the low-carb, citrus-bright, sunset-grilled recipe that turns white meat into juicy perfection—finished with a glossy Dijon garlic Meyer lemon butter mop that tastes like California winter sunshine. www.tretaylor.com

Meet your new “make-it-again-immediately” grill recipe: Orange-Brined Garlic Butter Chicken—a low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-free stunner that tastes like California sunshine decided to get serious about dinner. 🍊🧄🔥

This chicken is brined for two full days in fresh orange and Meyer lemon, so the citrus doesn’t just sit on the surface—it moves into the meat, seasoning it from the inside out. The result is what white meat usually only dreams of becoming: deeply juicy, tender, and impossible to dry out, with that bright, fragrant orange-kissed flavor in every bite. Then it hits the grill low and slow, where the skin turns golden and the edges pick up that gentle char that makes grilled chicken feel like a celebration.

And just when you think it can’t get better, you mop it with a glossy, blender-smooth sauce: garlic + Dijon + orange + Meyer lemon + melted butter, finished with a whisper of thyme and a tiny cayenne kick that wakes up the citrus without overpowering it. It’s buttery, bright, a little spicy, and wildly aromatic—the kind of flavor that makes people hover near the grill “just to check on things.”

Serve it with whatever you love—crisp salad, grilled veggies, cauliflower mash, or a simple citrusy slaw—and watch it disappear. This isn’t “good for a healthy recipe.” This is flat-out one of the most delicious grilled chicken recipes you’ll ever make. 💛🍗✨ Meyer Lemon • Dijon • Sunset Grill Magic (Low-Carb Friendly)

There are recipes… and then there are moments.

This one happened in a darling California backyard on a warm winter evening—sunset glowing, a little stage in the background, and Fonzarelli (the happiest, most polite food critic alive) staring at the grill like, “Is it done yet? Is it ready yet?” 🐶🍗😂

“The face of pure, grilled anticipation.” - The Fonz, February 2026

And the chicken?
Listen. I’m not even a huge white-meat person… but brining a giant bone-in breast (skin-on) for two days turned it into juicy orange-kissed perfection. The thighs (bone-in) came out bold, tender, and ridiculously flavorful—a little white meat, a little dark meat, and a whole lot of sunshine. 🌞✨

✨ Why This Works

✅ Orange brine = flavor inside the meat (not just on the outside)
✅ Low and slow grilling = juicy + tender
✅ Garlic butter citrus mop = glossy, smoky-sweet heat
✅ Skin-on breast + bone-in thighs = maximum flavor

🧂🍊 ORANGE BRINE (2 DAYS)

Brine time: 24–48 hours (I did 2 days)
Best for: skin-on chicken breast + bone-in thighs

Ingredients

• 4 cups warm water

• 2 tbsp salt

• 1 tsp monk fruit sweetener (or your preferred sugar-free sub)

• Fresh thyme (a few sprigs or ~1 tsp dried) 🌿

• ½ tsp cayenne pepper 🌶️

• Juice of 1 orange + 1 Meyer lemon

• Orange zest (zest of 1 orange is gold) 🍊✨

• Optional: toss the squeezed citrus halves into the bag for extra aroma

Brine Instructions

1. In a bowl or pitcher, whisk warm water + salt + monk fruit until dissolved.

2. Add thyme, cayenne, citrus juice, and orange zest.

3. Place chicken in large zip-top bags (or a covered container).

4. Pour in brine, seal, and refrigerate 24–48 hours.

5. When ready to grill: remove chicken, let excess drip off. Do not rinse. Do not add extra salt.

🐔 Note: Brined chicken doesn’t need extra seasoning before grilling.

🧄🧈🍋 DIJON GARLIC ORANGE–MEYER LEMON BUTTER MOP

This is the part that makes people quiet when they take the first bite.

Ingredients

• 5 cloves garlic, peeled 🧄

• Juice of 2 oranges 🍊🍊

• Juice of 2 Meyer lemons 🍋 🍋

• Zest of 1 orange (don’t skip if you can help it) ✨

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 🟡

• ½ cup melted salted butter 🧈

• ½ tsp monk fruit sweetener (optional, but it rounds the citrus)

• Cayenne pepper (pinch to taste) 🌶️

• Black pepper (a few cracks)

• Touch of salt (go light—remember the brine)

• Optional: smoked paprika (a pinch for color and grill-kissed flavor) 🔥

Mop Instructions

1. Add everything except butter to a blender.

2. Blend on high until smooth.

3. With the blender running (or after blending), add melted butter and blend again until glossy and orange-golden.

4. Pour into a bowl or jar for mopping.

🔥 GRILLING INSTRUCTIONS (LOW + SLOW)

Time: about 35–45 minutes, depending on thickness and grill heat
Goal: steady heat, minimal flare-ups, lots of turning and mopping

Steps

1. Preheat grill to low/medium-low.

2. Grease the grates well (especially for skin-on chicken).

3. Place chicken on the grill. Keep heat low and steady.

4. Flip every few minutes (gentle, consistent turning = juicy chicken).

5. About halfway through cooking, start mopping the garlic butter citrus sauce.

6. Keep flipping and mopping until beautifully glazed and cooked through.

Temperature Targets

• Chicken breast: pull around 155–160°F, then rest 5–10 minutes (it rises as it rests)

• Thighs (bone-in): take to 175–185°F for the best tenderness

🔥 If you’re using a charcoal/Weber grill: use indirect heat (meat away from flames) to prevent flare-ups.

With love, music, food, art, and fun—

Tré Taylor 💛…and Bleep the Tattoo (Chef of the Year) 👄🧄
and Fonzarelli (Ultimate Dog) 🐾