Easy Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe

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Hey there, and welcome to my latest obsession aka smoked every single thing. My smoker in on constant repeat, smoking things like cheese, vegetables, seasoning and more. But most of all the best ever smoked chicken breast of all time.

Smoked Boneless Chicken Breast

So this smoked chicken recipe really does end up with juicy, yet packed full of a whole load of flavor meat.

I tend to buy a whole big bag of boneless skinless chicken breast whenever the grocery store has them on offer, portion them out and store them in my freezer till needed.

Related Link : Easy Smoked Chicken Wings.

Then it is simply a process of smoking them, with an optional step of brining if you so prefer and you are good to go.

What is great about smoked boneless chicken breasts is that these are very versatile. Bring them out during a bbq or backyard party, make a batch for your weekly meal prep, thrown in a salad, sandwich or serve shredded over some soup and more.

Tools and Equipment Needed

• A super awesome smoker. Try this smoker which I love, or this other smoker too.
• A charcoal chimney for lighting coal or briquettes easily. Makes life easier.
• Wood pellets or wood chips depending on which smoker you use. For flavor, you can use these apple wood or cherry wood.
• An instant-read digital thermometer. This really awesome one gives you an instant-read so you avoid overcooking your food.
• Leather gloves – These are really useful for moving stuff about on your smoker so you don’t burn your hands.
• Aluminum foil – for tenting food, keeping it warm and more.
• Nice long grilling tongs for adding, removing or turning your food on the smoker.
• Your favorite seasoning or dry rubs.
• A mixing bowl if you are brining your food.
• Sea salt for flavoring or brining.

I am going walk you through the perfect smoked chicken breast recipe along with a gazillion tips and tricks that will have you whipping up this recipe aaaaaaaaaaaaaall year long.

Smoked Chicken Breast Brine

To brine or not to brine, that is the question. Whilst you don’t need to, if you brine the chicken before smoking will help you keep the chicken juicy and moist during the smoking process.

Test it both ways and see which you prefer. If you are going to brine the chicken make sure you take that extra time into account.

Your brine liquid can be very simple mixture of water and salt, to more complex versions where you add things like fresh herbs, citrus, heat from peppercorns and various spices. Here is a simple brine recipe that can be easily double or quadrupled to cover whole chickens and turkey.

• Make the brine => Mix together 4 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of sea salt flakes, 2 tablespoon sugar, slices from half a lemon, and 2 bay leaves. Optional extras you can add include 2-3 sprigs of rosemary or thyme, smashed garlic cloves, a tablespoon of black peppercorns and a small punch of parsley. Combine over medium heat until both the sugar and salt dissolve, switch off the heat and let cool completely
• Brine the chicken => Add the brine liquid into a mixing bowl and fully submerge the chicken breast in the mixture for between 2- 4 hours.
• Rinse the chicken => When done, remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat dry. You are now ready for the next step.

How To Smoke Chicken Breast

1. Preheat your smoker. Preheat your smoker (use this awesome smoker if you don’t already have one) to 250 F using a wood of your choice (see suggestions below) your chicken. Get your chicken (out of the brine if you did this step), pat it dry and rub on some oil and sprinkle on some sea salt flakes.
2. Season your chicken. Coat both sides of the chicken breasts with a dry rub of your choice. It can be store-bought or homemade = > see lots of easy dry rub suggestions below).
3. Smoke the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in the smoker, cover and cook for about 1 hr or until the internal temperature of the thickest part (using a digital thermometer) reaches 160F.
4. Add extra flavor if you want. At this point, you can brush on extra sauces eg bbq sauce on the chicken and smoke for a further 10 minutes.
5. Rest and slice. Or you can skip step 4 and go straight to this, remove the meat from the smoker, and wrap up in foil and let rest till the temperature reaches 165 F, before slicing git up and portioning out.

Pit Boss Smoked Chicken Breast

1. Preheat your pellet smoker to 225 degrees F / 110 degrees C.
2. Place the seasoned chicken breasts directly on the grill grates.
3. Close the lid and smoke for about 1 hour until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C.
4. Remove the chicken from the smoker and tent with foil. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

There you have it, you very own juicy and smoky chicken.

How Long Does It Take To Smoke Boneless Chicken Breasts?

It takes between 60-90 minutes to smoke chicken breasts at 250 degrees. Remember this will depend on the size of the chicken.  The larger breasts 8oz and more will take a longer time.

It is important that the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 F using a digital thermometer at which point the chicken is cooked. One tip though is to remove the chicken from the smoker at about 160 F and wrap it up in foil to keep it cooking so that you don’t overcook it.

Do you flip chicken when smoking?

Yes, you can flip your chicken when smoking. Flip your chicken over halfway through the cooking time.

What Wood Is Best For Smoked Chicken Breast

This one is down to personal taste and choice. I tend to use oak wood as that is what I easily have available, but you can also use cherry wood, applewood, maple wood, and hickory wood.

­­Seasoning Ideas

You can go for your favorite store-bought seasoning for this or you can make your own simple blend at home and use that. Depending on your taste and mood, seasonings you can use include:

• Easy Homemade Stone House Seasoning.
• Homemade Tuscan Seasoning.
• Easy Fajita Seasoning.
• Poultry Seasoning.
• Or your favorite seasoning.

Tips

• If you brine the chicken remember this brine recipe uses sea salt flakes, not regular table salt.
• If you want your chicken breast to cook at the same rate, then make sure that they are the same size.
• You can serve the chicken breast straight up without the extra sauce rubbed on. The choice is yours.

Weight Watchers Points

Good news, myWW folks. One serving of smoked chicken breast contains just 1 SmartPoint.

How To Serve Smoked Chicken Breast

Serve it alongside some;

• Cucumber Tomato Salad.
• Healthy Meal Prep Chicken Bowl.
• In Lettuce Chicken Wraps (swap out the chicken for smoked chicken),
• Use it to make Air Fryer Fried Rice.
• Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes for a more hearty meal,

More Smoked Recipe Goodness

Easy Smoked Chicken Wings.

Thank you for reading my Easy Smoked Chicken Breast recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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