FIRST TIME SMOKING CHICKEN BREASTS

My wife is not a skin eater, so instead of doing half skin and half skinless, I just remove the skin nowadays. 

I like to brine split chicken breasts for 24 hours.  It makes them more forgiving if overcooked and I like the meat texture better.  You can use any brine you like, from simple water/salt to a whole variety of spices added.  There are plenty of brine recipes in the search feature above. 

Serving one hour after completion is not an issue at all.  If you are eating them at your home, just put them in a pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil, then put some old bath towels under and over the pan to keep the meat warm.  If you are taking them someplace, do the same thing in a cooler, which magically becomes a hot box. 

Okay, forgive me, but I only cook/smoke pork loins and tenderloins to 145F unless I've injected them, then I go to 165F.

If you've brined the chicken breasts you can easily take them to 165F with no fear of dry, overcooked breasts. They'll keep nicely without overcooking in the warmer.

I used my Masterbuilt 30" Electric smoker for the first time last night. I smoked unbrined Chicken Breasts with Hickory chips. I used a little water, but not a lot. I started at 275 and I probed them, but it seemed like they were cooking much quicker than I expected. So I turned the heat down to 250. It only took maybe an hour tops and I pulled them at 160. They were dry as a fish bone so I threw them away. 5lbs of breasts down the drain! So i'm not sure what I could have done differently? I guess I should have brined them. Still, I didn't expect them to not be even a little juicy. Thanks!

Brine or inject... You can brine in buttermilk or i have used things like
or

anything with a high salt content and some acid and a flavor profile you like...
or alternatively you can use thighs/legs/quarters and they are juicier naturally.(higher fat content). You can get quarters for like 50-80 cents a pound if you buy 10 lbs (9-11 quarters). when i do quarters i like to remove the skin, brine 4-6 hours and rinse. add a rub and smoke till about 170 Degrees IT. if i use sauce i add that at around 162-165 IT and then let it bake on for the last 20 minutes.





Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)