Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

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JBCWCHS06

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jul 30, 2022
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Figured this would be a good place to ask. Has anyone had any success smoking boneless skinless chicken breast I've tried a couple of times and always come out very tough and rubbery even after a brine and when I did the brine it came out very salty.
 

TNJAKE

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Nov 26, 2019
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You ever tried wrapping them in bacon? Also a pickle juice brine with bacon wrap is delicious

 

tbern

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Dec 27, 2015
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Southwest Minnesota
Don't have a lot of help for you but maybe answer some of the following questions, what temp are you smoking them at? What type of smoker are you using? What IT temp are you hitting when you pull them off the smoker?
 
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JBCWCHS06

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Thread starter
Jul 30, 2022
110
100
Don't have a lot of help for you but maybe answer some of the following questions, what temp are you smoking them at? What type of smoker are you using? What IT temp are you hitting when you pull them off the smoker?
The last time I attempted to smoke Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast I smoked them at 300 until they reached 160 internal but still came out tough and chewy. I use a pellet smoker for right now. I know chicken breast need to be cooked fast because they have no fat in them to do low and slow
 

tallbm

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Dec 30, 2016
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Figured this would be a good place to ask. Has anyone had any success smoking boneless skinless chicken breast I've tried a couple of times and always come out very tough and rubbery even after a brine and when I did the brine it came out very salty.
Yeah I've had plenty of success doing them.

I brine them BUT in my opinion you have to do an equilibrium brine to get it right.

An equilibrium brine is where you weigh the meat and write the number down.
Figure how much water you need to brine the chicken in your container and figure out that weight (1gallon = roughly 8pounds/128ounces/3628.74mg).

Add the meat weight and the water weight and take 1.75% of that weight and that is how much salt you need to dissolve in the water.

Salt weight = 0.0175 x (meat weight + salt weight).

You do that and you are good to go. If u want less saltiness then reduce to like 1.5% (0.015).

You can never get too salty if u do it this way and you can let it brine for days and never worry about saltiness.

When you are ready to smoke them then smoke them at like 250F temp or whatever temp u like to get as much smoke flavor as you like. Take them to 165F internal temp and pull them. May people take to like 163F and let temp carry over but individual breast pieces may not carry much so I dont think it hurts to pull at 165F.

You do this and u are good to go my friend :)
 

willy appleseed

Fire Starter
Jan 30, 2016
69
27
Figured this would be a good place to ask. Has anyone had any success smoking boneless skinless chicken breast I've tried a couple of times and always come out very tough and rubbery even after a brine and when I did the brine it came out very salty.
my favorite way :soak overnight in 2qts water/1/2 cup salt/1/2 cup sugar/3tbs. garlic powder/1tsp. lemon juice/1 tsp. olive oil Rub 2tbs.garlic/ 1 tbs.black pepper/2tbs. parsley/1tbs.paprika sauce 1/2 cup melted butter/1cup brown sugar/2 pinches of rub/2tbs. honey preheat to225 pull at165 IT after 45 min baste with sauce every 30 min. comes out juicy and very tastey
 

JBCWCHS06

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Thread starter
Jul 30, 2022
110
100
my favorite way :soak overnight in 2qts water/1/2 cup salt/1/2 cup sugar/3tbs. garlic powder/1tsp. lemon juice/1 tsp. olive oil Rub 2tbs.garlic/ 1 tbs.black pepper/2tbs. parsley/1tbs.paprika sauce 1/2 cup melted butter/1cup brown sugar/2 pinches of rub/2tbs. honey preheat to225 pull at165 IT after 45 min baste with sauce every 30 min. comes out juicy and very tastey
So you soak in a mixture of water, salt,sugar, garlic powder, lemon juice, and olive oil. Then put on the rub of black pepper, parsley, and paprika oh and is it garlic powder in the rub or minced garlic. And brush it with a sauce of melted butter, brown sugar, and rub as it cooks it sounds very good ready to give this recipe a try.
 

captturbo

Smoke Blower
May 4, 2011
146
12
SW Florida
No brine needed. I did some Costco chicken breasts in the MES a couple nights ago and they were amazingly juicy! I had them in a foil pan with some butter and used the water pan to keep the moisture up.
 
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civilsmoker

Master of the Pit
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Jan 27, 2015
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Idaho
I do them almost every week…..I do them two ways…..

Method 1:
fav seasoning then a pinch of salt then smooth side down @ 235 for about 3 hours to a INT of 158-160 then foil wrapped and held @ 145 for at least 30min. The hold is a must!


Method 2: the fast method:
@ 265 for 2 hours & a INT 160…..
70a90cbe-0d6c-4ce0-89d8-2a38e20b75aa-jpeg.jpg

After the house oven rest @ 145 for about 30 min before slicing…..juicy goodness…..
aa7fc3b0-30b3-45c1-82c2-d0841e93fd4e-jpeg.jpg
 
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JC in GB

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Sep 28, 2018
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Green Bay, WI
Yeah I've had plenty of success doing them.

I brine them BUT in my opinion you have to do an equilibrium brine to get it right.

An equilibrium brine is where you weigh the meat and write the number down.
Figure how much water you need to brine the chicken in your container and figure out that weight (1gallon = roughly 8pounds/128ounces/3628.74mg).

Add the meat weight and the water weight and take 1.75% of that weight and that is how much salt you need to dissolve in the water.

Salt weight = 0.0175 x (meat weight + salt weight).

You do that and you are good to go. If u want less saltiness then reduce to like 1.5% (0.015).

You can never get too salty if u do it this way and you can let it brine for days and never worry about saltiness.

When you are ready to smoke them then smoke them at like 250F temp or whatever temp u like to get as much smoke flavor as you like. Take them to 165F internal temp and pull them. May people take to like 163F and let temp carry over but individual breast pieces may not carry much so I dont think it hurts to pull at 165F.

You do this and u are good to go my friend :)

I am with tallbm tallbm on this one. I love using the equilibrium brine method for curing/brining meats. You may also try injecting the breasts with an emulsion of chicken broth and butter. My $0.02

JC :emoji_cat:
 
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