smoked chicken breast and then freezing and reheating

[smlmmcp]

I am smoking chicken breast for a wedding and I want to do this ahead of time. So I thought I could smoke them for about an hour and then freeze them. Cook them the rest of the way in the oven the day of the event is this a good idea?

 

[daveomak]

Not a good idea...  Once the chicken warms up for the smoke, bacteria starts to grow...  continues growing while the meat cools down....  then starts to grow again when the final cook happens...  

It is recommended to NEVER partially pre cook any foods...   once started, finish the cooking process to kill any bacteria.....

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Chicken breasts are a tough one to get right unless you are cooking them right before service. To easy to dry them out. I'd suggest pulled chicken if you really want to serve chicken. You can use boneless skinless thighs and smoke them ahead of time. Pull the meat and reheat the day of.

 

[lamar]

I totally agree with never partially cooking anything and freezing to finish later. I smoke my breasts to 160 IT and then vacuum bag and freeze. I also smoke them about a CC temp of 295. Cooking faster don't dry them out as much.

 

[crankybuzzard]

I totally agree with never partially cooking anything and freezing to finish later. I smoke my breasts to 160 IT and then vacuum bag and freeze. I also smoke them about a CC temp of 295. Cooking faster don't dry them out as much.

I'm with all the others, never partially cook, cool and cook again.  Too many nasties like to rear their ugly heads.

Now, Like Lamar, I smoke 15-20 breasts until done, and then vac bag them and freeze.  After they are frozen, I take them out to my father's house for he and my step-monster to enjoy over the next month or so.

To reheat, they place the frozen breast into the frig the night before to defrost.  Then when they are ready to eat, they put the unopened vac bag into an empty pot, fill the pot with cool tap water, place the pot on the stove and turn it to high.  Once the water comes to a boil, they let is boil for a few minutes, then remove the bag from the pot, open the bag over a plate and enjoy.

I'll sometimes cure the breasts with Pop's brine before smoking, YUM!

 

[wade]

I agree with all of the above too. 

 

[chef jimmyj]

These guys have said it all...JJ