Split chicken breasts

[zwiller]

LOL. I mentally prepared a post and forgot to actually post it... Chicken was good. Definitely a fan of phosphate now. I tried rubbing with oil and got some creosote type effect on the skin. Not doing that again. The B&P brine was very mild. I had to add some rub post smoke to give it a boost.

I found Butter Buds at Walmart and they're cheap $2. Next run (we do chicken all the time) will be a simple injection of salt, butter buds, and phosphate.

 

[bluewhisper]

I always smoke them bone down.

 

[zwiller]

Mine were bone down too. I think the issue had to do with the the pellicle. Skin was dry to the touch prior to adding the oil. Not ruined just a little oversmokey. I just removed the skin and all was fine.

 

[tallbm]

Glad to hear it worked out!
I brine chicken breast no matter what... whole birds too.
I go very simple with a salt + water brine. After brining I pat dry and then season with the trusty Pepper, Onion, and Garlic. With the brine and the seasoning you get the trusty Salt Pepper, Onion, and Garlic (SPOG) combo. The best general meat seasoning in the world if you ask me.

Then just smoke away! Breast and Whole birds come out juicy and super flavorful.
I don't brine dark meat (unless it's on the whole bird lol). Dark meat doesn't need it. I just season dark meat with SPOG and smoke or grill away!

If you want to try this simplistic route go for it, chicken is cheap! Also remember that if you smoke chicken at 325F or higher then you will end up with edible skin as apposed to rubbery skin.

Let us know how your chicken adventures turn out :)

 

[myownidaho]

I do a six hour brine that’s on the salty side. A two hour smoke at 250 has consistently yielded some of the best chicken breast I’ve eaten.

 

[zwiller]

Yes a simple brine works but man the phosphate... For awhile I was convinced I was just overcooking breasts as they tend to get kinda stringy (still good tho) but tried pulling chicken at lower IT (per USDA chart) and still not really seeing what I wanted. Enter the phosphate... Problem solved.

I ran smoker @ 275 and skin was fine. Not rubbery at all but not crispy like from the grill.

 

[chopsaw]

Glad you tried the phosphate . Works great . Used it to smoke whole birds , and used it in a hotdog recipe for the first time . Makes a big difference .

 

[journeyman]

Hi ALL....I need some GREAT ideas here
I took my husbands computer...lol ok
My husband is NOT a fan of chicken (or any poultry for that matter) so I need a good recipe to smoke chicken breast
a good brine recipe and how to smoke them, need something that will turn him to chicken!!
Thanks

 

[zwiller]

I would try and get him into smoked wings first and later try drums. I prefer a dry rub for them. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/dry-rub-for-chicken-wanted.265186/#post-1822301

If you still want to go after breasts, the brines above get rave reviews. Still leaning on grilling breasts rather than smoking them but many like them smoked.

Slight update. While still not perfected I got a base recipe for grilled chicken breasts (boneless skinless) and totally digging it. It’s based on DaveOmak’s injection of veggie stock and phosphate. Once I get it dialed in I will do a write up but it is already a family fave.