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Smkryng

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Oct 14, 2017
561
295
Well I did a batch of boneless skinless breasts yesterday on the MES and man were they dry! I’ve done quite a few like these and they’ve always came out juicy and tender. Not sure what happened this time but I think this batch is gonna hit the food processor and turn into some smoked chicken salad. Maybe it won’t be such a loser after all. I guess even my bad smoke will turn into something good.
 
Do you brine first ??
Actually I didn’t , but I never have before and haven’t had an issue. Of course every other time the package has said 15% added solution so I figured a brine probably wasn’t gonna make much difference. I got this chicken from a different store than usual and never even checked to see if it had solution added.
 
Sorry to hear that your chicken didn't turn out as well as you had planned.

Hopefully you can turn lemons into lemonade.

If its too dry for salad. Then maybe use them for chicken soup. I know that would put moisture back into the meat. That said with the warm weather and all. Chicken soup doesn't sound the most appealing right now.
 
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Plan B....;). I might add some extra mayo or thin it out with some chicken broth or water or even pickle juice, so chicken absorbs it better. And, let it go overnight before eating it so it has time to soak in and soften up.

Hope it works out! You could come back with a Dry Chicken Salad post...lol!
 
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Sorry to hear that your chicken didn't turn out as well as you had planned.

Hopefully you can turn lemons into lemonade.

If its too dry for salad. Then maybe use them for chicken soup. I know that would put moisture back into the meat. That said with the warm weather and all. Chicken soup doesn't sound the most appealing right now.
It may not have turned out exactly like I wanted but it does taste great and is still usable even if not originally intended. Better believe though that next time I’ll brine.
 
Plan B....;). I might add some extra mayo or thin it out with some chicken broth or water or even pickle juice, so chicken absorbs it better. And, let it go overnight before eating it so it has time to soak in and soften up.

Hope it works out! You could come back with a Dry Chicken Salad post...lol!
Lol I promise if that does happen I’ll not be letting everybody here know it. :D
 
Sorry to hear that your chicken didn't turn out as well as you had planned.

Hopefully you can turn lemons into lemonade.

If its too dry for salad. Then maybe use them for chicken soup. I know that would put moisture back into the meat. That said with the warm weather and all. Chicken soup doesn't sound the most appealing right now.
I made split pea soup out of a smoked ham bone a couple weeks ago despite the weather, I was craving it so bad. I made it in the instant pot pressure cooker. It was a little too mushy. I obliterated the peas...lol. That thing would definitely take care of dry chicken! It might become more of a chicken spread though at this point, after all that cooking. Hey Smkryng Smkryng , chicken spread! Not the worst idea!
 
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I made split pea soup out of a smoked ham bone a couple weeks ago despite the weather, I was craving it so bad. I made it in the instant pot pressure cooker. It was a little too mushy. I obliterated the peas...lol. That thing would definitely take care of dry chicken! It might become more of a chicken spread though at this point, after all that cooking. Hey Smkryng Smkryng , chicken spread! Not the worst idea!
Not a bad idea at all. And at least unlike store bought meat spreads, at least I would know there is actually meat in mine!
 
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Run it through the fine plate on your grinder and mix it with some mayo for devilled chicken.
That sir, is exactly the plan currently, I think it’ll probably be great that way.
 
What IT did you pull it out of the smoker at?
For breasts I usually pull them at 157, then after a 15 minute rest they come up to 165.
But then I pan my boneless skinless breasts too with a little chicken stock.
But as you said, I'm sure they will make good chicken salad or smoked chicken dip.
Al
 
What IT did you pull it out of the smoker at?
For breasts I usually pull them at 157, then after a 15 minute rest they come up to 165.
But then I pan my boneless skinless breasts too with a little chicken stock.
But as you said, I'm sure they will make good chicken salad or smoked chicken dip.
Al
I pulled em out at 162 this time. Last time I did at 157 and they seemed a little under done to me. Maybe I shoulda went with 160
 
Gonna be the best dry chicken ever . They'll want to overcook it all the time now !
 
What IT did you pull it out of the smoker at?
For breasts I usually pull them at 157, then after a 15 minute rest they come up to 165.
But then I pan my boneless skinless breasts too with a little chicken stock.
But as you said, I'm sure they will make good chicken salad or smoked chicken dip.
Al
You know, now that I think about it the last boneless skinless I did were pretty small and seemed underdone when pulled at 157. This batch they were huge. Maybe they had more carryover being a lot larger piece of meat?
 
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