Chicken on the Traeger

[Atl_Buckeye]

Little advice for chicken on the Traeger. I am new to the Traeger family and so far have attempted chicken twice.

First attempt was a couple of whole chickens. I let go for about 20 min just on the smoke mode then cranked it all the way up till internal temp in the breast was 160ish

Last night did some boneless skinless breasts. Set the grill to 375 cooked to 160 internal temp.

Both attempts yielded rubbery results. The whole chickens were worse than the breasts (I'll never do the low smoke thing again)

So, has anyone else experienced this? What are your methods for good chicken?

 

[GrillMeister]

Little advice for chicken on the Traeger. I am new to the Traeger family and so far have attempted chicken twice.

First attempt was a couple of whole chickens. I let go for about 20 min just on the smoke mode then cranked it all the way up till internal temp in the breast was 160ish

Last night did some boneless skinless breasts. Set the grill to 375 cooked to 160 internal temp.

Both attempts yielded rubbery results. The whole chickens were worse than the breasts (I'll never do the low smoke thing again)

So, has anyone else experienced this? What are your methods for good chicken?

Breasts are hard to do because of the weird shape. Cook too long and they dry out, not long enough and the thick part is raw and dangerous to you health.

I like to cut up the breasts into slivers (or just buy chicken tenders), marinate them, then put them on a skewer. They cook evenly that way and much faster. Check out the recipe below. It will be a hit and you come off looking like Chef Ramsey with it. It's a family favorite.

Ginger Lime Chicken Skewers - Dizzy Pig Craft Seasonings

Chicken skewers is one of my favorite ways to use boneless skinless chicken breasts. This ginger/sesame/lime treatment has a complex and wonderful flavor.

dizzypigbbq.com

 

[kctrevor]

Little advice for chicken on the Traeger. I am new to the Traeger family and so far have attempted chicken twice.

First attempt was a couple of whole chickens. I let go for about 20 min just on the smoke mode then cranked it all the way up till internal temp in the breast was 160ish

Last night did some boneless skinless breasts. Set the grill to 375 cooked to 160 internal temp.

Both attempts yielded rubbery results. The whole chickens were worse than the breasts (I'll never do the low smoke thing again)

So, has anyone else experienced this? What are your methods for good chicken?

Spatchcock, 375 til 165 internal. I have done a dry brine a few times and no brine. I prefered the no brine and wife liked the dry brine. The dry brine is just kosher salt and baking powder then let it sit in the fridge over night ( or a couple hours)

 

[Sodaking27]

As kctrevor said “spatchcock” is the way to go for whole chickens. I just apply my favorite rub, 375 until 165 internal also.

 

[Atl_Buckeye]

Appreciate the feedback I'll attempt both! I've never tried spatchcock but I know a lot of folks swear by it!

That skewer recipe looks really good too.

 

[primeone]

Here's another way to try boneless/skinless chicken breasts.

 

[Seed]

The only way i'll cook chicken breasts these days is after a brine for a day or so and bone-in. Always comes out juicy and tasty.

 

[SD Guy]

Here's another way to try boneless/skinless chicken breasts.

Thanks for the video. I am going to cook boneless skinless chicken breast today and I was wondering what was the best way. I used a little trick learned from the episode Heat in the Netflix show Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat to prepare the chicken breast. Last night I salted the chicken and placed them in a Ziploc bag and filled it with buttermilk. As Samin from the show says the buttermilk gives you a little insurance. I did a whole chicken in the oven that way and it was probably the most tender and juicy chicken that I have ever eaten.

 

[Omega1xg]

Whole chickens I will brine overnight and cook on smoke or 180. Takes about 5 to 6 hours. Absolutely no complaints from anyone who has eaten them.

 

[SD Guy]

My buttermilk marinated boneless skinless chicken breast I cooked yesterday were amazing. I pulled the Ziploc bag out of the refrigerator and let them sit for about an hour in the bag. I removed them and patted them down with paper towels to dry off. I then rubbed them down with olive oil and seasoned half with Weber Kick'n Chicken and half with Weber Roasted Garlic and Herb. I heated my grill to 450 degrees and cooked them for about 13 minutes per side. I used a Treager instant read thermometer (it came free with my grill purchase) to check every breast. They all finished fairly closely and I pulled them when the thickest part of the breast read 165 degrees. I let them rest for about 10 minutes before slicing them, some for fajitas we were having and some for my wife's salads she makes to take to work. They were juicy and tender. We kept nibbling pieces of chicken before and after our supper. The nice thing about using the buttermilk is that it allowed me cook the center of the thickest part of the breast without burning or drying out the thinner edges.

 

[Davey]

Little advice for chicken on the Traeger. I am new to the Traeger family and so far have attempted chicken twice.

First attempt was a couple of whole chickens. I let go for about 20 min just on the smoke mode then cranked it all the way up till internal temp in the breast was 160ish

Last night did some boneless skinless breasts. Set the grill to 375 cooked to 160 internal temp.

Both attempts yielded rubbery results. The whole chickens were worse than the breasts (I'll never do the low smoke thing again)

So, has anyone else experienced this? What are your methods for good chicken?

I just did two Chickens Yesterday and both turned out perfect and moist. Rubbed it with olive oil and seasoning and turned trager to 475 till internal temp is 170 and comes out perfect.

 

[Brickster]

I did a beer can chicken over the weekend and it was great. I injected it with cajun butter, rubbed it with olive oil, then patted it down (inside and out) with cajun seasoning. I smoked it for about an hour then jacked up the temp. It was delicious and extremely juicy! I forgot to take a pic.

 

[BigJohnBBQ]

Spatchcock the chicken (cut out it’s backbone, break the breastbone).

Dry the skin with paper towels (really important)

Season with salt pepper garlic & your favorite bbq rub.

Smoke at 250 until breast temp is 163