Smoked Chicken Breast

[RDAT]

I have attempted several times to smoke skinless chicken breast. I have brined, marinated, dry rubbed , smoke at 225 until internal temperature reaches 165. I continue to get dry, tough results. What am I doing wrong ? Please advise of any suggestions. Thank you !

 

[Shedd]

Boneless skinless chicken is easier to end with dry than moist, especially low and slow trying to get that smoke flavor. I have had good luck splitting them and marinating them in in a vinegar based bbq sauce for 24-48 hours then putting them on my gas grill at about 350. It takes about 5 minutes per side and I pull them at 155 and wrap in foil then a towel letting them sit about 45 minutes until ready to eat. I haven’t tried them on the Traeger because I like the flame broiled flavor, Traeger doesn’t have any flame it’s basically an oven. My favorite way is to Sous Vide them, then ice bath to cool down, then put on my gas grill for a couple minutes each side.

 

[RayClem]

I like boneless, skinless chicken breasts, as they are a lot less messy than the bone-in with skin. However, it is difficult to do them on the Traeger without them drying out. I did some the other day in which I sliced the breasts lengthwise to make two flat slabs. Then I marinated the breast for 24 hours. The marinade helps to keep the meat moist Then I smoked the breasts in the Traeger for a couple of hours at 225F to add some smoke flavor. I removed them from the Traeger when the internal temperature was about 140 F. I then moved them to a hot griddle heated to 450F to finish them off until they reached a safe internal temperature of 165 F.
If you try to cook them to 165 F on the Traeger, they will be tough and dry.

If you want to cook chicken breasts on the Traeger alone, I would suggest getting the largest split chicken breasts you can find. They come with bone and skin. Although they will have to be removed after cooking, the bone and skin protect the white meat from drying out during the cook. Chicken has very little fat, so it needs the skin and bone to help.

 

[Whf95222]

I have attempted several times to smoke skinless chicken breast. I have brined, marinated, dry rubbed , smoke at 225 until internal temperature reaches 165. I continue to get dry, tough results. What am I doing wrong ? Please advise of any suggestions. Thank you !

You know I’ve had very good luck with only using organic or range Free chicken. Regular chicken nothing but problems with tough and rubbery. I switched to organic range free and have had great results. Moist and tender. I usually cook too. 175°F.

 

[Whf95222]

You know I’ve had very good luck with only using organic or range Free chicken. Regular chicken nothing but problems with tough and rubbery. I switched to organic range free and have had great results. Moist and tender. I usually cook too. 175°F.

Sorry, I put the grill at 350°

 

[Clint62]

I wish I liked chicken breasts. I like them chopped up and in something, but it's dark meat all the way for me otherwise. Thighs rule!
It seems like you'd have to coat them with something to trap some of the juice...? Maybe sear em before they go in the smoker.

 

[Timmy]

Wrap them in bacon.

 

[RayClem]

I wish I liked chicken breasts. I like them chopped up and in something, but it's dark meat all the way for me otherwise. Thighs rule!
It seems like you'd have to coat them with something to trap some of the juice...? Maybe sear em before they go in the smoker.

Many people think the dark meat is more tender, juicy and flavorful than chicken breast, which has very little fat. Unfortunately, my wife won't eat dark meat. We will occasionally cook a whole chicken or whole turkey, but after slicing the breast meat, the remainder is used for some type of casserole or stew. That is the only way she will eat it.

While it is easy to ruin boneless, skinless chicken breast during the cook, chicken thighs are quite forgiving whether you do them in the smoker, on a grill, or on a griddle.

 

[HHI6818]

Try the Traeger Lemon chicken breast recipe. I’ve made it several times and amazing how juicy the breasts are.

 

[Stoutfish]

The challenge with a chicken breast is that is has very little fat and is a high density meat. When you cook a chicken breast the fibers constrict and push all the moisture out. A long slow cook at 225F gives it lots of time to push that moisture out and leave you with a dry, tough chicken breast. I don't mean to tell you that you can't get a good smoked chicken breast, but you won't likely ever achieve the result you are looking for cooking it to 165F in a 225F grill or oven. I have found a couple of ways to get closer 1) smoke it for about 15 min, then wrap it and cook it at a higher temp. I like the bacon idea Timmy posted above, but I was thinking more along the lines of aluminum foil. This will give you some of the smoke flavor and keep it moist. or 2) this is much, much more controversial, but don't cook it to 165F internal. Pull it off at 150F or 155F, cover it and let it rest. There is lots of science to confirm that if you hold the internal temp at 150F for more than 5 minutes, you will effectively kill as much bacteria as you would hitting 165F and holding it for a few seconds. Time and temp work together in this scenario to get a better end result. Like I said, it is controversial and comes with potential risk, but it is how I do it.

If you really want to read the science behind this, here is a article with more links to studies done:

Time-Temperature Effects on Salmonellae and Staphylococci in Foods: II. Thermal Death Time Studies

Thermal death time studies were conducted at 5 F intervals from 130 to 150 F with strains of salmonellae and enterotoxigenic staphylococci. Heat-resistant Salmonella senftenberg strain 775W, Staphylococcus aureus strains 196E and Ms149, and non-heat-resistant ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov