Boneless skinless chicken breast

Plumberguy

Well-known member
Messages
195
Grill(s) owned
  1. Bull
I know, kinda boring, but looking for some quick and easy recipes for Bull, kids and wife sometimes reluctant to negotiate bones/skin. Do people brine? If so, what is your go to? Seasoning? Smoke versus smoke/roast? Any tips appreciated.
 
Does it have to be white meat? My experience is that boneless, skinless chicken breasts dry out pretty easily. I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs (dark meat) which retain their juiciness much better.

With either, I would do a low-temp cook (180-200 F) first to get some smoke flavor then bump the grill up to 275-300 for just long enough to bring the chicken up to a safe internal temperature (165F). Overall cook time will depend on the thickness of the chicken pieces.
 
I just made chicken breasts last night that were fantastic. First, I always pound out breasts to be a more uniform thickness. Light avocado oil rub and KOSMOS dirty bird rub for a 2 hr brine. Smoker on at 225 and on the rack they went. At about 45 minutes in they were 145 IT. I mopped them up some and back on for another 15 minutes. At about 150, I mopped again, wrapped in foil with a small amount of sauce for about another 10 minutes and pulled and let rest for a bit. Nice and Smokey and very juicy. I do this a lot with great results. Sorry, no photos, but the breasts all disappeared in a hurry.
 
I just made chicken breasts last night that were fantastic. First, I always pound out breasts to be a more uniform thickness. Light avocado oil rub and KOSMOS dirty bird rub for a 2 hr brine. Smoker on at 225 and on the rack they went. At about 45 minutes in they were 145 IT. I mopped them up some and back on for another 15 minutes. At about 150, I mopped again, wrapped in foil with a small amount of sauce for about another 10 minutes and pulled and let rest for a bit. Nice and Smokey and very juicy. I do this a lot with great results. Sorry, no photos, but the breasts all disappeared in a hurry.
Mop and sauce agents?
 
My wife wanted something healthier to take for lunches, so I cut up some chicken breasts into large nuggets, brined them for an hour in a 50/50 salt water mix. After brining, I dried them off slightly and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I then grilled them on my GrillGrate sear kit until they were done. I froze those on a sheet pan before putting them into a large zip lock bag. Now, whoever in the family wants some quick chicken can microwave them for a minute or so and use them for whatever, salads, tacos, etc.
 
I can't speak to cooking in a Rec-Tec just yet, but we eat these every week and more on the Egg. I give a light coat of OO, and a sprinkling of your favorite rub. Throw some smoke in there and cook. I usually do between 250 and 300 or so. On the Egg, I get it up high in the dome, so I assume on a pellet, it will be the equivalent of cooking at a lower temp (225 - 275), but just a guess. Cook to an internal temp of about 155 and pull and let rest.
 
Lat nights quick meal.

Just a plain breast with bacon laid on top with mozzarella, onion & pepper.

Used the Blackstone for the bacon first to crisp it up. All else went in and cooked together.

You can use various seasonings to taste and other toppers.

Cooked at 450 until 165.. did not smoke this one but have before for like a 1/2 hr first. Didn't have time.

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Thinking outside the box, I will take chicken breasts, cube them up, soak them in 1 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoons mirin, 1/2 cup of sake, and a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger for a couple hours if I have time. Throw them on bamboo skewers and give them 20-30 minutes of smoke and then grill them off at 375 on Grill Grates.

I discovered that if you take the leftover marinade, add a 1/4 cup of brown sugar and cook it down (as it did have raw chicken soaking in it), it becomes a pretty respectable teriyaki glaze.

As a side note, any chicken I cook is brined...again if I have time.
 
There are some easy tricks to make perfect chicken breast that will have them begging for more. Seriously, my wife and son hated chicken breast until I started doing this. Most every guest I've ever cooked it for says it's the best they've ever had.

1. Brine. 1 tbsp kosher salt per 2 cups of water. Cover the chicken with the brine for 24 hours.
2. 165 is overcooked chicken. Chicken safety is a function of not just temperature, but time as well. Look up the pasteurization tables for chicken breast and buy a leave-in temp probe if you don't already have one. 165 is when the bacteria is killed instantly, but for example, if you hold it at 160 for 12.1 seconds or 150 for 3 minutes, you'll achieve the same level of safety but it won't be as dry. Experiment with different temperatures; some people like breast in the 140s, but most will find the low to mid 150s to be ideal.
3. Take it to pound town. You want an evenly cooked piece of chicken, not one that's undercooked on the thick end and overcooked on the thin end.

*While I love to brine dark meat as well, DO NOT use the pasteurization tables in that case. Dark meat has more connective tissue that needs to be broken down (like brisket or pork butt) and is best cooked to 175 minimum, and ideally 185-195.
 
Simple Smoked Kirkland Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts:
MEATSMOKER TEMPSMOKING TIMEMEAT TEMPRUBS OR SAUCESMISC INFO
Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts2501.5 - 2.0 hours160 - 165Garlic Pepper and Salt Blend + OreganoFrom Costco
 
I am experimenting with low extreme smoke (30ish minutes) then pull and sear on grill grates at 400. Marinade is 2/3 Salt Lick sauce, 1/3 Worcestershire with a bunch of minced garlic for 2-6 hours. Flavor is great and we use the meat for quesadillas and stir fry with good success. Stir working on the cutover and sear process to keep meat from drying out. Process is a little high maintenance … Tonights results are really good.
 
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