How do you prep/smoke chicken breasts?

[SVTNate]

I want to try chicken breasts for easy meal prep during the week. I'm thinking I'd like something to marinate overnight.... I like spicy, hate teriyaki if that helps.

This is pure workout fuel... I'll pull them out of a Ziploc and eat them cold. That said, IMO white meat chicken gets old fast, hence the marinade.

I'm totally up for picking up some store-bought marinade if you have one you like.

Same goes for seasoning. I do have Yardbird on hand.

 

[sudsandswine]

I dry brine and grill chicken, often involving smoke as a flavor additive, but almost never at “barbecue” temps.

I’ll do chicken quarters or whole spatchcocked bird in my Weber kettle rotisserie basket, comes out soooo gud. I’ll use a kosher salt and fine ground black pepper dry brine, Albukirky Green Chile seasoning, or Bobs Smokin Southern All Purpose seasoning. I don’t really care to bother with an immersion/wet brine or injection most of the time. The fam is a fan of Naturiffic Harvest Brine on grilled chicken breasts. I usually go with 24-48 hours dry brine, sometimes less, rarely more…just depends on my schedule.

If not using rotisserie I’ll 2 zone it on my Primo and get the poultry mostly up to temp indirect then a little finish direct at the end. Also usually involving a wood chunk or two, but still at 400*+.

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

I don't even like grilling breasts because they are easy to dry out so I would certainly mess up trying to smoke them. I have been eating thighs after workouts, but I don't cook them in advance. I'll literally walk from my home gym to the porch to get the coals going. I've tried many different rubs to switch things up and never noticed a huge difference. Loot n Booty Gold Star Chicken is my favorite though. I think a dipping sauce helps more than a rub. I have been using a verde salsa by Herdez lately that is pretty good.

 

[Hoss]

Split breasts,bone in.Cavender’s and Lawrys seasoned salt.400 dome temp til the chicken hits 165.My Gson calls it white ,juicy chicken.Bone in split breasts are key.I refuse to cook that other crap.

 

[tom b]

I dry brine and grill chicken, often involving smoke as a flavor additive, but almost never at “barbecue” temps.

I’ll do chicken quarters or whole spatchcocked bird in my Weber kettle rotisserie basket, comes out soooo gud. I’ll use a kosher salt and fine ground black pepper dry brine, Albukirky Green Chile seasoning, or Bobs Smokin Southern All Purpose seasoning. I don’t really care to bother with an immersion/wet brine or injection most of the time. The fam is a fan of Naturiffic Harvest Brine on grilled chicken breasts. I usually go with 24-48 hours dry brine, sometimes less, rarely more…just depends on my schedule.

If not using rotisserie I’ll 2 zone it on my Primo and get the poultry mostly up to temp indirect then a little finish direct at the end. Also usually involving a wood chunk or two, but still at 400*+.

perfect answer, nothing left for me to say

 

[TravelingJ]

Just sous vide it with whatever is handy at the store.

 

[BDAABAT]

Sous vide is handy...can do large batches at one time (if desired) or small amounts, can cook to the desired texture and still be safe, nearly impossible to dry out the breasts, and you can flavor it however you want. Clean up is pretty great with sou vide as well.

Bruce

 

[TwoWheeler]

Cornell Chicken.

Not a fan of smoke and chicken - way too easy to overdo and end up with “Chicken A La Ashtray”.

This is so ubiquitous around here, I’m always surprised when people from other areas say they’ve never heard of it. On a summer weekend, you can’t drive 2 miles without finding a fire department/VFW/Boy Scout Troop/church group chicken BBQ, and this is what they use.

 

[SmokinAussie]

^^^ Chicken in Mayo basically. Can't see anything wrong with that!

I'll give it a go and let you know but my go-to advice would have been a wet brine especially if you are only doing breasts. Light smoke indirect, just a few grill marks. Once a breast is brined for long enough you really don't have to freak out about it getting up to 180F. I've pulled them at 155F and they are very juicy... just opaque. Fantastic shredded in a salad etc.

 

[Robert]

The Cornell recipe above is a good one. Search on chicken brine and there are a myriad of choice. This link is a good one.



https://heygrillhey.com/whole-smoked-chicken-with-brine/


If you do not like Tabasco, leave it out. Try adding a half cup of granulated garlic to the recipe. I soak in brine 6 hours for breast and three hours for other pieces. Also, I use regular, non-iodized table salt rather than kosher salt.





I have very good luck cooking skin on, boneless breast on the Weber using the Vortex with a fully lit, full size Weber chimney. Start Checking temps after 20 minutes. Chicken breast are done at 160. Some folks pull at 155. I've pulled at 170 and still had moist meat.



Just for fun, try doing a side by side comparison of a brined breast versus an unbrined breast using the Vortex. Taste will be different, but I think you'll be surprised how similar the moistness is on both pieces.

Also, for a dry brine experience, give Naturific Harvest Brine a try coupled with their Chicken Salt.



Thanks,


Robert

 

[jzadski]

Lately been grilling on the Blackstone. Marinate in Italian dressing then season with Cavender’s once on the grill. Hope this helps

 

[1MoreFord]

Here's another similar to the Cornell recipe w/o the egg.

ROADSIDE CHICKEN​

1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup veg oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS Sea or Kosher salt
1 TBS white sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt

Mix/shake till well dissolved. Put sauce in a bottle with the shaker top. You can marinate the chicken in the sauce for up to 2-8 hrs before cooking. If so discard marinade and make fresh for the cooking sauce. Apply the sauce every 5 min to both sides and turn every 5-10 min. Apply one final coating 5 min before removing from the grill. It's impossible to put too much sauce on while grilling. It will build up a nice layer of flavors. Cook on charcoal grill.
EDIT: If you are going to marinate the chicken first, then leave the oil out for the marinade process. Make up a fresh batch for basting the chicken with the oil in the sauce.

 

[markdtn]

We make chili lime wings and let them marinate overnight. Cook them first thing on a long cook. Then re-use the marinade on chicken breasts and cook them last so they get 6-8 hours to marinate.

Chili Lime Wings
• 5 pounds chicken wings
• 1 cup lime juice
• 7 oz can green chilies, diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano, crumbled
• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

PREPuree chilies in food processor(we use a blender to make it in). Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If required, add more cayenne to your desired heat level. Marinade for 2-8 hours (we do overnight)

 

[Lomey]

If you want to use store bought marinade I like Allegro brand. The Hot and Spicy is my favorite, but some of the others are good.

I've also had good luck with mixing my favorite rubs in some oil and a little vinegar and into the fridge overnight.

 

[charrederhead]

Split breasts,bone in.Cavender’s and Lawrys seasoned salt.400 dome temp til the chicken hits 165.My Gson calls it white ,juicy chicken.Bone in split breasts are key.I refuse to cook that other crap.

Amen. I marinade in Wishbone Zesty Italian dressing, anywhere from 1-24 hours.

Hot Weber kettle, chicken opposite coals. I check after 30 mins. Depending on how it looks, i may put them over the coals for a minute to get more crisp. I'll pull 'em off anytime after 162. The temp will continue to rise as they rest.

Chicken is easy peasy. Never have understood the problem many have with it.

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

Amen. I marinade in Wishbone Zesty Italian dressing, anywhere from 1-24 hours.

Hot Weber kettle, chicken opposite coals. I check after 30 mins. Depending on how it looks, i may put them over the coals for a minute to get more crisp. I'll pull 'em off anytime after 162. The temp will continue to rise as they rest.

Chicken is easy peasy. Never have understood the problem many have with it.

I use Wishbone Robust Italian dressing for chicken breasts. But you have to be careful on how long it marinates. After 4 hours it gets a rubbery texture.

 

[tclark]

Cuban-style mojo is quite good if you want a little change of pace.

 

[charrederhead]

I use Wishbone Robust Italian dressing for chicken breasts. But you have to be careful on how long it marinates. After 4 hours it gets a rubbery texture.

I use Robusto too, and Newman's.

One time I was unable to do a cook as planned, and the chicken marinated for nearly 24 hours. I was concerned, but it came out great.

 

[smokeisgood]

I want to try chicken breasts for easy meal prep during the week. I'm thinking I'd like something to marinate overnight.... I like spicy, hate teriyaki if that helps.

This is pure workout fuel... I'll pull them out of a Ziploc and eat them cold. That said, IMO white meat chicken gets old fast, hence the marinade.

I'm totally up for picking up some store-bought marinade if you have one you like.

Same goes for seasoning. I do have Yardbird on hand.

I do close to the same thing. I buy skinless boneless breasts. The trick is to put them in a zipock bag and beat them flat/thin with a meat hammer so they don't take so long to get the internal past 165. I coat mine with either Webers Kickin Chicken or just a good dose of Tony Chacheres Creole, depending on mood, the grill them, making sure to pull them asap after hitting safe temp. Then let them cool just a bit, put them in a clean ziplock, and into the fridge.

 

[Cat797]

I do close to the same thing. I buy skinless boneless breasts. The trick is to put them in a zipock bag and beat them flat/thin with a meat hammer so they don't take so long to get the internal past 165. I coat mine with either Webers Kickin Chicken or just a good dose of Tony Chacheres Creole, depending on mood, the grill them, making sure to pull them asap after hitting safe temp. Then let them cool just a bit, put them in a clean ziplock, and into the fridge.

This is the key, to get breasts thin so they only take a few minutes. I don't pound them out but what I do is take my sharp boning knife and cut them in half.

My go to that my family loves is when I marinate in a combo of italian dressing and balsamic vinaigrette. I use the cheapest available, never light version, and I'm not scared to leave in for 48 hours if something comes up. I drain excess and season usually with some sort of AP (SPOG) rub.