Smoked Chicken Breast

You just need a few ingredients and the result is a melt-in-your-mouth bite of the most tender and juicy Smoked Chicken Breast you'll ever make!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Smoking Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 320kcal

Author Jason

Equipment

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts
1 tbsp Kosher Salt
1 tbsp Coarse Black Pepper
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions

Heat up the smoker to 225°F.
If the chicken breasts did not come already flattened, spend the time to use a mallet to pound them flat in between two pieces of saran wrap until they are thin.
Using paper towels, pat the chicken breasts dry and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Allow to sit for 10-60 minutes so the salt to work as a dry brine, sealing the outside and making the juices stay in the meat.
Once chicken is done with sitting, either using a little bit of olive oil or olive oil spray and then sprinkle coarse pepper.
Place on the smoker grill grate and smoke until it reaches 160°F. Remove it and tent in foil to let it come up to 165°F, which is the USDA recommended safe temperature.

Notes

Use a Quick Salt Brine: We let the salt sit on the chicken for 5-15 minutes for a very quick dry brine - but you can use a wet brine such as the one we used in this Smoked Turkey Breast recipe.

Pound the Chicken Thin: You want to smoke chicken breasts thin. Flatten the chicken using a meat mallet. Place each piece of chicken between two pieces of Saran Wrap and hit it with the mallet until it gets to your desired thickness.

Cut Thick Pieces of Chicken: For extra thick pieces of chicken, you can halve them in thickness using a sharp knife first and then use the mallet.

Tent Chicken: Always tent the chicken for at least 5 minutes. When you remove the meat from the grill and off the heat, the juices will begin to redistribute through the meat. Tenting the meat or wrapping it in foil while you get everything to the table will benefit that process for perfectly juicy chicken.

Nutrition