Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

How long to smoke a chicken breast at 225? ›

Smoke your chicken breast at 225°F until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. This should take about 1 hour. Optional: If you prefer a slight crust on your chicken breast, smoke your chicken at 225°F until it reaches an internal temperature of 115°F.

Smoking a chicken at 225°F is the optimal temperature for achieving juicy, tender meat. If you need to cook your chicken faster, you can raise the smoker temperature to 250°F, but your chicken is more likely to dry out.

To get the best smoke flavor you'll want to set your grill between 180-225℉.

How Long Does it Take to Smoke a Chicken at 350 Degrees? All you need is about 40 minutes to have smoked chicken breasts. No waking up at 2am to start the smoker with this one! It is so quick and easy!

There's no need to flip chicken while smoking. However, you can flip them once if you'd like to get grill lines on both sides. Why is my smoked chicken breast rubbery? If your chicken breasts are rubbery, it is likely that they are overcooked.

It's important to oil the food so that the meat doesn't dry out, and so that it does attract the smoke. After the chicken is brushed with a thin layer of olive oil, season lightly with a rub or simply use salt to flavor the chicken—the wood smoke is your major flavoring agent.

Cook at Higher Temperatures

The ideal temperature to cook your chicken should be around 275 °F – 320 °F (135 °C – 160 °C). As you start to decrease temperature beyond this threshold, the skin will become rubbery. The chicken fat needs to be cooked into the meat, and that cannot happen when your temperature is very low.

Smoking is a dry process, and it's important to add back some of that lost moisture. Spritzing will help keep your meats juicy and tender and will also help them cook more evenly. When you spritz your smoked meats with juices, herbs, or sauces, it will add incredible flavor to the end product.

Research shows that smoking meat breaks down the collagen, which is why it gets so tender and delicious. For added flavor, you can brine the chicken or add seasoning.

Do you smoke chicken face up or down? ›

Place the chicken, breast side up, in the center of the preheated grill or smoker. Close the lid and let the chicken cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the juices run clear when poked with a fork.

Fill a spray bottle with a combination of apple cider vinegar and a little water. Spray the chicken with this mixture while it smokes to keep the chicken moist. This has the potential to prevent a crispy crust from forming, depending on how often you spray the chicken.

Use 1 chimney of fully lit Kingsford Charcoal Briquets. Place the foil-lined water pan in the cooker, but leave it empty. Smoke the chicken at 250-275°F for 1 hour to an internal temperature of 160-165°F. Baste with sauce during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.

Tip #4: Don't Overcook Your Chicken

The FDA-approved temperature for cooking chicken is 165, but your chicken doesn't stop cooking the moment it comes out of the smoker. The bones of the bird hold heat, so you should actually remove from the smoker between 155 and 160 degrees.

Place the chicken in the smoker and smoke, maintaining a smoker temperature of between 200° and 225°F, replenishing the wood chunks or chips as needed, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a leg registers 165°F, 3 to 5 hours. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roughly speaking, it takes about 3-5 hours to smoke a whole bird, or approximately 45 minutes per pound at 250 degrees F.

Pat dry. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F. Coat the chicken breasts with the spice rub. Place the chicken in the smoker and cook for 60-90 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F.