I am going to be smoking several Bone-in chicken breasts this weekend on my new WSM. I have searched for some help, but did not find quite what I was looking for. I am looking to find out what I should do to prep the chicken, how hot to keep the smoker and how long (roughly) to cook it. I have seen as little as 1 hour to as much as 4 hours. Any advice and help would be great.
Bone In Chicken Breasts???
- Thread starter Steve G.
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Steve G
I expect you'll get several replies, so I'll give you mine. Many people will recommend a brine, but I prefer an overnight marinade in WB Italian - in a ziplock. I then season with a commercial rub and pull the skin back gently so you can get some rub on the meat under the skin.
For a crisp skin, use an empty foiled lined pan and cook in the 325 to 350 range. It'll be a short cook so you can fire up with either Standard or MM. Check the main page for instructions.
If you have an internal meat therm, it's best to judge doness with that. If you take them off at 155 and wrap loosely in foil they stay warm and temp will rise to about 160.
I doubt if your cook will go longer than 1 1/2 hrs. I use water in my pan for this cook so I'm cooking around 250, so my cook goes about 2 1/2 hrs. I discard the skin to avoid the fat. To me the chicken seems a little juicier this way, but that may just be my imagination. At the higher heat, it will be juicy if you pull it off the cooker by 160.
Good luck on your cook and enjoy your new WSM. I think you'll be delighted.
Paul
I expect you'll get several replies, so I'll give you mine. Many people will recommend a brine, but I prefer an overnight marinade in WB Italian - in a ziplock. I then season with a commercial rub and pull the skin back gently so you can get some rub on the meat under the skin.
For a crisp skin, use an empty foiled lined pan and cook in the 325 to 350 range. It'll be a short cook so you can fire up with either Standard or MM. Check the main page for instructions.
If you have an internal meat therm, it's best to judge doness with that. If you take them off at 155 and wrap loosely in foil they stay warm and temp will rise to about 160.
I doubt if your cook will go longer than 1 1/2 hrs. I use water in my pan for this cook so I'm cooking around 250, so my cook goes about 2 1/2 hrs. I discard the skin to avoid the fat. To me the chicken seems a little juicier this way, but that may just be my imagination. At the higher heat, it will be juicy if you pull it off the cooker by 160.
Good luck on your cook and enjoy your new WSM. I think you'll be delighted.
Paul
I am not a big skin fan, so I will likely discard it, but my understanding is that cooking with it on is the way to go to keep it juicy. So if I understand your post, I should cook with a pan of water at about 250* for about 2 1/2 hours to 160 degrees....following the same marinade procedure. When you talk about the rub, is it a conventional BBQ rub? or something else. I like the Italian marinade, but not sure a BBQ rub would match it. Please give me a little more detail about what type of rub you are using.
Also, I am ASSUMING that the chicken still has the skin on....my wife has instructed me that HEB has the bone-in chicken on sale REALLY cheap today, but I don't know if the skin is on or off. If anyone has any skinless tips, I would appreciate that as well....just to be safe. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
Thanks for the help.
Also, I am ASSUMING that the chicken still has the skin on....my wife has instructed me that HEB has the bone-in chicken on sale REALLY cheap today, but I don't know if the skin is on or off. If anyone has any skinless tips, I would appreciate that as well....just to be safe. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
Thanks for the help.
I was talking about bone-in half breasts with the skin on. Skinless breast are a different thing and I believe a bigger challenge in so far as taste. The fat in the skin keeps the chicken moist during the cooking process.
I've used various rubs, i.e. Oklahoma Joe Yard rub (?), a rub I recently got at Sams's, Durkee (sp) for chicken and pork, a pork/chicken rub I got from Bass Pro, any rub that says "for chicken/pork". As you can see, I'm not too selective.
One thing I didn't mention was to be careful on your smoke wood. Chicken can easily become to smokey in taste. I really only have the opportunity to get hickory or mesq without ordering. I would use no more than two fist size chunks of hickory. If you can get something lighter like apple, that would be good.
Paul
I've used various rubs, i.e. Oklahoma Joe Yard rub (?), a rub I recently got at Sams's, Durkee (sp) for chicken and pork, a pork/chicken rub I got from Bass Pro, any rub that says "for chicken/pork". As you can see, I'm not too selective.
One thing I didn't mention was to be careful on your smoke wood. Chicken can easily become to smokey in taste. I really only have the opportunity to get hickory or mesq without ordering. I would use no more than two fist size chunks of hickory. If you can get something lighter like apple, that would be good.
Paul
Thanks for your help Paul...looks like your recipe will get the go if no one else chimes in. I got the chicken today...skin on (thank goodness that is what was on sale)
So let me get this straight:
I use water in my pan and cook temp around 250 for about 2 1/2 hrs. Pull it off at 160. Right?
My only two questions now are:
1. doesn't chicken need to be cooked to 180 to be done?
2. Which coal method to you suggest for this type of smoke?
So let me get this straight:
I use water in my pan and cook temp around 250 for about 2 1/2 hrs. Pull it off at 160. Right?
My only two questions now are:
1. doesn't chicken need to be cooked to 180 to be done?
2. Which coal method to you suggest for this type of smoke?
Bruce Bissonnette
TVWBB Guru
Steve,
Chicken thighs and legs need to be cooked to 180.
Secondly, by coal method if you mean strat up method, I use the Minion Method for all cooks I find it easier to control temps on the way up than to try and bring them down if they get stubborn.
Chicken thighs and legs need to be cooked to 180.
Secondly, by coal method if you mean strat up method, I use the Minion Method for all cooks I find it easier to control temps on the way up than to try and bring them down if they get stubborn.
Steve G
If you've purchased bone-in chicken breasts, you don't want to take them to 180 or the meat will be dried out. 160 in the breast is correct.
I use the MM on all cook, because it is easier controling your temp on the way up. You really do need to read the sections on firing up on links from the homepage so you'll be more comfortable. If you rely soley on answers to your questions posted, you'll get a snapshot view and probably miss something important.
In so far as rubs, I did a search and typed in "poultry rubs" and then searched under "rub, etc" section and found a few posts which describe award winning rubs you can make yourself. You might enjoy doing this. I didn't have the time or desire so I just bought something.
Enjoy your cook. Expect a few surprises. You'll learn something on each of your cooks. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Paul
If you've purchased bone-in chicken breasts, you don't want to take them to 180 or the meat will be dried out. 160 in the breast is correct.
I use the MM on all cook, because it is easier controling your temp on the way up. You really do need to read the sections on firing up on links from the homepage so you'll be more comfortable. If you rely soley on answers to your questions posted, you'll get a snapshot view and probably miss something important.
In so far as rubs, I did a search and typed in "poultry rubs" and then searched under "rub, etc" section and found a few posts which describe award winning rubs you can make yourself. You might enjoy doing this. I didn't have the time or desire so I just bought something.
Enjoy your cook. Expect a few surprises. You'll learn something on each of your cooks. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Paul
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steve G.:
[qb] I am going to be smoking several Bone-in chicken breasts this weekend on my new WSM. I have searched for some help, but did not find quite what I was looking for. I am looking to find out what I should do to prep the chicken, how hot to keep the smoker and how long (roughly) to cook it. I have seen as little as 1 hour to as much as 4 hours. Any advice and help would be great. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Hello Steve,
Congrats on your new WSM! You're gonna love it!
Here's my 2 cents worth on the chicken thing. I have tried both the brine and the Italian dressing marinade.
I cooked the chicken WITHOUT any other seasoning to see if I could taste any difference between the two. There was no difference in taste to me. My wife said she could taste only a slight difference.
I used only a slight amount of hickory for my smoke wood. Hickory is my overall favorite smoke flavor.
Then I tried the same process with 2 different dry seasonings. My conclusion is that brining is cheaper and less trouble than the Italian dressing marinade, with no difference in taste.
Another observation is that I have better results with thighs rather than breast. My wife would not eat dark chicken meat until she tried the thighs I smoked on the WSM.
As far as cooking times go, be more concerned with internal meat temps rather than a time frame.
Pit temps will determine cooking time. After a few cooks, you'll be able to "guesstimate" your cooking times.
Experimentation is the best teacher and chicken is cheap. Cook it, taste it, give the rest away!! Practice, practice! Your neighbors and friends will love ya!
Good smokin'
Jim
[qb] I am going to be smoking several Bone-in chicken breasts this weekend on my new WSM. I have searched for some help, but did not find quite what I was looking for. I am looking to find out what I should do to prep the chicken, how hot to keep the smoker and how long (roughly) to cook it. I have seen as little as 1 hour to as much as 4 hours. Any advice and help would be great. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Hello Steve,
Congrats on your new WSM! You're gonna love it!
Here's my 2 cents worth on the chicken thing. I have tried both the brine and the Italian dressing marinade.
I cooked the chicken WITHOUT any other seasoning to see if I could taste any difference between the two. There was no difference in taste to me. My wife said she could taste only a slight difference.
I used only a slight amount of hickory for my smoke wood. Hickory is my overall favorite smoke flavor.
Then I tried the same process with 2 different dry seasonings. My conclusion is that brining is cheaper and less trouble than the Italian dressing marinade, with no difference in taste.
Another observation is that I have better results with thighs rather than breast. My wife would not eat dark chicken meat until she tried the thighs I smoked on the WSM.
As far as cooking times go, be more concerned with internal meat temps rather than a time frame.
Pit temps will determine cooking time. After a few cooks, you'll be able to "guesstimate" your cooking times.
Experimentation is the best teacher and chicken is cheap. Cook it, taste it, give the rest away!! Practice, practice! Your neighbors and friends will love ya!
Good smokin'
Jim
Thanks for the reply guys.
I have cooked whole birds and briskets on my off-set smoker, but never parts and never anything on a WSM before so I appreciate the tips. I know there will be some hiccups along the way...that is why I am doing the breasts first....I paid $3.43 for 6 breasts yesterday....not a lot of money to be lost if I screw them up.
I'll be sure to post my results here after the cook this weekend.
I have cooked whole birds and briskets on my off-set smoker, but never parts and never anything on a WSM before so I appreciate the tips. I know there will be some hiccups along the way...that is why I am doing the breasts first....I paid $3.43 for 6 breasts yesterday....not a lot of money to be lost if I screw them up.
I'll be sure to post my results here after the cook this weekend.
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