Easy Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe

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Hey there, and welcome to my latest obsession aka smoked every single thing. My smoker is on constant repeat, smoking things like cheese, vegetables, Smoked Ribeye, Smoked Chicken Wings, seasoning and more.

One of my favs, is this juicy smoked chicken breast recipe. The best part is that it is super easy to make and no fail. It is simply a process of optional brining, seasoning, smoking and then tucking right in.

Why Make This Awesome Smoked Boneless Chicken Breast

• Flavorful. Since this is smoked at a lower temperature of 225°F, there is lots of time for the smoky flavor to infuse into the meat. Bland chicken has been banished.
• Juicy. Sick of dried out chicken? Then this recipe here is a game changer. It is perfectly juice, every single time. We got this.
• Versatile. I love that these smoked boneless chicken breasts can be brought out during a bbq or backyard party, make a batch for your weekly meal prep, thrown in a salad, sandwich, wrap or serve shredded over some soup and more.

The Seriously Simple Ingredients and Variations

• I used 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 7-8 oz each). If you choose another cut, cook time will be different. Keep them the same size so they cook at the same rate. I always grab a bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts whenever the grocery store has them on offer, portion them out and freeze till needed.
• I coat meat in olive oil to help the seasoning stick. Use canola oil too.
• Using smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper is my preferred way of seasoning this meat. But you’re totally allowed to skip anything you don’t like or even better use your favorite rub.
• BBQ sauce is purely optional depending on preferences. Have some extra for serving.
• The wood is down to personal taste and choice. I use oak wood as that is what I easily have available, but cherry wood, applewood, maple wood and hickory wood work too.

Smoked Chicken Breast Brine

To brine or not to brine, that is the question. Whilst you don’t need to, if you brine the chicken before smoking, it will help keep the chicken juicy and moist during the smoking process. Test it both ways and see which you prefer. If you are going to brine the chicken make sure you take that extra time into account.

• Make the brine. Mix together 4 cups water, 3 tablespoons sea salt flakes, 2 tablespoons sugar, slices from half a lemon, and 2 bay leaves. You can add optional extras like 3 sprigs of rosemary or thyme, smashed garlic cloves, a tablespoon black peppercorns and a bunch of parsley. Combine over medium heat until both the sugar and salt dissolve, switch off the heat and let cool completely.
• Brine the chicken. Fully submerge meat in the cooled brine for between 2-4 hours.
• Rinse the chicken. When done, remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat dry. You are now ready for the next step.

How To Smoke Chicken Breasts

I am going walk you through the perfect smoked chicken breast recipe along with a gazillion tips and tricks that will have you whipping up this recipe aaaaaaaaaaaaaall year long.

Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below

1. Preheat your smoker. Preheat your smoker (use this awesome smoker if you don’t already have one) to 225°F / 110°C using a wood of your choice (see suggestions below) your chicken. Or preheat your pellet smoker like you pit boss smoker to 225°F / 110°C.
2. Season your chicken. Get your chicken (out of the brine if you did this step), pat it dry and rub on some oil and sprinkle on some sea salt flakes before coating both sides with a dry rub of your choice. It can be store-bought or homemade = > see lots of easy dry rub suggestions below).
3. Smoke the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in the smoker, cover and cook for about 1-1.5 hours or until the internal temperature of the thickest part (using a digital thermometer) reaches 160°F.
4. Add extra flavor if you want. The chicken is awesome as is. But you can brush on extra sauces eg bbq sauce on the chicken and smoke for a further 5-10 minutes if you want.
5. Rest and slice. Or you can skip step 4 and go straight to this, remove the meat from the smoker, and wrap up in foil and let rest till the temperature reaches 165°F, before slicing it up and serving.

There you have it, you very own juicy and smoky chicken.

Bintu’s Recipe Tips And Variations

• If you brine the chicken remember this brine recipe uses sea salt flakes, not regular table salt. Your brine liquid can be very simple mixture of water and salt, to more complex versions where you add things like fresh herbs, citrus, heat from peppercorns and various spices. Feel free to quadrupled the liquid to cover whole chickens and turkey.
• If you are cooking this up for meal prep or later, make sure the chicken is completely cool before slicing. This will seal in all the juices and keeps it moist.
• Do allow the meat rest for at least 5 minutes, and then slice it against the grain to keep it nice and tender.
• Suitable for Low Carb, Keto, Paleo, Whole30, and Gluten-Free dieters.

More Smoked Chicken and Other Recipes

I am a huuuuuge fan of smoked food. Here are a few of my other smoker recipes I love.

• Easy Smoked Chicken Wings. I love this one too.
• Smoked Ribeye Steak. A fav of our family.
• Smoked Pork Tenderloin. I love this for the hols too.
• Smoked Turkey Breast. A great Thanksgiving main.
• Smoked Stuffing. So easy for holidays.
• Smoked Pork Shoulder. Great for potlucks.

How To Serve It

I love this so much that i tend to just start eating it as is. However, my fav sides include veggies like creamy Southern Slaw, as well as this Grilled Baked Potato and some Grilled Corn on the Cob and my fav Grilled Broccoli. I serve it with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or Air Fryer Baby Potatoes for a more hearty meal.

I love it with salads like this Cucumber Tomato Salad, or this awesome Wedge salad and on holidays this Broccoli Cranberry Salad.

Leftovers work well in this Meal Prep Chicken Bowl as well as in Lettuce Chicken Wraps (swap out the chicken for smoked chicken) and in this awesome Air Fryer Fried Rice.

Some Questions You May Have

Some Tools You’ll Need

• A super awesome smoker. Try this smoker which I love, or this other smoker too.
• A charcoal chimney for lighting coal or briquettes easily. Makes life easier.
• An instant-read digital thermometer. This really awesome one gives you an instant-read so you avoid overcooking your food.
• Leather gloves – These are really useful for moving stuff about on your smoker so you don’t burn your hands.

Weight Watchers Points

Good news, my WW folks. One serving of smoked chicken breast contains just 1 Blue plan SmartPoint.

Thank you for reading my Easy Smoked Chicken Breast recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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