woodmeister
New member
OK folks. My first post here.
For my first serious smoking project, I tried boneless skinless chicken breasts. It was not very successful. Can you say nasty? The chicken meat inside was wonderful. It was moist and tender and tasted great. But the smoked dark brown "skin" on the outside of the chicken was super nasty. Way too strongly smoked.
All I can think is that I put in way too much Apple wood and over-smoked it -- even though total smoking time was a mere 50 minutes.
I didn't do a rub, but did coat the breasts with olive oil.
The basics:
Three large boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Equilibrium brined to 1.25%.
Chicken on top shelf of 2D smoker.
About 4.5 oz. (two small chunks) apple wood.
Cooking temp. 250°.
Probe temp. 160°.
Cooking time 50 minutes (from cold start).
Smoked after 12 minutes to the end. Plenty of wood left at end.
From all the posts I've read, 50 minutes seems like a very short cooking/smoking time to me. But the probe reached 160° and the meat was done. It wasn't over-done or under-done. It was perfect.
The only problem was the super strong outside "skin" of the chicken. It was nearly inedible.
Next time I'm going to try one little chunk of Apple wood (2 oz.), a cooking temp. of 225°, and I'll place the chicken on the second from top shelf.
Any other suggestions? Would a glaze (such as maple or honey) help? Did my wood catch on fire? If catching on fire was the problem, what should I do to prevent that in the future?
Thanks in advance for comments.
Woody
For my first serious smoking project, I tried boneless skinless chicken breasts. It was not very successful. Can you say nasty? The chicken meat inside was wonderful. It was moist and tender and tasted great. But the smoked dark brown "skin" on the outside of the chicken was super nasty. Way too strongly smoked.
All I can think is that I put in way too much Apple wood and over-smoked it -- even though total smoking time was a mere 50 minutes.
I didn't do a rub, but did coat the breasts with olive oil.
The basics:
Three large boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Equilibrium brined to 1.25%.
Chicken on top shelf of 2D smoker.
About 4.5 oz. (two small chunks) apple wood.
Cooking temp. 250°.
Probe temp. 160°.
Cooking time 50 minutes (from cold start).
Smoked after 12 minutes to the end. Plenty of wood left at end.
From all the posts I've read, 50 minutes seems like a very short cooking/smoking time to me. But the probe reached 160° and the meat was done. It wasn't over-done or under-done. It was perfect.
The only problem was the super strong outside "skin" of the chicken. It was nearly inedible.
Next time I'm going to try one little chunk of Apple wood (2 oz.), a cooking temp. of 225°, and I'll place the chicken on the second from top shelf.
Any other suggestions? Would a glaze (such as maple or honey) help? Did my wood catch on fire? If catching on fire was the problem, what should I do to prevent that in the future?
Thanks in advance for comments.
Woody