Why should we know about smoked chicken breast? Chicken is among the most essential and favorite dishes and human have found enormous methods to cook its sections. The breast has a fibrous and parched texture and contains very little fat. This makes chicken breast to be the trickiest part to cook properly.
The good news is, smoked chicken breast is an excellent method to make a chicken breast juicy and flavorful. So, let’s discover the best recipes for delicious and easy smoked chicken breast.
Why we love smoked chicken breast recipe
There are many reasons to be fond of smoked chicken breast.
- Smoked chicken breast is low in fat and calories, while providing a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, Sodium and Potassium.
- Smoked chicken breast is a delicious smoky dish with a dry spice rub coating that elevates its taste.
- Smoked chicken breast can be consumed in various ways, in sandwiches, wraps, salad, tacos, etc.
- Smoked chicken breast is easy to prepare and the process of cooking is not too complicated. Electric smoker makes the hardest step of the food making process become very simple.
Ingredients of smoked chicken breastTo smoking chicken breast, here’s what you need:
- Boneless chicken breast
- Avocado oil or other neutral-tasting oil as olive oil
- Smoked chicken rub
There are many ways to season your breast, you can combine the additive you want, or just simply use a store-bought seasoning. However, homemade rub is highly recommended since you can modify the seasoning based on your taste. This is a perfect smoked chicken breast rub recipe used by most home chef:
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1.5 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, if you don’t like spicy foods)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
How to Smoke Chicken Breast
Once you get all the needed ingredients, the next step is smoking chicken breast. The problem is, they are simple to overcook, producing rubbery, dry chicken. So how to smoke chicken breast properly so that it’s wonderfully juicy and smoky ?
- Step 1: Preheating the smoker to 225ºF. This is applied for electric smokers.
- Step 2: Coating the beast with avocado/olive oil before spreading the rub on.
Oil is just acting as a binder for the seasoning. If you want a healthier dish, you can use a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Beside holding on the spices, the vinegar also helps improve the overall flavor too.
- Step 3: Mix all the rub ingredients in a large bowl and season all sides of the chicken breasts.
You can put the breasts and rub into a bag, grab the bag mouth leaving air space and lightly shake it. This is an efficient way to season meat.
- Step 4: Place the chicken breasts on the smoker’s grill and smoke it.
Chef Gordon Ramsay’s advice for making the best chicken breast every time is never cook it cold. By letting chicken breast at room temperature, it will be cooked more evenly once hitting the pan. Additionally, choosing skin-on chicken other than boneless, skinless chicken breasts will result in a dish with greater taste, texture, and moisture.
How Long to Smoke Chicken Breast
When it comes to smoking chicken breast, time and temperature should be carefully checked. Smoked chicken breast needs about 1 hour to be done, or you can wait until the internal temperature of the thickest part reaches 165ºF. The chicken is considered to be safe to consume at this temperature. If the smoker does not have a constructed temperature probe, you can use a digital instant-read thermometer to check the temperature. In case the breasts are not ready, continue smoking them and checking the temperature each 2 minutes. There is no exact answer for the question “How long to smoke chicken breast” since the smoking time relies on the size of chicken breasts.
What temperature to smoke chicken breast
The most ideal temperature is between 225℉ and 250℉. To maintain the juice and moisture of chicken breast, make sure to smoke it at a low temperature. The cause of dry chicken breast is mostly from cooking it at a high temperature or leaving it hot for too long and not checking the internal temperature. Sometimes chicken will keep cooking even when you take it out of the smoker. This phenomenon can occur in about 5 minutes. If you want your smoked chicken breast more juicy and moist, take it out at about 160℉ so that it will reach the perfect 165℉ by the time you tend to serve it.
Smoked chicken breast is served with
Smoked chicken breast is a great dish itself, but it can be better if served with side dishes. Moreover, smoked food seems to be a drier dish, then it needs pairing with something that has a moist texture or more juicy. You can consider some side dishes that smoked chicken breast is served with to enhance your meal. Here is La Pulperia’s suggestions:
- Herbed Mac and Cheese
- Tomato Salad
- Apple Coleslaw
- Baked Parmesan Zucchini
- Broccoli Salad
- Grilled Corn Salad
- Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Cucumber Salad
- Bourbon Baked Beans
- Caesar Salad
How to Store Smoked Chicken Breast
The best way to store any kind of food, including smoked chicken breasts, is putting them in the fridge. Make sure to keep them in a food storage container before storing them in the refrigerator. With proper storage, you can consume the smoked chicken breast within 4 days. Another way to store smoked chicken breasts, and also extend its edible period is freezing. The breasts must be let cool at room temperature before freezing. Place them into a freezer zip bag and vacuum package them. Smoked chicken can last up to 3 months in the freezer. If you need frozen breasts for meal preparation, take them out of the freezer and thaw slowly in the refrigerator one day before.
How do you reheat Smoked Chicken Breast?
Reheating smoked chicken breast in the oven/air fryer is the most common way since it keeps the flavor and texture better. To reheat chicken, first preheat the oven/air fryer to 350ºF. Put the chicken pieces in a baking dish, add 1 cup of water or chicken broth, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake the chicken breast at 200-250ºF. Remove the foil after 15 minutes and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F and the skin is crispy. Another way to reheat smoked chicken breast is using a stove. In this way, you should take a pan or a skillet and grease it with oil or butter. Heat the oil on medium until it warms up. Place the chicken breast in the pan, stir to reheat it evenly.
How to Use Smoked Chicken Breast Leftover
Some people deal with leftovers simply by reheating them. It’s the easiest and also the most boring way. There are numerous other great recipes and you can even follow each of them every day in one week without coincidence. Here are some guides for “How to use smoked chicken breast leftovers”:
- Using smoked chicken breast leftover for appetizers
Let’s get started with some small bites. You can make them in a flash and the result is much more than expected. Mediterranean Chicken Bites deserves to be mentioned. Chicken with yogurt, olives, and fresh oregano is a perfect combination for appetizers. BBQ Chicken Wonton Cups, an ultimate super appetizer: Crispy wonton shells with cream cheese and shredded chicken.
- Using smoked chicken breast leftover for Pasta dishes
Chicken and pasta is an old-but-gold combination with a limitless number of sauces that can be used. One of them is Creamy Smoked Chicken Pasta. Smoked Chicken Pasta Salad is a good alternative.
- Utilizing leftover to make fried dishes
The first dish to mention here is Chicken Fried Rice. Shredded chicken, cold rice, some more additive ingredients and you will have an incredible restaurant dish at home. This is an all-in-one meal, super easy but super appetizing. Another Asian-inspired dish is Chicken Bell Pepper Stir Fried. The sweet and crunchy bell pepper, combined with the tender, smoky chicken breast will promote the flavor of your dish. Serve with a bowl of rice and that’s all for a perfect meal.
- Cooking chicken soup and broth from chicken breast leftover
You can also utilize the leftovers to add protein to a soup. Baked breast chicken can be used as a key ingredient in some types of soup that can warm you up from the inside. Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup is at the top of this list. Mushroom, cream cheese, smoked chicken breast and herbs bring about a rich and fresh flavor at the same time. If you want something creative, Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup will be an excellent choice. Smokiness will add greater depth of flavor to traditional tortilla soup.
- Making salad, wraps, sandwiches and pizza with leftover
If you haven’t found your favorite recipe, then try one of these: Creamy Smoked Chicken Salad: This is a favorite summertime meal and will help to refresh your day. The salad can match perfectly with croissants, wraps, and crackers. Buffalo Chicken Wraps: Smoked chicken covered with hot sauce dressing, broccoli slaw and blue cheese. This little bugger is delicious and easy to make.
Tips and Variations For Smoked Chicken Breast recipe
Don’t overthink seasoning smoked chicken
For smoked chicken breast, the rub is not that serious. Don’t overthink seasoning smoked chicken. You can use any seasonings you want, as simple as a mixture of pepper, salt, and garlic powder is still amazing.
Other recipes with Chicken Breast
- Honey Chicken Breast Stir-Fry
- Chicken Piccata
- Chicken Burrito Skillet
- Rosemary Lime Chicken Breast
- Breaded Ranch Chicken Breast
- Spaghetti Chicken Parmesan
- Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Breast
- Cranberry Maple Chicken Breast
- Herbed Chicken Caesar Salad
- Coconut Curry Chicken
- Barbecue Chicken Breast
- Spicy Air-Frier Chicken Breast
- Lemon Cream Chicken
- Chicken Provolone
- Slow-cooker chicken Tacos
- Chunky Creamy Chicken Soup
Topping and Sauces Variations
There are many topping and sauces variations you can try with your smoked chicken breast. Even a little modification in the amount of ingredients of the spice rub can also lead to a great change in the breast flavor. You can add chili pepper flakes or extra brown sugar, or some fresh herbs for amazing taste and flavor.
BBQ seasoning is a classic choice, it’s good enough to arouse your appetite. But if you want to get creative, serve up the chicken breast with Alabama White Sauce made up from mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, vinegar and horseradish. If you never serve chicken with Rosemary Cream Sauce, try it, and you will be surprised. Made from rosemary, onion, butter, heavy cream, extra dry vermouth, tomato paste and salt, the sauce is incredibly delicious and enhances the flavor of smoked chicken breast.
Smoked chicken breast is delicious and easy to make. By an hour of smoking, you can get an incredible dish for parties, weeknight dinners or simply a healthy meal. Hope this recipe will help with your cooking skill and daily diets. Above are the best recipes to cook Smoked chicken breast from https://bluevelvetrestaurant.com. Hope you do well and have the nice dish! If you want to need more delicious recipes and food-news, contact us.
