Smokey and packed with protein, these smoked chicken breasts are perfect for meal prepping for the week. Or, if you’ve been wanting to learn how to make your own smoked deli meats at home, try this tender and flavorful way of making chicken sandwiches on the smoker. We use a wet brine and dry rub combination to get the best flavor possible.
Type of chicken to use
For this smoked recipe, we use boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they’re easy to find and affordable. However, due to sustainability and health preferences, we opt for organic and pasture-raised chicken. We order chicken breasts from local grocery stores, like Mother’s Market, or online meat-delivery stores, like McConnell’s or Buy Ranch Direct.
Since we’re smoking skinless breasts, we want to keep as much moisture inside the chicken breast as possible, so we use a wet brine to season and prepare the meat.
Marinade & seasoning ingredients
We’ve tested different methods of prepping and seasoning chicken breasts, and we found that a wet brine and dry rub combo is the best way to keep them tender and moist during smoking. Seasoning overall takes longer, but the texture and flavor are worth the time and effort.
The wet brine helps thoroughly season the inside of the meat, while the dry rub gives us an extra flavor bomb on the crust and acts as a barrier to prevent drying out the leaner skinless chicken breast. This wet brine is a much simpler version of our chicken brine recipe. Our super simple wet brine includes:
- Cold water – since we don’t need to heat the water to infuse fresh herbs or aromatics in the brine like other chicken brine recipes, we can use cold water. This helps shorten the brine time. You need to make sure all brining water is fridge-dispenser-cold before soaking the chicken; otherwise, temperatures higher than 40°F can spread bacteria during brining.
- Dark brown sugar – adds caramelized sweetness to the chicken breast.
- Kosher salt – adds salinity to the brine and helps keep the chicken tender and moist during cooking.
- Garlic powder – one of our favorite spices, which brings a sharp, savory flavor to the chicken. You can also add other spices you prefer, like onion, ginger, or lemongrass.
After brining for at least four hours (no more than eight hours overnight), dry the chicken breast and then cover it in a sweet, salty, and spiced rub:
- Dried spices, such as garlic and onion powder, give the chicken a savory flavor. For different flavors, you can also try ground ginger, mustard, or cumin.
- Smoked paprika adds a warm spiciness to the chicken. If you like your smoked chicken with more heat, try chili powder, cayenne, or gochugaru.
- Dark brown sugar adds sweetness to the spices, balancing all the flavors. I would avoid white cane sugar, which can be too sweet and burn quickly on the grill.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper are the basics of every seasoning rub. They make sure the surface of the chicken is perfectly seasoned and peppery.
If you want more options for dry rub ingredients, try out our smoked chicken thigh dry rub.
What temperature to smoke chicken breast
We smoke chicken breasts at 250°F and believe that low and slow is the best way to prevent overcooking. We wouldn’t recommend smoking hotter than this because it can dry out your chicken or cause uneven cooking. Going too low, like 225°F, can take a substantial amount of smoking time and if the chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, you may get rubbery edges from overcooking. We found that smoking at 250°F gave us a smoky aroma, cooked within two hours, and still had a tender texture.
How long to smoke chicken breast
Smoking chicken breasts at 250°F takes about two hours when your boneless and skinless filets are at least one to one and a half inches thick. Note that if you lower the temperature, your filets will take longer to smoke. I’ve tried smoking chicken breasts at 225°F, and I felt that it took way too long to get the same level of smokey flavor as grilling at 250°F.
Type of wood to smoke for chicken
We use pecan or maple wood varieties to smoke any type of poultry because they won’t overpower the subtle flavor of chicken or turkey. We are smoking these chicken breasts for over two hours on average, so you want to steer clear from varieties like hickory or mesquite wood, which have a stronger, smokier flavor. To learn more about what types of wood varieties to use for different recipes, check out our best wood to smoke guide.
How to serve smoked chicken breast
Smoked chicken breast is such an easy way to get lean protein throughout the week. You can make large batches all at once so it’s a good option for meal prepping on the weekend to get ready for a busy week. Whether you cut them into cubes and eat them with a simple carb, like quinoa and roasted veggie kebabs, or sliced thinly as deli meat for a sandwich.
Here are some of our favorite pairings to eat with smoked chicken breast:
- quinoa with black beans and corn
- how to cook brown rice in a rice cooker (perfect & fluffy!)
- turmeric rice (flavorful yellow rice)
- grilled corn on the cob in foil (w/ compound butter)
- sautéed green beans with garlic & butter
Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
Wet brine
- 3 lb chicken breast boneless, skinless
- 4 c cold water
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
Dry rub
- 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Equipment Used
- measuring cups and spoons
- paper towels
- mixing bowls
- food storage container with a lid
- smoker and wood pellets
- probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer
- tongs
- cooling rack with sheet pans
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the 4 c cold water, 4 tbsp brown sugar, 4 tbsp kosher salt, and 2 tbsp garlic powder. Whisk until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Place the 3 lb chicken breast in a food storage container. Pour the brine until it completely covers the chicken. Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, not more than 8 hours.
- After brining, transfer the chicken onto a cooling rack lined sheet pan and dry with paper towels. Bring the chicken to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Make the dry rub. Add the 1 tbsp dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, and ½ tsp ground black pepper into a bowl and mix.
- Generously coat the chicken breasts with the dry rub on all sides.
- Preheat the smoker to 250°F. Place probe thermometers in center of chicken breasts.
- Flip chicken midway through cooking, then smoke the chicken breast until they measure 160°F in the thickest part.
- Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
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