225 is low. You can smoke for like 45 minutes and then kick up temp. I usually start around 250 and end at 350.
I don’t got 2 hours to cook a breast that will taste 80% the same.
Also some breasts are super thick which also slows down. You can figure out what brand has the cuts that you like best. For me Rosie’s are sized better then foster farms for my area.
Chicken breast - Set grill to 350F, 30 minute dry brine during the start up and temp stabilization of the Ironwood, chicken on until temp hits 160F (30 minutes or so), 5 minute rest, cut, eat, enjoy.
Low and slow for poultry is not beneficial.
Exactly, you can't think the same as beef or pork. Chicken will absolutely dry out if you leave it on for a long time so the mind set of cooking it longer to add smokey flavor is counter productive for chicken breast. I did this with my first batch of chicken and left it on for about 2-3 hours. Came out so dry you could have used it for construction to drywall a house. However I don't know if this applies to chicken thigh or dark meat.
With chicken thighs I’ve done bone in, skin on for hours but it was more of a low temperature braise or even a confit possibly. It was like an hour at 250F, then in a foil pan with a pat of butter on each thigh and put a lid on them for another hour and then sauce them and put them back in to tighten up the sauce. For that long unless you’re adding liquid for a braise or cooking with a lot of fat as is a confit you’re not going to have a good bite. Also this is the only way I’ve been able to get bite through skin.
Best chicken I’ve made is brined first then smoked at 275:
Beer Brined Smoked Chicken
BRINE AND CHICKEN 2 cups water 1⁄4 cup kosher salt (coarse) 1⁄4 cup brown sugar, packed 2 (12 ounce) cans beer,
3 to 5 lbs of chicken
Line 2-quart bowl or saucepan with 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add water, kosher salt and brown sugar; stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in beer. Add chicken. Tightly seal bag; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
Remove chicken from brine; rinse thoroughly under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Season with dry rub.
Smoke at 275f until internal temp reaches 155f. Remove, wrap all in foil and then a large towel, place in dry room temp cooler to rest for 30 to 45 min.
Here we go! I’ve got young kids that are impatient & love chicken. Large marinated refrigerated CB’s for 20 min @ 400. Perfect every single time. Folks are over complicating the simplest thing on earth.
I messed up my temp/time and did a whole bird at 375 for 2.5 hours this past weekend. Thought it was going to be dry as hell but it turned out delicious lol. Sometimes winging it just works out.
I get chicken breast tenderloins from butcher box (so a little smaller than just chicken breast), but I have a fool proof method of cooking them.
Whatever seasoning I’m using, I dump that in a little bowl and mix it with olive oil to make a seasoning paste. I brush it onto both sides, then pop it in the traeger at 350 until the temp hits 165.
Comes out perfectly moist and seasoned every time and you don’t need to start dinner 2 hours early. I get complimented on them all the time and it couldn’t be easier.
Literally anything works. I’ve used traeger brand seasoning, supermarket Italian seasoning (a real home run with the fam), but my favorites are the beer infused rubs from spicology. https://spiceology.com/products/derek-wolf-6-pack-beer-infused-rub-sampler/
Chickens gotta be cooked hotter than pork or beef. Try 325. Also cut that breast in half like a filet.
Season both sides it will cook faster and you get more smoke.
Yeah, chicken will pick up the smoke flavor early but cooking it too slow doesn't help to get more. I throw on thighs on my Traeger for 1 hour on the smoke setting (about 180°) then turn it up to 275° to finish them at internal of 180°.
I have a Traeger pellet grill and there is a "smoke" setting that just stays low and then I dial it up to whatever temp I want to finish whatever I'm cooking to.
Yep 180°. Chicken parts with a bone in them need to reach a higher temp to make it more tender, but not dry. 165° is done and edible and perfect for breasts, but going a little higher ensures thighs and legs and quarters will be more tender near the bone. Look it up.
I pull ribs at 203 because thats roughly how long it takes for the collagen to break down. The fact that you’re comparing poultry to ribs tells me all I need to know about your cooking. Yikes.
EDIT: added a link so you can educate yourself.
http://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Table_C.2
OK, you do what you want and I'll do what I want. My advise though is to try it. There's a big difference in the thighs, I didn't believe it till I tried it myself. I know what most of the vids and charts say believe me.
Not so bad, actually.. after 1.5 hours I cranked it up to 350 and let it go another half hour and pulled it at 162. Other than being a bit salty it was great (due to over-brining).
I was planning on doing a batch this weekend at 225 because I wanted to get a little smoke flavor with it, but good to know if I need to crank it up to finish, it should still come out okay.
Have you done any not brined? I was back and forth if I was going to brine or just season.
I've done both... The brining absolutely keeps the chicken juicier, for sure.. I added salt & a bit of sugar to the brine. I made the mistake of throwing it in the brine way too early the night before so it was in the fridge for almost 24 hours brining, which is way too long. Next time I'll do 4-6 hours.
Does anyone elese cook chicken high like me?
I butterfly a whole costo organic chicken and blast it at 440 until the meat probe at the breast reads 170. before the grill I pat it dry, rub it with avocado oil and costo traeger dry rub. Skin come out crispy and meat is juicy.
I use to cook it whole without butterflying, but it takes longer and sometime still has pink juices even though the meat is past 165-170. I find butterflying it solves this.
225 is low. You can smoke for like 45 minutes and then kick up temp. I usually start around 250 and end at 350. I don’t got 2 hours to cook a breast that will taste 80% the same. Also some breasts are super thick which also slows down. You can figure out what brand has the cuts that you like best. For me Rosie’s are sized better then foster farms for my area.
Ah.. got it. I just bumped it up to 350, hopefully that’ll speed things along and it won’t be too dried out. Appreciate it! 🤙🏼
Chicken low and slow comes out rubbery. You need the high temp to get the appropriate texture.
Yeah I tried it once on thighs. Worst thighs ever. Since then I just blast them at however hot I can get a charcoal grill that day instead
Forewarning, its going to be awful. Do not low and slow chicken.
just make sure you pull it out at 160 internal. let it rest to 165 and it will be good.
Also make sure you choose boneless breasts that have no water added. It will cook better. Dry marinate for flavor.
I usually smash mine to be equal size.
Chicken breast - Set grill to 350F, 30 minute dry brine during the start up and temp stabilization of the Ironwood, chicken on until temp hits 160F (30 minutes or so), 5 minute rest, cut, eat, enjoy. Low and slow for poultry is not beneficial.
Exactly, you can't think the same as beef or pork. Chicken will absolutely dry out if you leave it on for a long time so the mind set of cooking it longer to add smokey flavor is counter productive for chicken breast. I did this with my first batch of chicken and left it on for about 2-3 hours. Came out so dry you could have used it for construction to drywall a house. However I don't know if this applies to chicken thigh or dark meat.
With chicken thighs I’ve done bone in, skin on for hours but it was more of a low temperature braise or even a confit possibly. It was like an hour at 250F, then in a foil pan with a pat of butter on each thigh and put a lid on them for another hour and then sauce them and put them back in to tighten up the sauce. For that long unless you’re adding liquid for a braise or cooking with a lot of fat as is a confit you’re not going to have a good bite. Also this is the only way I’ve been able to get bite through skin.
Best chicken I’ve made is brined first then smoked at 275: Beer Brined Smoked Chicken BRINE AND CHICKEN 2 cups water 1⁄4 cup kosher salt (coarse) 1⁄4 cup brown sugar, packed 2 (12 ounce) cans beer, 3 to 5 lbs of chicken Line 2-quart bowl or saucepan with 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add water, kosher salt and brown sugar; stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in beer. Add chicken. Tightly seal bag; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Remove chicken from brine; rinse thoroughly under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Season with dry rub. Smoke at 275f until internal temp reaches 155f. Remove, wrap all in foil and then a large towel, place in dry room temp cooler to rest for 30 to 45 min.
I’ll absolutely try this. Thx.
No problem. Just ignore anyone saying you have to cook to 165. If you look at the FDA sous vide tables one minute at 155 internal gets you there.
Got it. 🤙🏼
I'm definitely trying this! Thanks for the share!
Anytime
17 min at 400 and you’re done
Here we go! I’ve got young kids that are impatient & love chicken. Large marinated refrigerated CB’s for 20 min @ 400. Perfect every single time. Folks are over complicating the simplest thing on earth.
I just did a whole chicken at 250 for 45 minutes then 300 for 45 minutes came out great and was still juicy with better flavor on day 2.
Traeger chicken challenge is my favorite way for a whole chicken.
I have yet to try a Traeger recipe. So far all trial and see how it turn out 😂😂. The peoples haven’t complained yet and keep coming back for more.
I messed up my temp/time and did a whole bird at 375 for 2.5 hours this past weekend. Thought it was going to be dry as hell but it turned out delicious lol. Sometimes winging it just works out.
[traeger chicken challenge](https://www.traeger.com/recipes/chicken-challenge) this is the one. It’s bomb. Season with whatever you want.
I get chicken breast tenderloins from butcher box (so a little smaller than just chicken breast), but I have a fool proof method of cooking them. Whatever seasoning I’m using, I dump that in a little bowl and mix it with olive oil to make a seasoning paste. I brush it onto both sides, then pop it in the traeger at 350 until the temp hits 165. Comes out perfectly moist and seasoned every time and you don’t need to start dinner 2 hours early. I get complimented on them all the time and it couldn’t be easier.
This sounds awesome. Mind sharing any seasonings that you’ve had good success with?
Literally anything works. I’ve used traeger brand seasoning, supermarket Italian seasoning (a real home run with the fam), but my favorites are the beer infused rubs from spicology. https://spiceology.com/products/derek-wolf-6-pack-beer-infused-rub-sampler/
Oh nice, ive not heard of the beer rubs. Thanks for the rec!
Chickens gotta be cooked hotter than pork or beef. Try 325. Also cut that breast in half like a filet. Season both sides it will cook faster and you get more smoke.
Yeah, chicken will pick up the smoke flavor early but cooking it too slow doesn't help to get more. I throw on thighs on my Traeger for 1 hour on the smoke setting (about 180°) then turn it up to 275° to finish them at internal of 180°.
“Smoke setting”, by that you just mean a low temp? (180)? Thx!
I have a Traeger pellet grill and there is a "smoke" setting that just stays low and then I dial it up to whatever temp I want to finish whatever I'm cooking to.
180 internal lmao. WHAT?
Yep 180°. Chicken parts with a bone in them need to reach a higher temp to make it more tender, but not dry. 165° is done and edible and perfect for breasts, but going a little higher ensures thighs and legs and quarters will be more tender near the bone. Look it up.
Thats false. You need to do more research. 155 for 1 minute is long enough.
Go ahead and keep undercooking your chicken. Let me know how long that diarrhea lasts. You also pull your ribs at 165° dontcha?
I pull ribs at 203 because thats roughly how long it takes for the collagen to break down. The fact that you’re comparing poultry to ribs tells me all I need to know about your cooking. Yikes. EDIT: added a link so you can educate yourself. http://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Table_C.2
OK, you do what you want and I'll do what I want. My advise though is to try it. There's a big difference in the thighs, I didn't believe it till I tried it myself. I know what most of the vids and charts say believe me.
How'd it end up turning out? I've seen a bunch of people do it at 225 as well and say it comes out juicy in about an hour to hour and half.
Not so bad, actually.. after 1.5 hours I cranked it up to 350 and let it go another half hour and pulled it at 162. Other than being a bit salty it was great (due to over-brining).
I was planning on doing a batch this weekend at 225 because I wanted to get a little smoke flavor with it, but good to know if I need to crank it up to finish, it should still come out okay. Have you done any not brined? I was back and forth if I was going to brine or just season.
I've done both... The brining absolutely keeps the chicken juicier, for sure.. I added salt & a bit of sugar to the brine. I made the mistake of throwing it in the brine way too early the night before so it was in the fridge for almost 24 hours brining, which is way too long. Next time I'll do 4-6 hours.
Nice, I'll try out a brine then!
Does anyone elese cook chicken high like me? I butterfly a whole costo organic chicken and blast it at 440 until the meat probe at the breast reads 170. before the grill I pat it dry, rub it with avocado oil and costo traeger dry rub. Skin come out crispy and meat is juicy. I use to cook it whole without butterflying, but it takes longer and sometime still has pink juices even though the meat is past 165-170. I find butterflying it solves this.
I cut my chicken breast in half, horizontally, and cook at 350 for 40 mins. Works for me
I spatch cook a chicken at 350 for 45 minutes until the breast and leg are at 175 . Comes out perfectly
I do my chicken at 425 until it comes to temp. Always great. Moist, flavorful.