Hickory Smoked Chicken Breasts
When you get the job of smoked or barbecued chicken, do you weep in fear of flavorless breasts? It happens to everybody, even professional chefs. This is your solution.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup salt
- ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp honey
- 2 cups very hot apple cider vinegar
- 2 pounds ice
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns, cracked
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 ½ tsp lemon pepper
- Several pounds of large hickory chunks
Ingredients for 7 servings (2.7 kg) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
Combine salt, honey, herbs, and vinegar in a gallon-size zip-top bag. Add ice and shake until ice is mostly melted and mixture has cooled.
Stovetop - 2
Add chicken and brine in the refrigerator for 1–2 hours.
- 3
Take chicken out of brine and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
- 4
Combine lemon pepper, peppercorns, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Rub mixture gently into both sides of each chicken piece.
- 5
Place enough hickory wood chunks into the firebox of a smoker to keep the temperature around 225°F. Insert a probe thermometer into one of the chicken pieces and place in the smoker. Cook, changing chunks as needed, until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- 6
Remove to a plate and let rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
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