Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast in the Oven - BBQ Grill and Smoke (2023)

FAQs

How long does it take to smoke boneless skinless chicken breast at 225 degrees? ›

Smoke your chicken breast at 225°F until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. This should take about 1 hour. Optional: If you prefer a slight crust on your chicken breast, smoke your chicken at 225°F until it reaches an internal temperature of 115°F.

How long does it take to smoke a boneless chicken breast? It takes roughly 60-90 minutes to smoke chicken breasts, depending on the size of the breasts. Smaller breasts (4-6 ounces) will take an hour, while larger breasts (8 ounces or more) will take closer to 90 minutes.

Grill chicken, without turning, 6 to 10 minutes for boneless chicken and 10 to 14 minutes for bone-in. Flip and grill until cooked through, or a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of meat (avoiding bone) registers 160 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes more.

The best smoker temperatures for chicken are around 225 degrees. Preheat your smoker for even cooking.

The key to getting moist, tender, and juicy smoked chicken breasts is using a low temperature over a longer period of time. The term "low and slow" is the key to success when smoking meat. Keep the temperature as close to 225°F as possible, ensuring it does not go over 250°F.

If you are smoking your boneless chicken breast at 275 degrees, it will take 55-65 minutes to fully cook. If you are smoking your boneless chicken breast at 325 degrees, it will take about 35-45 minutes to fully cook.

No, the smoke and heat circle the chicken (unlike grilled chicken breast which have the heat element directly under them) so you do not need to flip them when smoking.

Poke the meat to see if juices are red or clear

For properly cooked chicken, if you cut into it and the juices run clear, then the chicken is fully cooked. If the juices are red or have a pinkish color, your chicken may need to be cooked a bit longer.

Do you put chicken breast up or down in smoker? ›

Place the chicken, breast side up, in the center of the preheated grill or smoker. Close the lid and let the chicken cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the juices run clear when poked with a fork.

Season the chicken liberally on both sides with the rub. Use your hands if needed to cover the chicken breasts completely. Smoke for 2-3 hours at 225°, until it reaches and holds an internal temp of 150° for 5 minutes. If desired, brush on some BBQ sauce once the internal temperature reaches 140°.

Heat your grill to between 425 and 450°F for chicken breasts.

All it takes is 30 minutes in a simple brine solution of 1/4 cup kosher salt dissolved in 4 cups water. This is all the time you need for the chicken breasts to absorb enough moisture so they can better hold up to the heat of the grill without drying out.

Cook it the same way you would skinless, boneless breasts with the skin-side down first so it gets nice and crispy after being flipped. For bone-in breasts, cook them in the hottest, center part of the grill on about 400 to 500 F for about 15 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature is about 155 F.

Smoking chicken should not be done with foil because it may become soggy. In some cases, using aluminum foil for speed and to store the fat and juices may appear reasonable, but because of the moisture content, it is more likely to result in a rubbery chicken with a soft skin.

Smoked poultry, commercially prepared, is usually pink because it is prepared with natural smoke and liquid smoke flavor. Federal regulations require all processed poultry to be cooked to at least 165 °F (71.1° C) instantly, or to an equivalent level of safety attained by this minimum temperature requirement.

I like to smoke whole chicken at 300-325 degrees. This temperature works best to really crisp up the skin. Place the bird on the smoker grates for 1½-2 hours – this is typically how long to smoke a chicken.

Quick note: smoking can often result in leathery skin, so my way to combat this is with a nice layer of olive oil on the outside of the chicken prior to the dry rub. The fat in the oil will help to keep the skin moist and prevent the smoke from drying it out. This skin will also be soft, and not crispy.

Moisture is the most important reason to spritz your meat. Smoking is a dry process, and it's important to add back some of that lost moisture. Spritzing will help keep your meats juicy and tender and will also help them cook more evenly.

Why is my smoked chicken breast rubbery? ›

Overcooking might play a role in your chicken's tire-like texture. Leaving chicken in a pan, oven, or grill for just a little too long can suck the moisture right out and leave you with a dry, rubbery bird. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.

Chicken breasts cook faster at 400 F than 350 F, which is a benefit. However, baking chicken at a higher temperature will increase the risk of drying the chicken breast out. If you have less experience as a cook, baking chicken breast at 350 F will be easier to monitor and ensure you get perfectly cooked chicken.

Roast the breasts in the 275ºF oven for 90 minutes, basting once half way through (replace the foil as tightly as possible after basting). After the full 90 minutes, remove the foil, baste one more time, and adjust the oven's heat to 425ºF. What is this?

Chicken breasts are susceptible to drying out when overcooked, so they're best cooked quickly using high heat. That means skillet-cooking, stir-frying, roasting/baking, or grilling chicken breasts are the best routes. The stovetop is particularly easy because you can make a sauce in the same pan.

Preheat your grill or smoker to 300 degrees F. Coat your chicken in a thin layer of olive oil. Liberally salt and pepper your chicken breasts. Place chicken on the grill and smoke for 1 to 2 hours.

Smoke – Place chicken on smoker. Close pellet grill lid and cook at 250 degrees for about 3 hours for 3.5 lb chicken or until chicken has reached 165 degrees F. Rest – Let rest 5-10 minutes and then enjoy!

275F Boneless Breast Cook Time

I inserted the thermometer from the Maverick digital temp probe into the smaller boneless chicken, put them on the pit and kept the lid closed until the boneless chicken reached exactly 165F. It took 65 minutes for the boneless breast (0.7 pounds) to reach 165F when smoked at 275F.

Leave your chicken on the counter for approximately 45 minutes to an hour to raise the internal temperature just a bit. If you were to take it out of the fridge, prep it, and immediately put it on the grill, it would have to cook for much longer.

At 150° the meat is totally white and a bit firmer. And it's still nice and juicy. As the temperature of the chicken breast rises to 155 degrees, the meat fibers continue to contract, squeezing out more moisture. At 160 the smoked chicken breast is at the precipice of becoming dry and stringy.

If you're making a whole smoked chicken (or several), it can take up to 4 hours to fully smoke at 225°F. At that point, the smoked chicken internal temp should fall between 160°F and 165°F in the thickest part of the chicken breast, and the thighs should be between 170°F and 175°F.

How do you keep boneless skinless chicken breast moist? ›

Cover the chicken breast in foil to hold in moisture and let it rest for at least five minutes. The resting time allows the juices to distribute themselves throughout the meat, making it easier to slice later. What you get is perfectly cooked cuts with no dry pieces in sight.

You never have to worry about covering chicken while baking, as it's OK to bake it uncovered. Once your chicken is in the oven, it's hands-free until you need to check the temperature.

You don't need to flip the chicken while baking. The time that it's in the oven will make sure that it's cooked all the way through without needing to adjust the positioning.

You want the chicken to slowly cook to perfection and then add the sauce during the final 10 to 15 minutes of cooking. This is true for adding sauce to ribs as well while grilling or smoking. This provides more of a tasty coating rather than burnt skin.

How Long Does it Take to Smoke a Chicken at 350 Degrees? All you need is about 40 minutes to have smoked chicken breasts.

Using an approximately 4lb whole chicken (fully thawed and cavity empty) and smoking at 225 degrees F. it will take approximately 3.5 – 4.5 hours to smoked a whole chicken. That being said the best way to track when your bird is done is to keep track of the internal temp.

You want the grill to be between 225°F and 275°F. If your cooking area is close to the charcoal, you'll want to be on the lower end of the temperature range. Lay the chicken directly on the grill, over the side of the grill without charcoal for indirect heat cooking. Close the grill to retain heat and smoke.

You're aiming for 350–375°F (177–191°C). At those high temps, your chicken skin stands a chance of crisping, and that's what we want!

Brine Before Grilling to Prevent Dry, Rubbery Chicken

Brining is simply submerging the chicken in a salt-water solution before grilling. This prevents the chicken from overcooking on the grill and also helps it get great grill marks, as the increased surface moisture and sugars brown quickly.

How long does it take to cook chicken breast in the oven? ›

Again, you want to aim for 165 degrees F, but remember that once you remove the chicken from the heat, it will continue to cook. To have the juiciest breast, pull the dish outaround 160-162 degrees and the chicken will continue to cook an extra few degrees once removed from the heat.

Chicken stock or broth is the best liquid to impart flavor and moisture back into dry chicken. Warm your broth over a medium heat until it is hot but not boiling. Place your shredded chicken in the pan until it is barely covered with enough broth to coat the chicken.

Grill for about 9-10 minutes. Flip the chicken breasts at the halfway point. I normally like to grill my chicken for about 10 minutes, flipping them at the halfway point in order to have beautiful sear marks on each side of the chicken.

Pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness results in more even cooking throughout. Brining the chicken breast helps the meat retain moisture during cooking. Drying the breast well before grilling leads to quicker browning.

If you're grilling a butterflied chicken or bone-in, skin-on leg quarters, thighs, or drumsticks, start by searing the chicken skin-side down over the direct heat zone (sear drumsticks on all sides). Then, transfer the cut, bone-side down to the indirect heat zone to finish cooking to 165°F.

How Long to Smoke a Whole Chicken. Using an approximately 4lb whole chicken (fully thawed and cavity empty) and smoking at 225 degrees F. it will take approximately 3.5 – 4.5 hours to smoked a whole chicken. That being said the best way to track when your bird is done is to keep track of the internal temp.

No, the smoke and heat circle the chicken (unlike grilled chicken breast which have the heat element directly under them) so you do not need to flip them when smoking.

For the chicken:

Bring the smoker up to 200 to 225 degrees. Place the chicken onto the grate and cover. Smoke until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees on a digital thermometer in the thickest part, about 75 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Small cuts of meat will undoubtedly cook faster than larger pieces. If need be, we recommend flipping smaller cuts only once, preferably halfway through cooking. Larger cuts will need at least more than one flip to result in tender and juicy pieces of meat.

How to smoke chicken breast at 225? ›

Do You Wrap Chicken in Foil When Smoking? You don't wrap chicken in foil during smoking. Once cooked and removed from the smoker, make sure to wrap the meat in foil and rest for 20 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute, so the chicken is more flavorful.

Overall, there is no "best" option because grilling and smoking both yield delicious results! You can cut back on butter and oil and brine and season the chicken with healthy herbs and spices. We recommend smoking chicken when you have the time, as you can get a great and unique flavor this way.

Spritzing Chicken When Smoking

Since smoked chicken cooks relatively quickly many don't believe that it needs a spritz. However, I am in the camp that adding moisture, acid, and flavor is a good thing. I use the exact same spritz spray as I do in my Smoked St. Lous Ribs Recipe.

Slow approach: low heat (about 3-4 hours)

But for ultimate smoke penetration, I recommend smoking the chicken at a lower temperature between 225 and 275 degrees F. A three- to four-pound chicken smoked at this temperature will likely take around 3-4 hours to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

If you are smoking your boneless chicken breast at 325 degrees, it will take about 35-45 minutes to fully cook. Bone-in chicken will take longer to smoke at these temperatures, so plan accordingly and keep an eye on the internal temperature.

The smoker used just needs to cook the chicken breast with indirect heat. To smoke chicken breast, the process is slower than grilling, but not as slow as you'd cook a brisket or a pork butt. As long as your smoker puts out smoke and will run between 250-300°F, it will work just fine.