Chicken breast for pulled / chopped

SmoothBoarBBQ

SmoothBoarBBQ

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Hey All,

So I've been having a tough time getting chicken breast to come out nice and juicy for pulled / chopped chicken. Generally I'm smoking at 275-300° with a light smoke and take it to 165-170 since I want to turn it into pulled chicken. It keeps on coming out really dense in texture, though pretty good in taste.

I've been just giving it my AP dry rub and then tossing it on the smoker. I'm thinking about using Tuffy Stone's chicken brine to see if that helps, but outside of the brine, does anybody have any good tips for chicken breast? I've been doing skinless / boneless chicken thighs and taking them to about 185° and they have come out amazingly well for pulled chicken, but so far no luck with chicken breast.

Any and all tips are welcome.
 
Try tenderizing by pounding the hell out of it. It makes a nice juicy breast when grilled.
 
You can get a meat tenderizer Are you cooking white meat or dark Try cooking it to 5* less then the recommended temp then take off the grill and wrap It should come up to temp on its own May be less tough
If you have a sous vide that may help
 
I would recommend thighs. If you are only using breasts, put a good smoke flavor on low for an hour, then throw them in a foil pan, maybe sprinkle more rub and braise with your choice of liquid, while covered until they are shredding, tender.
 
I usually smoke a whole chicken when I want pulled chicken. I've found it difficult to get breast to a pull state without being dry in texture. Might can foil them half way through and kinda steam/braise them. You can pound them to an even thickness and get them to a juicy chopping point though.
 
Breasts are just so lean, that I (personally) don't consider them for pulling. You know like ham, or round and rump roasts and pork or beef tenderloins. The thighs are right, though.

I suppose you could try SV-ing breasts then pulling them, but even that is likely to be a disappointment.
 
As mentioned above, I do not think chicken breast is conducive to pulled chicken.
 
foil pan and cover with a little liquid when you get the color you like and cook to your internal temp .
 
Don't just put them in a pan after smoking, cook them in the pan the whole time. They will still get smoke but it will help them to not dry out. I would also foil after about 45mins or so to continue the braise.

Make sure to mix those saved juices back in which is another great part of the pan cooking.

Why beasts? Thighs as you know are awesome. I've never had the same results with beasts ever. Maybe when they are perfectly fresh they are "ok" but they still are more dry than thighs.
 
To stop my breasts from drying out I wrap them in bacon whilst smoking to try and keep some moisture in. I also brine them. Seems to work ok but not as good as thigh meat tho...
 
I like to marinate my chicken in cheap Italian dressing.
Also agree breasts aren't a good choice for pulled chicken. The best and juiciest chicken breasts I have ever made were marinated in Italian dressing and cooked quickly on a George Foreman type (but better) grill.
 
Last edited:
Jason TQ said:
Don't just put them in a pan after smoking, cook them in the pan the whole time. They will still get smoke but it will help them to not dry out. I would also foil after about 45mins or so to continue the braise.

Make sure to mix those saved juices back in which is another great part of the pan cooking.

Why beasts? Thighs as you know are awesome. I've never had the same results with beasts ever. Maybe when they are perfectly fresh they are "ok" but they still are more dry than thighs.
Click to expand...

This sounds like the way to go. I'm cooking M-F and kind of just wanting to change up my menu a bit (daily lunch service via food trailer). Brisket prices in my area have skyrocketed over the last couple of months, so I've had to take it off the menu. Choice (Superior Angus from Restaurant Depot) was costing me $2.79/Lb when I started doing this back in July. Now it's right at $3.79/Lb and I'm serving on military bases so my prices are fixed by the base...which means I can't raise them to adjust for that massive increase in meat costs.

Also, with the year still being pretty new, I've had quite a few "New Years Resolutionists" ask for white meat chicken rather than dark meat for health reasons.

I might even just end up doing sliced chicken breast and see how well that goes down with the customers.
 
I find bone-in skin on breasts stay juicier.
 
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