Cured And Smoked Chicken Breast Pizza ~ With Pesto Sauce, Spinach & Tomato

[thirdeye]

About every two weeks, I use a very basic curing brine for boneless skinless chicken breasts and use them for sandwiches and snacks. But they also make a great pizza topping. I start with an 18 to 24 hour cure, and usually season them with black pepper only, but used some Smokin' Guns Hot on two of them. I do a cold smoke for 75 minutes, then ramp up the Big Chief to 160° for the next hour and check the internal. In the summer I can finish them off in the Big Chief, and when it's cooler I finish on the Egg with a pan of water.

An alternate plan is to do a foil finish on them like this

Anyways, for this pizza I sliced one breast, and assembled the pizza using a blind baked thin crust.

Cooking time is 12 to 14 minutes with a raised direct set-up at 425°. A plate setter or pizza stone is optional, and a better choice with more toppings or a thicker crust.

 

[Stingerhook]

Fantabulous, what is the cure.

 

[Shiz-Nit]

Outstanding

 

[halfcocked]

Nice pie.

 

[lunchman]

Wow. A masterpiece. Now I want pizza.

 

[creek bottom]

WOW!!! That looks and sounds incredible!!!

 

[tom b]

Excellent!

 

[Fire and Ice]

Beautiful

 

[thirdeye]

Fantabulous, what is the cure.

It's my adjusted version on Pop's Curing Brine (base recipe is below) The salt and sugar are variables, but do not change the amount of Cure #1. For chicken pieces I generally mix a quart.

Pop’s Brine - thirdeye version
1 gallon of water
125 grams canning salt
25 grams white sugar
25 grams brown sugar
20 grams Cure #1 (heaping tablespoon)
Black pepper

If you heat your water to dissolve the ingredients, add the Cure #1 after the solution cools back down.15 to 24 hour brine time for chicken breasts, 2-3 days for whole chickens.


Pop's Brine
1 gallon of water
1/3 to 1 cup canning salt (1/2 cup is a good starting point)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 heaping Tbsp cure #1 pink salt (20g)
Stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in. If you heat your water to dissolve the ingredients, add the Cure #1 after the solution cools back down.

 

[sudsandswine]

What benefit do you get from curing them vs just a dry brine? Longevity in the fridge? Texture change?

Pie looks great :thumb:

 

[Big George's BBQ]

I will take 2 slices please. YUM

 

[BBQ Bacon]

Great looking pizza.

 

[Fatback Joe]

Nice!

 

[Dplorable]

Dayum fine!

 

[thirdeye]

What benefit do you get from curing them vs just a dry brine? Longevity in the fridge? Texture change?

Pie looks great :thumb:

I pull them at a slightly lower finish temp because I subscribe to the 7log10 reduction charts. THERMOWORKS has one of the better articles, but the USDA publishes the official charts. So the curing adds additional safety there, and also because I do a cold smoke step.... even though the breasts still finish inside the 4-hour window of safety.

There is also moisture retention, and a slightly tighter texture. Flavor-wise, being able to adjust the salt/sugar allows you to fine tune the flavor. I also like the slight 'rind' that forms as it is very flavorful. Skin-on smoked chicken and turkey using lower pit temps is always chewy.

Here is a smoked turkey breast I did skinless, and with a foil step and get the same seasoned rind.