Perfectly Smoked Chicken Breasts on the Traeger – Great for Meal Prep!

By James Kimble September 24, 2024 6 mins read 88 Views

Chicken breasts don’t tend to get a lot of love in the culinary world. They are known for being dry and a bit bland because of their low-fat content and white meat. But that doesn’t mean that chicken breasts can’t be delicious!

Smoking chicken breasts is a great way to make delicious, tender, and juicy chicken breasts. They make a great, easy dinner and are ideal for meal prepping.

You can whip up a batch of chicken breasts in just about 1½ hours. They will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days and can be used in various recipes throughout the week.

Perfect smoked chicken breasts on the Traeger

one whole and once sliced up cooked chicken breast on a white plate

If you want tender, juicy chicken breasts, then this recipe is the way to go. Smoking them at a low temperature (250°F) will keep the breasts moist and add a touch of smoke flavor. This recipe may well change the way you look at chicken breasts forever.

Ingredients you’ll need

Chicken breasts – I like to buy bulk packs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts at the grocery store. If you can find chicken with the skin on, that will work great, but I struggle to find skin-on chicken where I live.
Seasoning – just about any seasoning works for these smoked chicken breasts. I typically keep it simple with a bit of salt and pepper so that I can use the chicken in other recipes throughout the week, but you can also use your favorite BBQ rub or poultry seasoning.

raw chicken breasts on a white board — Aim for chicken breasts that are a similar size to ensure an even cooking time

Equipment you’ll need

Smoker or pellet grill – I like to use my Traeger Ironwood XL pellet grill for this recipe, but any smoker or charcoal grill will work fine. Just make sure it can maintain a steady temperature of 250°F for at least 1½ hours.
Pellets or wood – any type of wood or pellets will work. I used Bear Mountain Gourmet BBQ pellets, a blend of oak, hickory, and cherrywood. They add a wonderful, balanced smoke flavor to the meat. You can use any wood or pellets that you prefer, depending on the flavor you are going for.
Tongs
Knife
Instant-read Thermometer – the key to a great smoked chicken breast is the internal temperature. You want to bring them to 165°F so that they are safe to eat, but you don’t want to overcook them because they will dry out quickly. I use my Thermoworks Thermapen for smoking chicken breasts and it ensures I get perfectly cooked chicken every time.

To brine or not to brine

Because chicken breast is very lean and prone to drying out during cooking, many grillers choose to brine it first. I haven’t done it for this particular recipe, but brining is a great technique if you wish to use it.

The purpose of the brine is to inject as much moisture into the breast to keep it as succulent as possible while smoking and to add some extra flavor.

It is essentially salted water to which you add sugar to balance out the saltiness. You can then start adding additional flavors to the brine. Anything that you feel will complement the protein being brined is a great addition

How to brine chicken breasts

To make the brine, add 6 tbsp Kosher salt, ½ a cup brown sugar, ¼ a cup soy sauce, 1 lemon, cut in half, juice squeezed out, 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 tsp chili flakes, and 2 cups of water to a large pot.

Warm over a high heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved, then remove from the heat. Add 6 cups of cold water and allow it to cool completely.
Add the chicken breasts to the brine and refrigerate for a minimum of four hours or up to 12 hours.

Chicken breast in a container with wet brine — Ensure you have enough brine to cover the chicken breasts completely

How to make Smoked Chicken Breasts

1. Fire up the smoker

Preheat your smoker to 250°F.

For this recipe, I used my Traeger Ironwood XL pellet grill. I love this grill for recipes like this because it maintains a steady temperature and cooks the chicken evenly. It also adds a great, smoky flavor to the chicken. You can use any pellet grill, smoker, or charcoal grill for this recipe as long as it can maintain a steady temperature of 250°F for at least 1½ hours.

I use the Bear Mountain BBQ Gourmet BBQ pellets for smoked chicken. It’s a blend of Oak, Hickory, and Cherrywood.

2. Prep the chicken

Most chicken breasts at the grocery store are essentially ready to eat. However, if you find bits of fat along the edges of the breasts, you may want to trim those parts off.

gloved hands holding a raw chicken breast removing fat

If you want thinner breasts for your meal prep, you can also butterfly the chicken breasts by slicing them down the middle into two pieces.

I prefer to keep the breasts whole so that they don’t dry out as quickly. If you make them smaller, just keep in mind that the thinner your chicken is, the quicker it will cook, so it’s important to keep an eye on the temperature.

3. Season

As I mentioned above, I like to keep it simple with a 1:1 ratio of salt and pepper so that I can use the chicken in all types of recipes throughout the week.

a hand sprinkling seasoning onto raw chicken breasts

If you want more BBQ flavor, you can use your favorite BBQ rub or any poultry seasoning.

a hand sprinkling seasoning on raw chicken breasts — Make sure you season the chicken breasts on both sides. You’re looking for maximum flavor here.

4. Smoke your chicken breasts

Once your smoker is preheated, you can place the chicken breasts directly on the grates for about 30 minutes.

At this point, I like to flip the chicken to get nice grill marks on both sides of the breasts. The bit of char adds a wonderful flavor.

Once you’ve flipped your chicken, you want to let them smoke for another 30-45 minutes. Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. I like to pull it off around 160°F and let it rest for five minutes; the chicken still cooks during this time and will reach 165°F, ensuring perfectly cooked chicken breast.

I highly recommend an instant-read thermometer. I use the Thermoworks Thermapen, which takes an accurate temperature in less than a second.

5. Serve or store

Once your chicken hits 165°F you can serve it immediately alongside your favorite BBQ side dishes, on top of a salad, or inside a sandwich or taco.

For meal prepping, you can store the chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to five days. Be sure to let it cool for 15-20 minutes before placing it in the fridge.

More smoked chicken recipes to try