Hickory Smoked Chicken Breasts

I love the smell of Hickory in the afternoon! And what better way of enjoying the smell of Hickory than by using the pellets to smoke a couple of huge bone-in and skin-on Chicken Breasts. Picked up some healthy chickens from Costco a while back and cut them into breasts and quarters. Vacuumed sealed & froze them for future meals. Thawed out a couple of the breasts for this cook. By cutting up your own chickens, you can save a lot of big bucks ... Costco chickens are running around $1.09/lb. Compare that to your local supermarket.

I've found that the best way to cook your chicken breasts without drying them out is to always smoke/cook them with the bone-in and skin-on. They can sometimes be hard to find at your supermarket which is why you should buy whole chickens and cut up your own. Besides, chicken quarters should also be smoked/cooked with the bones-in and skin-on for best results.

Smoking chickens low and slow will result in rubbery skin unless you finish the cook at a high temperature to not only bring the internal temperature of the breasts to 170°F but to ensure that the skin is nice and crispy. I personally, love crispy skin on my chicken. If you're watching your carbohydrates then you'll be happy to know that the are 0 g of carbs in chicken breasts.

Chicken breast white meat can be boring so I prefer to season on and under the skin to maximize the flavor profiles. Rub extra virgin olive oil on and under the skin before seasoning the breasts on all sides with my Poultry Seasoning - page 170 of my cookbook - The Wood Pellet Smoker and Grill Cookbook. Wrap the seasoned chicken breasts in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4-5 hours.

• Preheat your Green Mountain Grills WiFi controlled Davy Crockett Grill or your wood pellet smoker grill of choice to 225ºF using CookinPellets.com Hickory hard wood pellets.
• Smoke the chicken breasts for an hour at 225ºF
• After an hour of smoke, bump your pit temperature to 400ºF and continue cooking for approximately 1 hour until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken breast reaches 170ºF
• Rest the crispy skinned Smoked Chicken Breasts loosely under a foil tent for 10 minutes before serving