Hot Smoked Chicken Breasts

[thirdeye]

Injected these with my Lite Brine with some Tenderquick added, then soaked in the same brine for 4 hours. I followed this with a 4 hour smoke in my Little Chief box smoker using cherry wood. I could only get the internal up to 158°, but a few minutes in the oven brought them to 165°.

Yes, they really are that moist....

[reinhard1]

i like that idea of the toothpicks to hold the skin in place. they do look very juicy. i'll have to look at that lite brine on your site? good luck.

[thirdeye]

i like that idea of the toothpicks to hold the skin in place. they do look very juicy. i'll have to look at that lite brine on your site? good luck.

I was just getting ready to post it. I like to mix a batch, inject the meat then use the rest as an immersion brine. It's really good for pork chops, tenderloin and loin, pork butts and all poultry. It's not overly salty and sometimes you want the effect of a brine without tasting the salt. Plus this gives you the freedom to use a rub without worring about over salty meat.

~thirdeye's~ Lite Brine

1 gallon of water

3-1/2 ounces of salt (kosher salt or canning salt)

1 tablespoon(minimum) of brown sugar, maple sugar, or white sugar

A smaller batch of ~thirdeye's~ Lite Brine:

1 quart of water

0.875 ounces of salt (7/8 of an ounce)

1 teaspoon (minimum) of brown sugar, maple sugar, or white sugar

[reinhard1]

i believe earlier you mentioned using some tenderquick in this brine? good luck.

[thirdeye]

i believe earlier you mentioned using some tenderquick in this brine? good luck.

Correct,..... I added a tablespoon of Tenderquick because I was planning on a long smoking time since I was using the box smoker. (I don't add Tenderquick when I'm grilling chicken)

The Tenderquick was insurance because I thought I might exceed the 4 hour 40° to 140° rule. The same reason Tenderquick is added to smoked sausages, but not really needed in grilled sausages. Anyways, as it turned out, the internal temp broke 140° around hour 3, so I was good either way.

[reinhard1]

thank you. good luck.

[Walleyehooker]

Is the 40-140 rule because of bacteria ? I googled bacteria and meat when I was smokeing my pork the other day and it mentioned something like that. That is why I decided to refridgerate it after it cooled some as I wasnt sure about keeping it hot/warm in a cooler overnight. Better safe than sick they say.

[reinhard1]

this is some information from my Professional Food Manager Certification Training book.

Shell eggs [made to order] must be cooked to a minimum of 145 deg for 15 seconds. when using eggs in a sauce that cannot be heated to 145 deg [hollandaise sauce], use only pasteurized egg products.

Poultry and stuffed meat products must be cooked to a minimum of 165 deg for 15 seconds.

pork and fish must be cooked to a minimum of 145 deg for 15 seconds.

beef steak, veal, and lamb must be cooked to a minimum of 145 deg for 15 seconds.

ground meat products [ including ground beef and ground fish] must be cooked to a minimum of 155 deg for 15 seconds.

Note: the time [ 15 seconds for example] is the minimum time at that temp to kill bacteria like e.coli. research has indicated that this strain of bacteria does not survive the temperature of 155 deg. e.coli01.57:H7 is most commonly found in ground beef. good luck.

[thirdeye]

Is the 40-140 rule because of bacteria ? I googled bacteria and meat when I was smokeing my pork the other day and it mentioned something like that. That is why I decided to refridgerate it after it cooled some as I wasnt sure about keeping it hot/warm in a cooler overnight. Better safe than sick they say.

Yes, it's called the danger zone. Click the link for more info. USDA Danger Zone

It applies to cooking, serving etc. One thing about cooling things like your pork, or a pot of soup or chili.... it needs to be cooled as fast as possible to get it back through the danger zone to below 40*. If you wrap hot meat or cover a pot of soup, this slows down cooling and makes condensation which is bad too. So spread things out, keep them uncovered until they are chilled, then wrap or cover or bag them.

My trick for chilling briskets I plan to reheat and serve the next day is to rest the meat in a foil pouch in my cooker for a few hours. Then I have a second cooler with ice water in it. I put the foiled brisket in a plastic bag and it goes into the iced water for about 45 minutes. This takes it from 150* to 40*. Then it goes into my beer fridge.

EDIT - Some folks claim that foods that are salted or smoked are exempt from the baddies and also the 4 hour rule. That's not actually true. You need some help (like the nitrites and nitrates in Tenderquick) to keep your stuff safe.