Chicken breast can be tricky when you grill or smoke it – it can dry out easily. BUT I’ve got you covered!!!! This smoked chicken recipe will make you some extremely juicy chicken with that smokey flavor that only comes from those yummy Traeger wood pellets!
For the Brine: Dissolve the salt and brown sugar in 1 gallon of water. Once dissolved, place the chicken in the brine and refrigerate overnight. Make sure chicken is fully submerged weighing it down if necessary.
When ready to cook, set Traeger temperature to 225℉ and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes.
While the grill preheats, remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. Rub with the minced garlic. Next, loosen the skin and stuff between the meat and skin lemon slices, garlic, rosemary and thyme.
Place chicken directly on the grill grate, bone side down, and smoke for 2 hours or until an instant-read thermometer reads 160℉ when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. The finished internal temperature will rise to 160℉ in the breast as the chicken rests. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Enjoy!
Notes
For the brine - you can also use Kosher salt - just use double the amount of table - but table salt works fine.
If you don't have fresh herbs, you can use about 1 tsp dried herbs per chicken breast