smoked chicken breasts brushed with mayonnaise
When it comes to cooking chicken, particularly the white meat, there are a couple of things you can do to make sure it stays juicy and tasty as possible. One is dry brining, salting the meat ahead of time. Second is cooking to the optimal internal temperature by making use of a reliable meat thermometer.
Another trick to use when grilling chicken is using mayonnaise as a binder between the meat and seasoning. In an article in the LA Times BBQ legend Meathead Goldwyn discusses the use of mayo in cooking and, in particular, grilling. Simply, mayo helps to avoid the meat sticking to the grill, it encourages the Maillard reaction (similar to carmelisation) that brings the golden brown colour to the meat, it helps rubs and seasonings to stick and potentially helps to retain moisture in the meat.
ingredients
- skinless and boneless chicken breasts
- mayonnaise (we use Kewpie – Japanese mayo)
- you’re favourite rub or seasoning
directions
- Lightly brush the chicken breasts with mayo and give the seasoning a shake over. Ideally do this at least 8 hours in advance to let the salt penetrate the chicken and loosen up the proteins allowing for a juicier piece of chook.
- Set up your smoker, charcoal grill or barbecue for indirect grilling aiming for an ambient temperature around the 275f/135c mark.
- Add some wood chunks to the charcoal, add the breasts and grill until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 155f/68c. Approximately 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts, have your trusty meat thermometer on hand. *
- Slice, serve and enjoy your spicy smoked chicken breasts.
Health standards recommend cooking the breast meat through to 165f/74c. More often than not this will dry out the chicken. Health departments err on the side of caution, a security blanket for them if you like to cover all the possible scenarios that people might be cooking chicken.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt goes into great detail on the issue in his Complete Guide to Sous Vide Chicken Breast. Under certain cooking techniques such as sous vide Kenji cooks his chicken to an internal temperature of 145-150f. I recommend you have a read.
For other barbecue and smoked meat ideas head here.
