Making Pulled Chicken for first time

[Devros275]

Hey all,

I am making some pulled Chicken for my son's baseball team for a party.

Never done pulled chicken before and wondering on a few things.

Should I brine? and then rub in morning or do you need to brine?
Kinda worried about chicken being dried out, as even putting sauce on it you can tell if it is
dried out.

I have boneless breast and thighs to smoke

Was planning to smoke for 1.5 then put in foil tray with some liquid(apple jc or chicken broth)
covered for next part of cooking to help from drying out.

I have smoked most things in past but boneless Chicken is not one of them??

THX  for any thoughts!

Would like to make a nice meal for the Team and Parents as they had a great Summer season!!

[Habanero Smoker]

Your plan looks sound. I have never brined chicken that I will be pulling, though I prefer bone-in chicken to start with. As long as you are not overly cooking the chicken, it shouldn't be that dry prior to adding a sauce. If it is a whole chicken that I am breaking down into parts, those chickens are generally already been brined (injected) by the processing plant. I've never seen chicken parts that have been labeled as being injected. If you are using chicken parts that are not labeled; such as "5% solution added"; it would not hurt to brine, but I feel it is a waste of time. The sauce will rehydrate any meat that may have a tendency to feel dry, and/or it will give the person who is eating the pulled chicken a "sense of moistness"; and it will feel moist.

Since it is going to be pulled, and you are finishing in aluminum covered pans (braising), I would remove the skin, give it a good coating of oil, then apply the rub; prior to smoking. When you move the chicken into pans and foiling, you can take the pans to your kitchen oven and continue to cook the chicken at 325 - 350°F. Just continue to cook until you can easily flake the chicken with a fork. It shouldn't be much higher then 165°F - 175°F.

When moving the chicken parts to pans; if possible keep the dark and white meat in separate pans, since the white meat will be done sooner then the thighs, and may prevent any overly dry breast meat. Also, while the chicken is foiled you can add some of your favor sauce at this time, and/or any other seasonings at this time. Do a search and check out some oven pulled chicken recipes. When the chicken is done, remove from the pan and strain off any excess fat from the liquid remaining in the pan, and you can use that as your sauce or part of your sauce. Or just go with the broth or apple juice, and add your favorite sauce latter. For pulled chicken I like to use 1 part Sweet Baby Ray's Original (note: this sauce also has hickory flavoring in it), and 1 part apple cider. For a more savory pulled chicken I use a Vaunted Vinegar Sauce

[Devros275]

Thanks Habanero!!

I appreciate the advice!  You never sleep??  Can always count on your words of wisdom.

I was thinking of treating the breasts like a Rib cook 1.5-1-1 and after cooking in the foil pans
returning them to smoker(or oven) for final hour.

Hopefully that should work, I like your advice about brining, I thought it would be alright but didn't think I really
needed it either, just planning to put oil-rub on before cooking now.

I'll let you know how it goes! :) :)

[Habanero Smoker]

When are you smoking/cooking the chicken?

Depending on your load, and how well your Bradley recovers, it shouldn't take boneless breast 3.5 hours to cook. Once foiled I would keep them foiled until done.

I forgot to mention, if you are using the liquid that has accumulated, if you want to thicken it, you can pour it into a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer until thicken. Adding a thickener such as cornstarch will also work.

I sleep a lot. ;D ;D ;D But for some reason I almost always wakeup at 4AM and can't get back to sleep. :)