Never brined parts before

[EZ Smoker]

The wife wanted to smoke some leg quarters tomorrow night for supper, so we went out to buy some.  The she says she'd like some breasts too.  (she wants plenty of leftover chicken to shred for sandwiches, chicken salad, and buffalo chicken dip).  So we also picked up some Sanderson Farms split breasts, with bones and skin still on.  

Then I started thinkin' about whether I need to brine these breasts.   Then I started wondering if I'd be making a mistake to brine then add my usual Tony Chachere's Creole, which contains plenty of salt (so that you can use it instead of salt).   Would it be too salty if I brined then added Tony C's Creole?   My wife really likes that stuff.   Might I be better seved to skip the brining?    

[Slamdunk]

I am not familiar with Tony C's Creole, so can't give any advice on your question, however why don't you try something different for a change. I've tried and love this recipe from the Menu site - Chicken Italiano by Bradley. Very good and very easy.

Let us know what you decide and provide pics!!

[Habanero Smoker]

It's hard to determine if the breast will be overly salty. That will depend on the brine, brining times, and the amount of salt in the rub. Also it has a lot to do with individual taste. Over the years I've cut down on salt, so what may be salty for me, may not be for others. I would use it sparingly as a rub, and if needed add more at the table.

When I smoke chicken parts I put the dark meat and breast meat on separate trays, because I bring them up to different internal temperatures. I cook the dark meat to 162°F - 165°F; and the breast meat to 155°F. This insures you breast don't dry out without brining. Test two to three pieces at various locations on the tray, to ensure all pieces are fully cooked (if you have one that is when your thermapen come in handy). Generally I don't get much carryover with chicken parts that are cooked at low temperatures.

[Smokin Soon]

With chicken, it's a matter of how much of a salty taste you would like. With breasts, start out with a simple Italian dressing and see how you like the taste. A brine does need some salt content, but usually only use about 25% of what most call for. Fun to experiment with citrus, like pineapple with spices, and brown sugar as an alliterative to an actual brine. For me, Chicken is the most fun to experiment with, cause it's the cheapest meat out there. Some of my failures have made the best chicken salad in the world. Just have fun with it, NO BAD COOKS!!!!  ;D

[ArnieM]

A 'standard' brine is one gallon of water, one cup of salt and a half cup of sugar (white or brown).  You can cut the salt back to a half cup.  Brine for 4-6 hours.  Remove and rinse and then a cold water soak for an hour or so.  It gets some of the salt out.  I wouldn't add spices to the brine because it's going to be rubbed anyway.

Habs makes good points on the temps.

[EZ Smoker]

Thanks for all the help.   I decided I didn't want to risk messing up all this food with too much salt by combining the wife's chosen seasoning with brining.  So we didn't brine.   Habs said he takes breasts to 155 IT and dark meat to 162-165 IT.   So I decided to do that too.   So here was the plan: slather with EVOO, add the Chacheres, smoke for 2 hours with apple, cooking at as high a temp as I could get to (which isn't very high with almost 15 lbs of chicken in the smoker) to Habs' recommended IT, then finish on the grill.  

Made some really good chicken, but my smoking inexperience reared its ugly head.   Here's what happened:  The smallest leg quarter got up to temp, so we threw it on the grill.   Another two leg quarters and a breast got up to temp really soon after, so the wife grilled them while I was eating the first one.   The meat, both dark meat and white meat, was wonderful.  Nice smoke flavor blended well with a good chicken flavor that seemed to have just the right enhancement from the seasoning.  The meat (even the white meat) was unbelievably juicy, and the skin was fantastic.   Never had better chicken in my life.  

But after those four pieces (three leg quarters and a large breast) came out, nothing else was up to temp yet, but I kept worrying that it was overcooking, and I kept opening the door to check different pieces.  Then I'd open it again because it was time to rotate racks, then again to get the meat probes back in place after rotating, then again to check temps, and the meat seemed to take forever to get ready.  I was cooking some of that chicken for 6 hours because I kept screwing up the cabinet temp.   It was a rookie mistake.   But we have tons of leftover chicken, now shredded and in the freezer (and some in the fridge for buffalo chicken dip tomorrow).   Thanks for everything.   This discussion got me some great chicken.

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm glad everything eventually worked out. Now that you got some experience cooking chicken parts, you can now better judge how often to check for internal temperature. The first time I smoked/cooked chicken parts, I did the same thing; frequently checking. Now I can approximate the rise in temperature, and don't open the door often.

[GusRobin]

do the mod to add the second element and getting back to temp is not an issue anymore