Herb crusted hickory smoked chicken shredded and served with smoked onion and garlic gravy.

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Breaking out the smoker is one of my favorite things to do. It’s truly a labor of love I know its going to be an all day affair but it’s so worth it. I probably smoke meats twice to three times a month. If its a Texas summer I may only be able to bear once a month. So I like to break out the smoker, grill and the pizza oven in the cooler months. When I’m smoking, everything is fair game from the meat, cheese and even the produce they all have an opportunity to be smoked on these days. I like to make a bunch of things all at once to last the house a couple days. That’s why I love smoking foods I know it may take me all day but I get a couple days off after! So today I decided I was in the mood for a chicken and gravy bowl. I tossed in a pork shoulder and some other odds and ends then sealed it up. For this recipe I actually went into with a plan of making a smoked soul food bowl with all the fixins’ mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet and spicy peaches, some garlic sautéed greens and of course chicken and gravy. With that on my mind. I had a lot of work ahead of me. This recipe was a house favorite and really deep and flavorful. Check out my tips and tricks below for the best smoked chicken. Try this recipe out and let me know what you think. Complete this meal with the post from the week also located under “Enjoy this recipe with”.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST SMOKED CHICKEN:

• the shred: the best indicator that chicken is done other than checking the cooking temperature is being able to pull it with your hands or tongs and it starts to fall off.
• bones are better: in smoking and grilling bones are always better so if you see chicken breast with the rib meat still attached or just use a whole bird split down the middle. if you have the option use chicken with bones in it to keep the chicken juicier. the bones will add a little more cooking time but not much.
• neutral oil: when i smoke or grill i tend to always use a neutral oil with a higher smoking point that means canola and vegetable are great for this while sunflower, avocado and olive oil are no good. the reason behind that is the gentler oils tend to get bitter or mess up the flavor with the addition of the smoke and heat. so i use neutral oils because they help keep the meat moist without messing with the flavors.

SIMILAR INGREDIENTS TO:

1. CREAMY SUNDRIED TOMATO ROASTED CHICKEN W/ ROASTED POTATOES
2. HERB ROASTED CHICKEN W/ ROASTED GARLIC BROWN GRAVY
3. ROASTED PARMESAN & LEMON CHICKEN

ENJOY THIS RECIPE WITH:

1. GINGER AND GARLIC FRIED PLANTAINS
2. SMOKED ONION GRAVY + CLASSIC MASHED POTATOES
3. SERRANO PEACHES

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Chicken Breast
• Salt
• 1TbBlack Pepper
• 2Tb Garlic Powder
• 1Tb Onion Powder
• 1.5Tb Paprika
• 1Tb Thyme
• 1tsp Oregano
• 4Tb Canola Oil
• 1 Beer + 1/2c Chicken Stock

SMOKED ONION GRAVY

DIRECTIONS:

• PREP SMOKER: Prep smoker with hickory wood.
• SEASON CHICKEN: Season chicken by rubbing all chicken breast with oil. Combine all seasonings together and sprinkle generously over chicken. Then season with salt.
• SMOKE CHICKEN: Smoke chicken at 225F for 2 hours. At 30 minute intervals spray or baste chicken with beer and stock combination. You’ll know when the chicken is done when it you can shred it.
• COVER: Once removed from the smoker cover chicken in foil and let it sit for 30 minutes.
• MAKE GRAVY: Right before serving make your smoked onion gravy using this recipe here.
• SERVE: Serve shredded chicken over mashed potatoes or rice. Generously cover in smoked onion gravy