We all thought about smoking a whole chicken, but only we were brave enough to do it! Wait, that’s not true. No, people everywhere love smoking whole chicken. And why wouldn’t they? A smoked chicken makes a fine meal for your family, and if you have room in your smoker, making more chickens is almost as easy as making only one. Boom. Dinner party.
But if you’re going to smoke a whole chicken, you want it to come out tasty, juicy, and tender—properly cooked throughout—not dry, tough, or flavorless. So, you guessed it, we need to be able to control the temperature! Here are some temperature tips for making the best whole smoked chicken. Make one for your family tonight, or make a couple for a fun dinner party next week—either way, you’ll love how it cooks up when you take temperature into account. Let’s get down to it.
Smoking chicken breast at around 250°F yields incredibly moist, tender and flavorful meat when done right But nailing the timing can be tricky Undercooking poses safety risks while overcooking yields dry, rubbery disappointment. So how long should you smoke chicken breast at 250°F? Let’s take a closer look.
Why Smoke Chicken Breast at 250°F?
Low and slow smoking around 225°F is fantastic for tough cuts of meat that need hours to break down. But for relatively quick and delicate items like chicken breast, a slightly higher 250°F strikes the perfect balance between cooking quickly and infusing flavorful smoke.
At 250°F, the chicken cooks through steadily without getting dried out. You get less overall smoke flavor than lower temperatures, but still plenty to give that signature barbecue taste. And you avoid the risk of chewy skin and meat that can happen below 225°F.
The best of both worlds is 250°F, which means quick cooking times and lots of smoke.
Smoking Times for Chicken Breast at 250°F
The length of time the chicken breasts smoke for depends on how big and thick they are. Here are rough estimates:
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Small chicken breasts (4-6 oz): 30-45 minutes – Brining is recommended to ensure juiciness. Watch closely near the end to avoid overcooking.
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Average sized chicken breasts (6-8 oz): 45-60 minutes – The most common size you’ll find. Shoot for the lower end if thinner and upper end if very plump.
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Large (8–12 oz.) chicken breasts: 60–90 minutes. These thick pieces will need more time to cook all the way through without drying out. Resist temptation to crank up the heat.
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Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts: 90 minutes to 2 hours. The bone and skin keep the meat warm, which slows down the cooking process. Stay patient for the best texture and moisture.
These cooking times assume a steady 250°F temperature in your smoker or grill. Fluctuations up or down will increase or decrease times. Wind and outside temperature can also be factors.
Your best bet is to invest in a good digital meat thermometer. Cook to between 160-165°F internal temp for foolproof doneness. The bone and skin make taking temperature tricky, so focus on the thickest part of the meat.
And if in doubt, undershoot cooking times and verify doneness early. You can always put chicken back on the smoker if undercooked, but you can’t reverse overcooking. Better safe than sorry.
Tips for Maximizing Flavor and Moisture
Beyond dialing in cooking times, there are a few easy tips that will help ensure smoked chicken breast comes out perfect every time:
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Brine the chicken breasts beforehand – Soaking in a saltwater brine ensures seasonings penetrate deeply and helps the meat retain moisture, especially for lean boneless skinless breasts.
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Pat the chicken dry pre-smoking – Removing surface moisture will help the chicken brown and crisp more readily once on the smoker.
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Use a rub or seasoning – A flavorful spice rub adds tons of flavor as it caramelizes on the chicken from the smoke and heat.
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Smoke with fruit wood – Apple, cherry, peach and other fruit woods pair wonderfully with chicken. Avoid heavy smoke like mesquite or hickory which can overpower.
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Smoke skin-side up – This prevents the skin from sticking to the grill grates. You want that skin crispy, not stuck to the grates!
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Let it rest before serving – A 5+ minute rest allows juices to redistribute inward, ensuring juicy meat and preventing dryness. Don’t skip this step!
Follow these tips and your smoked chicken breast at 250°F will be your new go-to meal. Juicy, tender and bursting with flavor, it’s fantastic on salads, sandwiches and more. Once you dial in the perfect smoking time, you’ll make this again and again.
Smoked chicken difficulties and solutions
Smoked chicken is manifestly tasty. I mean, it’s chicken, so it has that going for it already, but then you add the delicious flavor of smoke and you end up with something even better than before. But not all smoked chickens live up to their potential.
A chicken that is left in the smoker to cook until “the legs wobble” or “the juices run clear” will almost certainly be dry. And we all know that smoked chicken skin is not the greatest culinary delight known to man. It can be rubbery and flabby, not words that describe how I want my food to feel.
Luckily, there are solutions to both problems, and temperature is a big part of those solutions.
For juicy meat that isn’t dried out, we need need to actually monitor the temperature as we cook. Using a leave-in probe thermometer like Smoke X2™ allows you to see the internal temperature of your bird as it changes, and the alarms let you know when it’s time to act to prevent the meat from drying out. Of course, you still need to verify that temperature with an instant-read thermometer—Thermapen® ONE being the best bet. (I rarely hit the thermal center correctly with my probe, and I cook a lot of birds.)
The rubbery skin has a two-part solution. First, dry-brining helps a lot. Seasoning your chicken 4–12 hours before you cook it and allowing the seasoning to pull water out of the skin will help the skin cook more crisply. The other prong is a two-stage cook. The best way to cook meat is to first cook it slowly to add smoke flavor, then raise the heat to render the fat and make the skin crisp.
Smoker temps for smoked chicken
If the secret to juicy chicken is temperature-based, and the secret to non-flabby skin is also temperature based, then we should talk about some temperatures, shouldn’t we? First, we need smoke to get into our chicken, so we need to cook at a smoking temperature. Cook your chicken at 225–250°F (107–121°C) for an hour to imbue the meat with smoky goodness.
The slow smoking not only gives us flavor, but it also cooks the meat quite gently for that first hour. Once that’s done, though, it’s time to crank up the heat. Using Billows™ BBQ Control Fan to control your temperatures really comes in handy here, because you can simply change your fan-control temperature and get up to your new temp easily and without lots of fussing with vents, etc. You’re aiming for 350–375°F (177–191°C). At those high temps, your chicken skin stands a chance of crisping, and that’s what we want!
How to Smoke Chicken Breast That Doesn’t SUCK
FAQ
How long do I smoke chicken breasts at 250 degrees?
Smoking the Chicken: Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet with the smooth side facing up. Bake them at 250–275°F (checked at the lid) for one hour, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 160–165°F inside.
Is 250 too hot to smoke chicken?
Cook your chicken at 225–250°F (107–121°C) for an hour to imbue the meat with smoky goodness.
Do you flip chicken breasts when smoking?
Though not required, flipping chicken breasts while smoking can help them cook more evenly and get better skin texture, but it’s not necessary.