Traeger Shredded Chicken Breast – Recipe and Cooking Guide

Hey Smokers and welcome to my post where we will run through my Traeger shredded chicken breast recipe and cooking guide. As you may or may not know, this site is all about cooking on my Traeger Pro 22 Pellet Smoker and seeing where we can take things. And today, we are looking for moist and shredded chicken breast!

Traeger Shredded Chicken Breast - Header

We are a busy family so meal prep is something that we often do ready for the week ahead of kids sport and running our Pilates studios. And part of this usually involves frying up some chicken to add to salads and various other on the run dishes that we conjure up from time to time.

So, the question then has to be asked, what if I smoked and shredded some chicken for this instead. So then let’s then see how I go with some chicken breast on the Traeger!

Traeger Smoked Shredded Chicken Breast: What You’ll Need

Ok, so below is what I used to smoke me some shredded chicken on the old pellet smoker:

Ingredients:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
Traeger Shredded Chicken Breast - pre cooked chicken

If making your own rub:

  • 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt

If brining

  • Water
  • Salt

I used a simple SPG rub for my cook with olive oil as a binder.

Check out my: Traeger Chicken Thighs – Recipe and Cooking Guide

The Smoking Process

This is what I did and when:

Instructions:

  1. Preparation:
    • Preheat your pellet smoker to 225°F/107°C.
    • Rinse the chicken breasts under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

I soaked mine in a wet brine of salt and water for about 2 hours prior to the above- mainly as I was petrified of the chicken drying out.

  1. Seasoning:
    • Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil on both sides.
    • If you are making a home made rub, mix the ingredients as per above (plus anything else you may like) and cover the chicken breasts, making sure to coat both sides.
    • If you are using a store bought option, then do the same as step 2, but with it instead (As I mentioned above, I used a simple SPG rub on mine)
  2. Smoking:
    • Place the chicken breasts directly on the grill grates of the preheated pellet smoker.
    • Close the lid and smoke for about 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F/74°C.

I used these times based on my research however for me, with not overly large breasts, the cook took almost 3 hours to reach the desired temperatures. The breasts were still fridge cold when placed in the smoker and I used a water tray (remember, I dont want it to dry out) as well.

Traeger Shredded Chicken Breast - cooked chicken
  1. Shredding:
    • Remove the chicken breasts from the smoker and let them rest for about 10 minutes.
    • Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts into thin strips.

Add the chicken to whatever recipe you see fit, or simply add some BBQ sauce for a delicious pulled chicken burger!

My Results

Keeping in mind that this process is simply to create some nicely smoked shredded chicken for use in other recipes, the results here were really good. I managed to keep the chicken moist throughout – even though it was in the smoker for almost 3 hours – and I rested it for about 10 minutes as well.

The chicken had great flavor – never underestimate good old SPG – and shredded really well. We used it as part of a chicken salad whilst it was still warm and it was fantastic.

As mentioned at the start of this post, we do a lot of pre-prep to meet our busy lives and this is definitely something that we can add for flavor and versatility in the future.

Traeger Shredded Chicken Breast - shredded chicken

Tips:

  • For added flavor, marinate the chicken breasts overnight with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, and fresh herbs before seasoning and smoking.
  • Leftover pulled chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my recipe and cooking guide for some Traeger smoked chicken breast. I hope it has been of assistance but as usual, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out by commenting below. I would also love to hear of your own experiences, preferences or suggestions here as well.

Are there any other products you have been looking at but want to know more about? If so, please comment below and I will do my best to get some details for you.

Until next time

Have fun and get smoking!

Paul

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