Boneless & Smoked Chicken
One of the meaty & delicious part of the chicken is Chicken thigh. Some enjoy this meat in boiled form, some like it fried, and others prefer it smoked. Smoked boneless chicken thighs are an attractive way to enjoy delicious meat because smoked meat boasts a unique flavor that you can only get from smoking.
These tasty boneless smoked chicken thighs you can even serve at holidays or on special occasions year-round. You can make the best-smoked chicken thighs in your backyard BBQ parties because they are great in flavor and a perfect weekday dinner. You need to understand the necessary steps you will take to end up with a delicious dish.
This article will provide you step-by-step instructions to help you learn how to smoke the crispiest lip-smacking chicken thighs. It contains every information you need to cook the competition style-smoked chicken thighs.
Ingredients:
Brown Sugar:Brown sugar is the base of this homemade spice rub. It works as the backbone of smoked meat. Brown sugar’s sweet molasses is responsible for the crunchy bark of meat.
Spice Rub: You can make a rub with ingredients at home and apply it. But you can also use your favorite store-bought rub. Store the leftover rub in a zip lock bag at a cool and dry place for later use.
Sauce:You can use your favorite sauce. It will work great on these chicken thighs.
Chicken Thigh:You can cook bones in chicken thighs, but this recipe will be just yummy with boneless and skinless thighs.
Why Boneless Chicken Thighs are Great for Smoking?
If you want to achieve crispy meat skin, remove the skin from the thigh and scrape off the excess fat, and then reassemble it before smoking. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs require less cooking time.
Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and leave them on a plate or baking sheet uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out. To get the crispiest skin, toss in two tablespoons of cornstarch to reduce the moisture. Season these chicken thighs liberally with a spice blend and roll them into a cylindrical shape.
How to Make the Best Smoked Chicken Thighs Boneless:
Through this guide, you will learn the easy steps to deboning chicken thighs. But first, make it skinless. To remove the skin of the chicken thigh, use your fingers carefully to pull the skin back from the flesh and run the knife slowly through it and the skin will fall away.
Cut Down The Side of The Bone:
Place the chicken thighs on a cutting board. Feel with your fingers the thigh bone running down the center of the thigh. Gently run a boning or kitchen knife down either side to loosen the flesh.
Scrape The Bone:
You will lightly scrape the surface around as far as the bone without cutting the skin. So that makes it easier to cut away and remove.
Slip The Knife Under The Bone:
After cleaning the bone, slip the tip of the knife under the thigh bone and loosen the bone from the remaining flesh.
You will cut away the large knuckle at the end of the bone by turning the sharp side of the blade towards it and cutting through.
Lift The Bone Away:
The chicken thigh bone will separate from the flesh. Gently press with your fingers around the thigh flesh to ensure that there are no pieces of bone.
Clean Up and Cutaway The Excess Fat:
Using a kitchen knife cut away any excess fat and skin from the meat. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining thighs to make them boneless.
Temperature Required For Smoked Chicken Thighs:
When you are Smoking, you should give more consideration to temperature as compared to cooking time. How much to cook smoked thighs depends on how cold the chicken is before going on the smoker and how thick the thighs are, Because smoked boneless chicken thighs always take less time to cook. The smoking time depends on how consistent the heat of the smoker that you are using is.
To check whether the chicken thighs have been perfectly smoked, insert a meat thermometer after one and half hours of smoking. The inserted thermometer must show a reading of 165 Degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part of the thigh. Some pellet smokers have a firebox on one side, place smaller thighs further away from the prime heat source using such smokers.
In this way, each of the thighs cooks evenly. Depending upon the size of the chicken thighs, This process can take two to three hours at 250’ F. As soon as the internal temperature of the thickest parts of the chicken thighs reaches the appropriate temperature, remove the chicken from the smoker.
Which Best Type of Wood Is Suitable for Smoking Chicken Thighs?
There are only a few types of wood that work well with chicken including Cherry, Alder, Hickory, and Pecan. The taste of your smoked boneless chicken thighs will determine by the type of wood you choose. Applewood has a nice subtle, sweet flavor, and it doesn’t overpower the original flavor of the chicken thighs.
This wood paints a delicate texture on the chicken thighs. Apple wood works so well with the paprika and brown sugar in the spice blend, and You will get all smoky, tender, and delicious smoked meat.
Recipe with Step By Step Preparation:
Ingredients:
8 Pieces of Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
Rub:
- Rub: ½ Cup Of Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 2 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Dry Mustard powder
- 1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
Mop:
- ¼ Cup Of Water
- 2 Tablespoon Spice Rub
- 2 Tablespoon Barbeque Sauce
- ½ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Lemon Juice
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
Instruction:
- Mix all rub ingredients in a shallow bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Fill the hopper with the applewood of your smoker.
- Preheat your smoker to 225 Degrees Fahrenheit about 15 minutes before.
- Unroll the chicken pieces and rub them on all sides to completely cover the chicken thighs.
- Place these marinated chicken thighs into the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. Before transferring it to the smoker, take it out from the refrigerator, and it cools at room temperature.
- Place the marinated chicken thighs directly on the indirect heat on grill grates of your smoker/grill.
- Dark meat takes a little longer to cook. For the preparation of Mop, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.
- When 45 minutes have passed by smoking the thighs, use a mop to prevent the thighs from drying out. Mop adds moisture and delicious flavor to the meat. You will, blasting mop on the surface after the first 45 minutes and every thirty minutes after that until the thighs are smoked.
- It can take about 45 to 75 minutes to reach the targeted internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Confirm with a meat read thermometer. You will continue smoking until the thermometer reads the temperature at 170-175 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the chicken from the smoker to a platter and Tent the aluminum foil loosely. Let it allow 15 minutes for rest, it can redistribute the juices.
- Now cut Smoked Chicken Thighs Boneless pieces into slices and serve it with your favorite side dish.
Tips & Tricks:
- This recipe is with skinless, boneless chicken thighs, but this recipe will work with bone-in skin-on chicken thighs too! The difference is that thighs with bones can take a little longer to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- You can use leftover smoked chicken thighs in salads, on nachos, casseroles, tacos, and add in soup or stews for later in the week. It will be nutritious for up to seven days if you refrigerate it. This meat can also freeze in vacuum-sealed bags for up to 3 months. When you want to use this freezer meat, refrigerate it one day before use and reheat it in the SOUS VIDE.
- Use a Traeger Grill because it acts as a grill and smoker and creates a delicious flavor.
