HOW TO SMOKE CHICKEN AT HOME WITHOUT SMOKER. AIR FRYER, STOVETOP & DUTCH OVEN. Which one is better?

This is step by step guide on how to smoke chicken at home without a smoker.

I will be using 3 indoor smoking methods: AirFryer, Stovetop and homemade smoker made out of Dutch Oven.
I will walk you through the step by step smoking process, share some useful cooking tips and will do some tasting at the end to see which cooking method produced the best results.

If you also want to know how to smoke fish without a smoker at home:    • How to Smoke Fish without Smoker at Home. ...  

Ingredients:

Chicken breast - 4lb ( total for all 3 methods combined )

Brine:
Kosher salt - 3 tablespoons
Brown sugar - 1 tablespoon
Red chili flakes ( optional ) - 1 teaspoon ( only if you like to add a spicy kick to it )

Seasoning: ( you can use any chicken seasoning or rub of your choice )
Garlic salt ( from Trader Joe’s )
Adjika ( Georgian seasoning blend from Trader Joe’s )
Lemon pepper seasoning ( from Trader Joe’s )
Avocado or olive oil
Wood chips ( for stovetop and dutch oven methods ) - I am using cherry flavor ( you can also use pecan, mesquite or apple wood )
Liquid smoke - ½ teaspoon ( for Air fryer method only )
Optional: you can add BBQ sauce after the chicken is ready

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For smoking I prefer to use whole chicken, thighs or chicken breast. For today's recipe I will be using chicken breast.


Step#1 Brining process
We do need to brine chicken before smoking. You can do wet or dry brining. For meat with less fat ( such as chicken breast…which is one of the leanest meats ) use wet brine, this way meat will get juicier in a smoking process.
Also I recommend skinless chicken for smoking, this way smoke will get inside the meat vs staying in the skin only.

Brining makes cooked meat more moist by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking.

For the simple brine use Kosher salt and brown sugar. You can always add other aromatic spices or liquids. I am adding some chili flakes, but it is optional. You can always get more creative by adding bourbon, wine, lemon juice, garlic cloves, herbs or apples.
Add 3 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar in the warm water and mix well to dissolve. Let water cool down or add some ice to speed it up. Now you can add chicken in the ziplock bag or vacuum sealed bag, cover it with brine and send it to the fridge for at least 3 hours. You can go up to 8 hours, but don’t go longer than 8.

Step#2 Seasoning chicken.

After 4 hours in the brine, dry chicken with the paper towel, spray with avocado oil and season it with your favorite spices on both sides. I am using a nice mix of spices from trader Joe’s.

Now, let’s test out our indoor smoking methods.

Method #1 Air Fryer

For this method in addition to seasoning I will splash a little bit of liquid smoke. I am using ½ teaspoon. Don’t use too much as it is highly concentrated.
Now, put chicken in the Air Fryer at 220°F. It will be ready when chicken is at 165°F internal temperature. In the process open the Air Fryer a few times to check internal temperature with the thermometr. In my case, it took me about 30 minutes.

Method #2 Stovetop smoker

Follow instructions of your Stovetop smoker. I am using the one made by Cameron.
Cherry sawdust is always a popular choice for smoked chicken. But, you can also use apple, pecan or maple wood chips or sawdust.
I also recommend using foil to cover the base and dripping tray, which will make it a lot easier to clean up. Set it up on the stove on medium heat. It took me about 30 minutes to get it to 165°F.
Optionally I like to put an aluminum disposable cup with some water or apple juice on the tray. It will add additional flavor and help to keep the meat moist.



Method #3 Do it yourself, a smoker made out of Dutch oven and some foil.

Lay 2 pieces of foil inside the Dutch oven with sides sticking out. Sprinkle food chips and cover them up with loose pieces of foil. Now put a tray inside the dutch oven. Lay chicken on the trey, tighten up foil and close the lid. Set the stove to medium heat. It took me about 20-25 minutes. Open up the foil in the process to check the temperature so you don’t overcook the chicken.



Now, let’s taste it. All 3 pieces look about the same. After a very demanding testing process we arrived at consensus that the Stovetop version had the most amount of flavor, maybe that cup of apple juice worked the magic.
However Dutch oven and Air Fryer were not far apart, very tasty, moist and full of flavor.
Optionally you can brush chicken with BBQ sauce before serving.

In summary, all 3 methods worked out quite well, took about the same amount of time and about the same amount of effort and cleanup.