apple wood smoked boneless chicken breast

I used the smoker for the second time this past weekend.  I had a big pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer and decided to smoke it.

I scoured the Internet for a rub or marinade to use.  I didn't want a repeat of the skirt steak I made a few weeks ago; it was good, but too smoky without a rub or marinade to diffuse it. I found one on the Food Network website.  it called for a whole chicken, but I really only wanted the recipe for the rub anyway. This particular recipe calls for 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper AND 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes.  That's just too much heat for me these days, and I knew Bob likely wouldn't like it either.  So, I reduced the red pepper flakes to just a sprinkle.

The chicken came out really good.  There was some spicy heat, but it wasn't scorching hot.  About halfway during smoking I realized I should have put some water in the pan in the smoker.  The outside of the chicken seemed dry, so I added some water to the pan.   It still looked dry when the smoking was done, but it actually wasn't dry when eating it. As implied in the recipe name, I used apple wood for the smoker.

It looks pretty good, but I can't really see the smoke ring much.

Here's the recipe for the rub.  If you want the full recipe, chicken and all, here it is:  Apple Wood Smoked Chicken.

Spicy Chicken Rub

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I used just a sprinkle)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Mix the ingredients in a bowl and use as a rub for chicken, or any other meat you like.  Let the rubbed meat sit in the fridge for at least an hour and then cook it.