These Smoked Chipotle Honey Chicken Skewers offer a blend of rich flavors that pair well with the smoke from your pellet grill or smoker with the diced chicken breasts.
What Do You Need to Make these Chicken Skewers?
You’ll need a pellet grill or smoker, but a gas grill will also work. Chicken is the main ingredient of this dish, and we suggest using boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they go well as kebabs. Whisk together some tomato paste and apple cider vinegar for a tangy bite, honey for natural sweetness, chipotle chili powder for a bit of heat, and garlic for a savory finish. This recipe is not only straightforward to make, but each ingredient is healthy. When combined, the flavors complement one another well as they take on a bit of smoke.
How to Make Smoked Chipotle Honey Chicken Skewers
Your first step is soaking the wooden skewers in water. Ensure the wood is completely submerged for at least 30 minutes before adding the chicken. This step will help prevent the wood from burning while you cook.
Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Large enough that each piece will thread easily onto the wood and not too large that the pieces will take longer to cook. Also, keep each piece relatively the same size so they will all finish cooking simultaneously.
Thread the chicken onto wooden skewers keeping a little space between each one. This space will allow the sauce to coat more of the chicken’s surface.
Whisk to combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. If you decide to marinate the chicken, follow those steps. If not, use the sauce to baste the chicken when adding the skewers to the grill surface. Continue to baste the chicken while cooking.
Flip the skewer every ten minutes, so you cook the chicken evenly. Brush more sauce onto the chicken each time you flip until the sauce is gone.
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Marinate the Chicken (Optional)
If you have time, marinate the chicken in part of the sauce you create. Do this by separating half the sauce into a plastic food-grade bag or container and adding the diced chicken. Make sure you do this before threading the chicken onto the skewers.
Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
Plan Ahead
The uncooked skewers can wait on a plate or in a pan in the fridge covered with plastic or foil while you’re preparing the rest of your meal. Once ready, you can place them on the pellet grill or smoker about 40 minutes before dinner is scheduled so they’re served fresh and hot.
Preheat the pellet grill to 400 degrees F. Once ready, add the skewers to a hot smoker or grill for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Turn the skewers and baste with the sauce every ten minutes throughout the cooking process. This will help the chicken to cook evenly.
What Wood to Use for Chipotle Honey Chicken Skewers?
I recommend using fruitwoods such as an apple or cherry. Maple and pecan also go well with this recipe. I prefer not using mesquite or hickory, so the smoke flavor doesn’t overwhelm the sauce we are glazing on the chicken.
Smoked Chipotle Honey Chicken Skewers
Equipment
- 8 Wooden skewers
- Wood pellets apple, cherry, pecan, or maple
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- ½ cup Honey
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 4 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp Chipotle chili powder
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- ½ tsp Salt optional
Instructions
- Soak eight wooden skewers in water, completely submerged for at least 30 minutes.
- Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces making sure they are large enough to thread onto the skewers.
- Thread each piece onto the wooden skewers. Make sure to leave a little space between each chicken piece.
- If you want to marinate your chicken, place them in a container, after slicing but before threading onto the skewers, with half of the sauce you'll prepare. Let the chicken sit for 30 minutes or several hours in the fridge.
- Whisk together honey, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, chipotle chili powder, chopped garlic, and optional salt in a small bowl.
- Once the sauce is prepared, use half as a marinade or all of it to baste the chicken during cooking.
- Set your pellet grill or smoker to 400°F.
- Add skewers to a hot grill surface and cook for about 45 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165°F internal temp. Times will vary, so keep an eye on the food. Baste the chicken with sauce and turn the skewers every 10 minutes.
- Once done, remove them from the grill and serve hot.
Nutrition
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your favorite Smoking Food Board!!
We adapted this recipe from Skinny Ms. to allow for the smoked flavor and an easier threading of the chicken by cutting it into cubes. Check out their recipe and more.
If you’re curious about what else to smoke, check out Easy BBQ Chicken Thighs on the Pellet Grill and Smoked Chicken Parmesan Dip.
Bon Appétit