Smoked Chicken Lasagna

I have been a bit behind with my posts but I have finally found a little time to catch up on them. A few weeks ago, I smoked off a couple packs of chicken thighs to use in a smoked chicken lasagna.

In order to speed up the cooking process, I de-boned the chicken thighs. I also removed the skin, as I don't want to use that in the lasagna.

The thighs were tossed in a simple seasoning combination of 1 teaspoon each of salt, freshly ground black pepper, basil and oregano. Drizzle on some oil to help the seasonings adhere better to the chicken. Once that is done, smoke at 225 using your wood of choice for about an hour to an hour and a half. All you are looking for is an internal temperature of 165F.

Since I planned on using the thighs in a lasagna, I did not bother with brining, dry rubs, mops or glazes, etc. that I would have done if serving the chicken on its own. Nevertheless, they came out looking very good - extraordinarily juicy and tender, as you can tell from the juices sitting on the meat. It also picked up some great grill marks on the bottom side.

Chicken things fresh out of the smoker

 

Great grill marks and succulent juiciness

Since, I didn't have time to use the chicken immediately, I stashed it in the fridge overnight. When I was ready to turn it into lasagna, I cut it up into small pieces. I also put mushrooms and onions in the lasagna. However, for additional flavor, I sauteed these separately and then put the cooked mixture into the lasagna.

Onion and mushroom mixture

The lasagna itself was actually fairly straight forward with the smoked chicken being the most unusual ingredient. The sauce I used was made of equal parts tomato-based spaghetti sauce and alfredo sauce. The result was like a rose sauce. In addition to using the standard ricotta (2 cups), cottage cheese (2 cups), and mozzarella cheese (2 cups), I also used cream cheese (1/2 lb). I think the cream cheese adds a great flavor and texture to the dish.

Construct like you would a normal lasagna. I like having at least 4 layers to mine as it seems more pleasing to the eye to see all the different tiers when you cut into it. When everything has been layered, bake it at 350F for about an hour until the cheese at the top is golden brown and delicious.

Smoked chicken lasagna - the finished product