Smoked Whole Chicken

Everyone's eaten Roast Chicken for dinner, but have you ever eaten a hot Smoked Whole Chicken for dinner? This is my favorite way to make chicken dinner, with wet and dry brine instructions, you're gonna love this recipe.

What You'll Need

Smoker

There are many different varieties of smokers and they all do the same thing. You'll also need a temperature probe.

• Pellet smokers - are very popular, like a Traeger, because they are easy to use.
• Webers - great for indirect heat cooking method. I personally like the old fashioned
• Charcoal wood smokers - I use a Chargriller off-set smoker, and add wood pieces for smokey flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• spice rub (or salt and pepper)
• lump charcoal
• fruit wood
• chicken brine

Brining Chicken

Wet Brine

The secret to a juicy smoked chicken is to prepare the in a chicken brine in advance. A wet brine delivers the juiciest smoked chicken. My wet brine recipe isn't just salty water, but has added onions, herbs and spices to the mix so the flavor absorbs through.

• 1 gallon / 4 litres of water
• ¾ cup table salt or use 1 cup of Kosher Salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 small onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 carrot
• 1 small celery stalk
• 2 bay leafs
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 1 clove
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 bunch of parsley

1. Place all ingredients into a stock pot. Bring to a boil, mixing the ensure the salt and sugar has dissolved. Boil for 4 minutes and remove from heat. Place into refrigerator until completely cooled before using.
2. Fully submerge chicken into cold brine solution. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight, up to 24 hours. Remove from brine, season and smoke in smoker.

Dry Brine

You can also make a dry brine, with salt and spices rubbed into the chicken. The salt releases the chicken juices and they are slowly re-absorbed back into the chicken overnight.

• 4 teaspoons kosher salt or coarse salt (1 teaspoon per pound of chicken)
• 5 teaspoons spice mix paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, thyme

1. Mix together the salt and spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken, including the inside cavity.
2. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight before smoking.

Both of these brining recipes require refrigeration and need to be brined at least overnight, up to 24 hours before smoking. So some pre-planning and fridge space is required before your smoke a chicken.

How to Season Smoked Whole Chicken

You can season your chicken with your favorite spices. Cajun Spice is one of my favorites. A spicy Chipotle seasoning is also popular, or you can make your own mix of spices. Try this homemade spice rub.

• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon of Paprika
• 2 teaspoons Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Oregano
• 1 teaspoon of Salt. 

What type of wood for Smoked Chicken?

You'll find 2 types of wood sold in stores, wood chips and wood chunks. I find wood chips burn up too quickly, losing the smokey flavor. You can soak the wood chips overnight before using them, which slows down how fast they burn.

Wood Chunks are best when using an off-set smoker. You can also soak the wood chunks into water for about 30 minutes before using, to make them last longer. Fruit woods are best for smoked whole chicken.

Fruit Woods

These fruit woods are subtle and gentle in flavor, which complements chicken with a hint of sweetness.

• Apple Wood
• Cherry Wood
• Pear Wood

Nut Woods

Stronger flavor in the wood, more suited to dark meats like beef. Experiment with wood, use apple wood and hickory together.

• Pecan Wood
• Hickory Wood

You can buy wood for smoking at Bunnings in Australia or Home Depot or Lowes in the States, and even Amazon delivers now. If you live near an orchard, ask the orchardist for stone fruit wood, like peach wood, nectarine if you get lucky.

Do I need a Meat Thermometer?

Yes. Don't fool around with guessing if your chicken is cooked or not. Nobody wants to get sick on raw chicken. You can buy meat thermometers for $20. Insert the meat probe into the thickest part of the meat, without touching the bone.

How to Tie Up a Chicken for Smoking

You don't need to tie up (truss) a chicken when smoking or roasting in the oven, however, I recommend it. It only takes a minute, and makes serving the smoked chicken much nicer.

1. Place the chicken breast side up, with the legs toward you.
2. Start by placing the centre of the cooking twine underneath the wings, pull twine over the wings and alongside the breast to tie the legs together, nice and tight.
3. Cut off any excess string. You can see how easy it is in the video.

Low and Slow Smoking

You want to have the temperature low and slow, and you need to allow enough time for your chicken to reach the correct internal temperature. This can't be rushed. It's really more of an art than a science, and you get better the more you do it, and start to understand your smoker.

Often low smoking temperature is 220°F, but I struggle to keep the temperature that low. I keep the temperature of my smoker at 275°F or 135°C. You need to keep an eye on the temperature of the smoker, and add more charcoal as needed.

How to Smoke Whole Chicken

1. Brine the Chicken - best brined for 24 hours in a wet brine solution
2. Season the Chicken - pat dry, then season inside and out with your spice rub
3. Smoke the Chicken - smoke the chicken until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 170°F/75°C at the thickest part of the breast
4. Rest - cover with foil and rest for 20 minutes before carving

Oven Roasting Smoked Chicken

You can finish cooking your smoked chicken in the oven as well. What I mean is after you smoke the chicken for about an hour and half in the smoker, the smoked flavor is well and truly inside the chicken. If you cover the chicken with foil, you can finish cooking it in the oven. It will be a little less smokey this way, but can shorten your cooking time. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Now if you are a professional smoke master and reading this, you will be freaking out and telling people that's not how to do it. You are correct of course, but it does happen.

Recipe Tips and FAQs

• Make 2 - all this effort is wasted on one bird, make 2 smoked whole chickens
• Don't add too much wood - adding lots of wood at once causes temperature to increase, maintain it low and slow
• Don't Rush the Rest - when the internal temp is right, remove from the smoker, cover in foil, and allow to rest for about 20 minutes before you serve.
• Vertical Roaster - use a vertical roaster to stand up and cook your chicken for better air flow, but don't use a beer can

Do you need a Drip Pan?

I recommend a drip pan when smoking chicken. I buy a large foil tray and add 5-6 cups of water and place under the rack in the base of the smoker. This makes it easier for clean up, as the chicken will leak juices, and the water also adds humidity inside the smoker.

How Long Does It Take To Smoke a Chicken?

That depends on the internal temperature of the smoked whole chicken. Smoked chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 170°F/75°C at the thickest part of the breast. This recipe took about 3-½ hours, but don't set a timer, monitor the internal temp. I've only said that ten times! 🤣

What to Serve with Smoked Chicken

• Garlic Butter Green Beans
• Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Soy
• Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Grilled Corn on the Cob
• Potato Bake with French Onion Soup

You're going to love smoking meats. I even make a Smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving. It's a delicious and fun way to prepare food, something different from the ordinary. A basic smoker isn't very expensive, and a great food hobby that everyone will enjoy eating! If you're new to smoking, then this smoked chicken recipe is the place to start. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!

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