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Tender and Delicious Smoked Whole Chicken

Aug 29, 2018 · 2 Comments

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One of the easiest things to make on a pellet grill is a whole chicken. There are countless smoked whole chicken recipes, and this is one of my favorites.

It's easy to follow, and produces great results! If you love smoked chicken, keep reading.

How Do You Keep a Whole Chicken From Drying Out

Once you’ve acquired your chicken, it’s time for a little bit of prep work. If the giblets are still in the cavity of the chicken, remove them. Then it’s time to prepare your chicken brine.

One of the challenges many people face when they make a smoked chicken is dry meat. You can overcome this challenge by brining your chicken for 6-12 hours.

How Do You Make a Brine For Smoked Whole Chicken?

In a large sauce pan combine 12 ounces of beer, a couple tablespoons of kosher salt, a little brown sugar, and two cups of water. Bring the brine to a boil, stir, and then remove from the heat and let the brine come down to room temp.

Fully submerge the chicken in a brine bucket or something similar. Refrigerate and let the chicken sit in the brine for 3-12 hours.

Looking for an easy smoked whole chicken recipe? You definitely want to check this out! It starts with a simple beer brine, and ends with moist, tender, and flavorful chicken. #traegerrecipes #pelletgrill #bbq #smokedchicken

After 12 hours in the brine, remove the chicken from the bucket, and pat dry with paper towels. Don’t forget to get the cavity of the chicken as dry as possible too!

I try to always wear disposable gloves when I'm handling raw meat - they're cheap, and it gives me peace of mind knowing that I don't have raw chicken all over my hands...

Seasoning a Whole Chicken

Now that the chicken has brined, it’s time to add the rub. I don’t usually eat the skin on smoked chicken. That being said, I always add rub generously to the outside of the skin and do my best to get generous amounts of rub underneath the skin too.

If you really want to get fancy, you could mix a tablespoon of your bbq rub with a half stick of softened butter, and then rub that under the skin. If you don’t brine the chicken, this could be a good alternative to keep the bird moist and juicy.

What Kind of Rub Should I Use?

There are plenty of options when it comes to a good rub to use on your whole chicken. Here are a few that I’d recommend if you’re looking for a good place to start:

  • Nick's Pork and Poultry Rub - You can get the recipe for this rub at the link, and it's an all-purpose rub that I use on almost everything. Proceeds for the rub also help me keep this web-site going...
  • SPG – This is one of the first rubs I used, and it’s still one of the best. SPG stands for “Salt, Pepper, Garlic”. The rub includes some additional ingredients, and always produces good results.
  • “The Gospel” by Meat Church – The Gospel is another excellent all-purpose rub that people swear by. The Gospel is great on Chicken, but it can be used on beef and pork too.
  • Traeger Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy – I’ve used this rub a bunch this Summer. I love the lemon flavor that comes with this rub! It goes great with chicken, but I’ve used this rub on fish too!

How To Smoke a Whole Chicken

Smoked Whole Chicken Recipe

After you get the chicken seasoned, it’s time to start cooking! This is the easiest part of the whole experience.

Set your smoker up to cook at 225 degrees, and place the bird in the smoker. I put the bird on a grill rack so it’s easy to move when it’s time to take it off the smoker.

If you want you can stuff the cavity of the bird with lemon, onion, and garlic, but it’s not necessary.

After the bird has cooked for an hour at 225 I turn the temperature up to 275 to finish. The smoked whole chicken is ready when the internal temp of the chicken thigh AND the breast is 165 degrees.

Smoked Whole Chicken typically takes about 35 minutes per pound using the method I outlined above.

Let the Chicken Rest!

After the chicken has cooked, make sure you let it rest under loosely tented foil for about ten minutes. This gives the juices in the meat time to redistribute, and minimize the chances of having dry meat.

Smoked Whole Chicken Breast with Asparagus and Hasselback Potatoes

If you followed all the steps I outlined above your smoked whole chicken will be delicious!

If you're looking for other ways to prepare a whole chicken, be sure to check out my spatchcock chicken recipe! Looking for a weeknight chicken recipe? Check out my smoked chicken tenders.

Smoked Whole Chicken Recipe
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4.60 from 35 votes

Smoked Whole Chicken

One of the easiest things to make on a pellet grill is a whole chicken. There are countless smoked whole chicken recipes, and this is one of my favorites.
Course Chicken
Cuisine American
Keyword bbq chicken, smoked whole chicken, traeger chicken
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 112kcal
Author Nick

Equipment

  • Brine Bucket

Ingredients

Brine

  • 12 ounces Beer
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 cups water

Chicken

  • 1 Whole Chicken Giblets Removed - Free Range Organic if possible
  • 1 tbsp bbq rub

Instructions

  • If the giblets are still in the cavity of the chicken, remove them
  • Prepare the brine using all of the brine ingredients in a brine bucket
  • Place the whole chicken in the brine. Add a few cups of water to the brine to make sure the whole chicken is completely covered.
  • I like my whole chickens to brine for 12 hours, but you will experience a juicier cook if you let the chicken brine for as little as 3 hours.
  • Remove the chicken from the bucket, and pat it dry with paper towels.
  • Add rub generously to the outside of the skin
  • Do your best to get generous amounts of rub underneath the skin too.
  • Set your smoker up to cook at 225 degrees, and place the bird in the smoker.
  • After the bird has cooked for an hour at 225 turn the temperature up to 275 to finish.
  • The smoked whole chicken is ready when the internal temp of the chicken thigh AND the breast is 165 degrees.
  • Let the chicken rest for ten minutes before slicing and serving

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 3547mg | Sugar: 3g

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Smoked Meat Sunday

I've been barbecuing for 25 years and Smoked Meat Sunday is a collection of my experience and recipes.

Beyond the smoker, I love to travel, learn about new cuisines, and incorporation those traditions into my cooking.

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