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Smoked Whole Chicken Recipe
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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, but this one is by far my favorite.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Barbecue
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings 4
Author Nick

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