Smoked Chicken Recipe - The Spruce Eats

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Smoked Whole Chicken By Heather Ramsdell

Heather Ramsdell

Heather Ramsdell was a Senior Editorial Director for The Spruce Eats, where she led the editorial team to create recipes, tell stories, and help people cook and learn about food.

Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process Updated on 01/2/23 (13) Save Write a Review Print Prep: 20 mins Cook: 4 hrs Marinate: 2 hrs Total: 6 hrs 20 mins Servings: 4 to 6 servings 13 ratings Write a Review Add a comment SaveRecipe

This is a classic smoked chicken recipe with tons of flavor. You can make it the day you plan to serve it, or a day or two ahead. The result of this slowly cooked bird is meat that's so flavorful and juicy, it will fall off the bones.

Chicken is the star of the show in this recipe, and you'll really want to taste it, so choose the best-quality chicken you can find.

This spice rub is a classic combination, however, you can develop your own signature rub by adding whichever herbs and spices you prefer to make it your own, such as cumin, lime, and oregano, or fennel seed and a pinch of red pepper flakes. We recommend fruitwood chips for this recipe.

A whole chicken that has been cooked on a wooden board with two knives in front of it with wooden stems as well. In the background there is sauce in a black container and string. — bhofack2 / Getty Images

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1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves grated garlic
1 (4- to 5-pound chicken) whole chicken

Gather the ingredients.
Stir together the salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, thyme, and garlic. Rub the chicken inside and out, and under the skin of the breast and thighs with the spice mixture.
Let sit in the refrigerator for 2 to 8 hours.
Prepare the smoker with fruitwood chips. Smoke the chicken at 250 F/120 C until the thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken breast reaches 160 F. This will take about 3 hours—or 45 minutes per pound.
Once cooked, remove from heat and tent with aluminum foil. Let chicken rest for 20 minutes.
Carve chicken and serve with your favorite sides. Enjoy!

Smoked Chicken Tips

Crispier SkinFor skin that's more crisp than what you can produce in the low heat of a smoker, preheat the oven to 400 F and when the chicken reaches 130 F in the thigh, transfer it to the oven, and finish cooking it there until it's 165 F in the thigh.
Twice as NiceIt's the same amount of work to make two chickens. Double the spice mix and cook a second one at the same time. Smoked chicken makes amazing sandwiches, soups, casseroles and it freezes well for later.

Chicken Mains
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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
282	Calories
16g	Fat
3g	Carbs
31g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label ×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	282
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g	20%
Saturated Fat 4g	22%
Cholesterol 101mg	34%
Sodium 1151mg	50%
Total Carbohydrate 3g	1%
Dietary Fiber 0g	2%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 31g
Vitamin C 1mg	3%
Calcium 26mg	2%
Iron 2mg	10%
Potassium 285mg	6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

BBQ Chicken
dessert
american
cookout

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