Smoking Chicken is Easy!

6 Secrets to the Greatest Smoked Chicken Recipe

1. Great Meat
2. Great Spices
3. Great Tools (grill, tongs, thermometers, etc...)
4. Heat Control
5. Timing
6. Smoke

This is one of our favorite ways to barbecue a whole chicken, and do it often! The only other method that will give you that incomparable result is, "beer can chicken" and this is covered on our "Beer Can Chicken" page. But lets use that smoker and...

Patience Low and slow is the real secret to that great smoking chicken experience. We're talking about holding the temperature around 220°F (105°C) for an extended cooking period. You should figure about an hour/pound.

Meat Try to buy a fresh, plump, 4-5 pound fryer! Go to Secret #1 for more on this.

Spices We use rubs when barbecuing and enjoy putting together our own with these basic fresh ingredients:

• Salt (Kosher preferred)
• Sugar (turbinado or brown)
• Paprika (Hungarian much preferred for best flavor)
• Pepper, black (fresh ground!)
• Chili powder
• Garlic, granulate or powder
• Onion powder

Smoker The vertical "wet-pan" type is the most popular backyard smoker, so we wrote this smoking chicken recipe from our experience with this fun cooker. You can buy these wonders at any "big box" store, hardware store or, try the garage/yard ("jumble") sales for a real bargain!

Hardwood chunks/chips Use only hardwood for smoking chicken like hickory, oak, cherry, apple, etc. or a combination, to your taste. Go to Secret #6 for more on this.

Oven/Grill thermometer This tool is the only way you will really know what's going on inside the smoker!

Instant Read probe-type thermometer This is chicken! Be safe and ensure the meat has reached the ideal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

Tongs You need a darn good pair of tongs to handle those birds. Long and strong is the secret.

Chimney Starter For the charcoal smoker folks this is the best way to start, and maintain, the coals. If you've never used one of these ingenious tools, you're going to love the experience!

The chicken is first "rubbed", with a simple, dry, spice accented rub recipe and then smoked slow, with low indirect heat. All for that unforgettable tender, perfectly seasoned, eating experience!

Sometimes, when time is a factor, we will use the readily available "Lemon Pepper" seasoning from our favorite purveyors. Works great, but for more fun and adventure...

Let's start with a classic rub that will impart all of the flavors your drooling chops are hankerin' for. Do not let the simplicity of this basic rub fool you. It works great, and you can adjust the recipe (as the "pros" do) to make it "yours". Look at our Rubs page for other great recipes and ideas.

Basic Rub Recipe

Mix together thoroughly the following:

• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed). We prefer "turbinado sugar" for ease of use, but either one works fine.
• 1/4 cup sweet paprika (Hungarian, if you can get it)
• 8 tblsp kosher (or sea) salt
• 1 tblsp ground pepper (fresh peppercorns recently ground!)
• 1 tblsp garlic powder or 2 tblsp granulated (not garlic salt)
• 1 tblsp onion powder
• 1 tblsp chili powder (no, it will not be "hot")
• 1 tblsp cayenne powder

Are all chickens the same? Nope. If you were raised on a farm or before the '70's you know what we mean. Those yard birds don't taste the same as mass produced fowl!

We're talking about "range chickens" where the birds range freely, have plenty of fresh water, exercise, and scratch the ground at will, with lots of grain 'n bugs for the peckin'. A good eatin' bird will go to market at about 180 days. Most chicken today is fast grown (80 days)...

...stressed out and raised in confined cages, fed goodness knows what and "mechanically" processed for mass sales. No comparison in taste, so we like to buy "free-range" chicken when it's available. No free range chicken available?

Well...get the freshest, plump, 3-4 pound fryer you can find. If you don't want to mess with cutting and cleaning, buy the chicken parts you most enjoy and look for the freshest dates!

Frozen the only thing around? Buy the most recent dated package, suck it in because smoking chicken will make it taste great anyway!

NOTE: Chicken should be always kept in the refrigerator (below 40°F/4.4° C) before preparation.

• Take the thawed chicken out of the refrigerator, clean and rinse all pieces thoroughly - pat dry.

• Apply the rub generously over the pieces, all sides and under the skin, if you can. We like to do this at least a couple of hours, and preferably 1-3 days, before cooking for the maximum effect. Remember to keep the chicken in the refrigerator until you are ready to put it on the fire.

Our recipe for smoking chicken is written for the vertical 'box", or "bullet" wet-pan type smokers, regardless of the heat source so...

• Fill the water pan to within an inch of the top (or at least 2/3 full). Use hot water to help avoid wasting fuel.

• For gas or electric smokers, place the chips (pre-soaked in water 20 min. to an hour) in the wood chip box. One full box of chips will last for several hours, which will be sufficient for the whole cooking time.

• Fire-up the cooker and get the temperature to about 225°F (107°C) and prepare to keep that temperature as steady as you can! Maintain the temperature between 200 - 225°F (93 - 107°C) for the ideal smoked chicken.

Control the temperature using the bottom vents only. The top vent should always remain open and not used to control oxygen intake. Each cooker is different so, when smoking chicken, experience rules!

NOTE: Always use tongs and a heat proof glove/mit when smoking chicken! Never use the forked, sharp, pokey thing that seems to come with all backyard barbecue tool sets. It will pierce the meat and allow the juices to run out.

When the temperature (inside the smoker at the grill) has reached 225°F (107°C)...

• Place chicken in the smoker, breast side down to start. After 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turn it over to finish.

• Resist peeking! You're loosing precious heat and smoke. Open the lid/door only far enough to do the job and don't tarry!

• You have time! If you have judiciously maintained the cooking temperature, peeked, and turned the chicken quickly, you can leave your station several times before the bird(s) are done. When smoking chicken think 4+ hours 'til end-of-shift.

• Check the chicken at the meatiest part of the breast between the bones, looking for 165°F (74°C) to be the magic number.

For the Cookin' Cousins" taste, smoking chicken has all the flavor we need but... many folks like a "finishing sauce".

This is nothing more than a barbecue sauce, of your choice, served as a side dish (or two), for the folks who would like to add more flavor to the chicken. Lets eat!

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