Smoked Whole Chicken

Our smoked whole chicken is juicy and tender with a crispy, caramelized skin. The perfect family dinner! 

Start with a flavorful brine for extra juiciness, then cover it with an award-winning smoked chicken rub. Smoke it low and slow to infuse it with an amazing flavor, and baste it with a chicken mop sauce during the smoke. Finally, coat it with a tangy BBQ sauce and finish it off hot and fast to give it a crispy skin and caramelize the sauce.

Skip the grocery store rotisserie chicken and make a smoked whole chicken that is out of this world. It is simple to make and even easier if you have a pellet grill. We used a Traeger, but any pellet grill will work. You can even adapt this recipe to a side smoker or an electric smoker.

Here is Why This Recipe Works

• Brining is the secret to a juicy, succulent chicken. We heat the brine solution to dissolve the salt then we added ice and cold water to cool it down quickly.
  
• The smoked chicken rub gives the bird a rich flavor, helps form a crust (or bark) on the skin, and helps the smoke adhere to the chicken. 
  
• Smoking chicken at a lower temperature helps give it time to absorb all that delicious smoke flavor.
   
• Basting the chicken with a mop sauce during the smoke helps keep it moist and adds even more flavor.
  
• Finally, we finished our Traeger chicken with a coat of BBQ sauce and cranked up the heat. This helps crisp up the skin and caramelize the sauce for an added bit of sweetness and color.

For more smoker recipes, you will love our Traeger sea bass, smoked prime rib, or our Traeger pork shoulder. And for another way to smoke a whole chicken, try our beer can chicken.

The Ingredients

Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for this Traeger smoked whole chicken recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details. 

For the Chicken Brine

• Kosher salt. The type of salt is important. If you don’t have Kosher salt, use half the amount of regular table salt.
• Granulated sugar. The sugar balances the salt.
• Black peppercorns.
• Garlic cloves. Crush the cloves, so they release their oils and flavor.
• Herbs. We used bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley.
• Green onions. 
• Lemons.
• Ice. We use the ice to cool the brine down faster. You don’t want to place the chicken in hot or warm brine.

Tip: If you don’t have all the ingredients for the brine, all you really need is the salt. The rest of the ingredients are a bonus and enhance the flavor only slightly.

World-renowned grill master Myron Mixon inspired our brine for smoked chicken.

For the Chicken Spice Rub

Our dry rub was adapted from the Meat Mitch Competition Whomp! Rub in BBQ Revolution.

• Brown sugar.
• Salt.
• Spices. We used smoke paprika, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, and marjoram.

Tip: You can make your own rub or purchase one from the store. You can even use a simple blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Or try an herb rub like Greek Freak.

For the Mop Sauce

• Apple cider vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Brown sugar
• Dry rub reserved from above
• Tabasco sauce

Tip: Instead of making a mop sauce, you can baste the chicken with butter or olive oil.

Finish the Traeger Chicken

• BBQ sauce. Purchase your favorite barbecue sauce or make your own. Try our chipotle bbq sauce or spicy raspberry sauce for something unique.

How to Smoke a Whole Chicken

Here is a brief overview to get an idea of what to expect with this smoked whole chicken recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.

This Traeger whole chicken recipe is easier than it looks. The list of ingredients may look long, but it is easy to improvise and adapt the recipe to what you have on hand. 

1. Brine the bird. 

Tip: Place the chicken in the brine breast-side-down. It is ok if a small portion of the back does not get submerged.

2. Season with the dry rub (make sure to get under the chicken skin). 

3. Smoke the chicken and apply the mop sauce during the smoke. 

4. Baste the chicken occasionally while it smokes.

1. Coat the chicken with BBQ sauce and crank up the heat to caramelize the sauce. Let the chicken rest at room temperature before carving.

Tip: Place the chicken in the smoker either breast side up or down, or use a beer can chicken holder to keep it upright.

There aren’t any hard and fast rules here. However, if you turn the chicken over so the breast side is down, all the juices from the dark meat will seep into the breast meat. It helps the lean breast meat stay juicier.

How Long to Smoke a Whole Chicken? 

The cooking time will vary based on the size of your chicken and temperature fluctuations on your pellet grill. The best way to know when the chicken is done is to use a digital thermometer to monitor the internal temperature. The thigh or leg meat should register 170°F to 175°F, and the breast meat should register 160°F to 165°F.

The following table will give you an estimated time at different temperatures.

More Grilling Recipes

• Traeger Pork Shoulder
• Smoked Beer Can Chicken with Gravy
• Traeger Smoked Sea Bass
• Crispy Skin Grilled Sea Bass
• 35 Grill Master Traeger Recipes

Tips for Best Results

• Use butcher’s twine to tie the chicken legs together. This will help the chicken cook more evenly on the pellet smoker (or whichever smoker you use). If you don’t have butcher twine, then don’t fret; the chicken will still turn out great.
  
• When you switch the pellet grill to a higher temperature, it will only take about 5 to 10 minutes to get a nice crust on the skin. The higher heat will also prevent rubbery skin on the chicken.
  
• We like to take the chicken off the smoker before it reaches the target temperature to allow for carry-over cooking. We usually remove the chicken from the pellet grill when the breast meat reaches 157°F. That means we usually increase the heat on the pellet grill when the breast meat reaches 150°F.
  
• Our Traeger whole chicken recipe uses a low temperature to get the best smoky flavor. If you are pinched for time, you can increase the temperature and cook it until a meat thermometer registers the correct temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Smoking a whole chicken on the pellet grill is easy, and the results are amazing. Our recipe is easy to adapt depending on what you have on hand. The chicken comes out juicy and tender, with a crispy, caramelized skin.

Helpful Tools

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• A pellet grill
• Try different rubs like one of these beer-infused rubs or use a Mediterranean herb blend.
• A good digital meat thermometer

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

Our glazed chicken thighs and BBQ baked chicken legs make terrific weeknight meals that are easy to pop in the oven.

If you want a whole chicken recipe to cook in the oven, our roast chicken with vegetables is a great one-dish dinner.

If you have leftover chicken, use it to make an enchilada casserole or add it to a green salad. You can even use the carcass to make a chicken broth.

Smoked Whole Chicken

Don't let the long list of ingredients trip you up. There are 5 easy steps for a perfect smoked whole chicken.

1. Brine.
2. Apply the rub.
3. Place it on the smoker.
4. Baste it with a mop sauce.
5. Slather it with BBQ sauce.

Start with a flavorful brine for extra juiciness, then cover it with an award-winning smoked chicken rub. Smoke it low and slow to infuse it with an amazing flavor, and baste it with a chicken mop sauce during the smoke. Finally, coat it with a tangy BBQ sauce and finish it off hot and fast to give it a crispy skin and caramelize the sauce.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time: 1 day day

Cook Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 1 day day 4 hours hours

Servings: 1 chicken

Calories: 410kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

Chicken Brine for Smoking

• 8 cups cold water divided
• ⅓ cup kosher salt not table salt
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup black peppercorns
• 3 to 5 crushed garlic cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh sage
• 1 bunch Italian parsley coarsely chopped
• 3 spring onions chopped
• 2 lemons quartered
• 2 cups ice
• 1 whole chicken 4 to 6 pounds

Smoked Chicken Rub (or use your favorite rub)

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1-½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
• ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Chicken Mop Sauce

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of rub reserved from above
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce more if you like it hot

Finish the Smoked Chicken

• 1 cup BBQ sauce

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Instructions

Brine the Chicken

• Pour 4 cups of water into a large stock pot. Add the rest of the brine ingredients, except for the ice cubes. 
• Heat the mixture over hight heat until it comes to a boil. Stir until the salt dissolves then remove it from the heat. 
• Add the ice cubes and 4 cups of cold water. Stir until the ice melts and the mixture cools completely. If it is still cold after the ice melts, let it sit in the fridge until it it gets cold. 
• Once the brine gets cold, submerge the chicken, breast side down, into the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours. 

Smoke the Chicken

• Preheat the smoker to 225°F (pellet grill, electric smoker, or offset smoker all work).  
• Remove the chicken from the brine solution and pat it dry with paper towels. 
• Combine the smoked chicken rub ingredients and reserve 1 tablespoon for the mop sauce. 
• Loosen the skin and work some of the dry rub under the skin.
• Rub olive oil all over the outside chicken then coat it with the rub. Get inside the cavity of the chicken as well. 
• Tie the legs together with butcher's twine, then tuck the wing tips behind the shoulders. 
• Place the chicken directly on the grill grates. Stick a meat probe into the thickest part of the breast or thigh (push it in until you hit bone, then back it out a tad). Close the pellet grill and let her smoke. 

Make the Mop Sauce

• While the chicken is smoking, mix the ingredients for the chicken mop sauce. After it smokes for 1 hour, use the mop sauce to baste the chicken every 30 to 60 minutes. 
• Smoke for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours (see below).

Finish with BBQ sauce

• When the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 150°F, baste it with BBQ sauce and increase the temperature on the smoker to 450°F to caramelize the sauce and crisp the skin (If you are using an electric smoker, you will have to do this final step in your oven). The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
• TIP: For the juiciest chicken meat, remove the bird when the breast meat reaches 157°F. The carry-over heat will continue to cook the bird while you let it rest.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cover it with aluminum foil, and let it rest for 20 minutes. 

Notes

• If you don’t have Kosher salt for the brine solution, you can use 3-1/2 to 4 tablespoons of regular table salt. Do not use equal amounts of table salt for the Kosher salt. 

• Ensure the brine solution is cold before placing the chicken in it. 

• Don’t worry if you don’t have all the ingredients for the brine. All you need is salt and water (the sugar is nice too). The rest of the ingredients help give a very light flavor to the brine but they are not essential like the salt. 

• You can place the chicken in the smoker breast side up or down. You can even stick it on a beer can holder to keep it upright. There aren’t any hard and fast rules here. However, if you place it breast side down, all the juices from the dark meat will seep into the breast meat and help keep the breast meat juicier. 

• The smoked chicken rub was adapted from BBQ Revolution by Mitch Benjamin. We adjusted the amounts to make enough for 1 chicken and added garlic powder. If you double or quadruple the amounts in the recipe, you can store any extra rub in an airtight container for up to four weeks. 
• A delicious alternative to the mop sauce is to baste the bird with melted butter or a combination of butter and olive oil.

• The time it takes to smoke a whole chicken will vary based on the size of your chicken and temperature fluctuations in the pellet grill. Smoke the chicken until the meat thermometer registers the correct temperature and not based on the time. We provided an approximate time guideline to help you plan the cook and the rest of your meal.

How long to smoke a whole chicken (approximate times)

• 225°F for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours
• 250°F for 3 to 4 hours
• 275°F for 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 5584mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 20g

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