Smoked Whole Chicken

5 from 2 votes

Don’t let the ingredient list fool you. This smoked whole chicken comes together in five easy steps. Brine it, rub it, smoke it, baste it, and finish with BBQ sauce. The brine keeps it juicy, the rub builds flavor, and low-and-slow smoking adds rich depth. A final blast of heat caramelizes the sauce and gives you that crisp, golden skin.

Prep Time1

Cook Time4

Total Time1 4

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: smoked whole chicken, smoked whole chicken traeger, traeger whole chicken

Servings: chicken

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

Chicken Brine for Smoking

8 cups water cold; divided
⅓ cup kosher salt not table salt
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup whole peppercorns
3 to 5 garlic cloves crushed
3 bay leaves
2 to 3 sprigs Fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 to 2 sprigs fresh sage
3 green onions chopped
2 lemons quartered
2 cups ice
4 to 6 pound whole chicken

Smoked Chicken Rub (or use your favorite rub)

¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
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 rub reserved from above
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce more if you like it hot

Finish the Smoked Chicken

1 cup BBQ sauce

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 warm 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 3½ to 4½ 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.

Video

Notes

Salt swap: If you don’t have kosher salt for the brine, use 3½ to 4 tablespoons of regular table salt. Don’t substitute equal amounts. Table salt is finer and measures differently.

Cool the brine first: Make sure the brine is fully chilled before adding the chicken. Warm brine will start cooking the meat and affect texture.

Simplify the brine if needed: Don’t stress about missing ingredients, salt and water do the heavy lifting (a little sugar helps, too). The aromatics just add subtle flavor.

Smoker setup: You can place the chicken breast side up, down, or even upright on a beer-can holder. Breast side down lets juices from the dark meat baste the breast, keeping it extra moist.

Rub details: Our smoked chicken rub was adapted from BBQ Revolution by Mitch Benjamin. We scaled it for one chicken and added garlic powder. Double or quadruple it if you want leftovers. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

Smoking time: The cook time depends on the size of your chicken and temperature fluctuations in your smoker. Always go by internal temperature, not time. Use a meat thermometer for accuracy.

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

Nutrition