Step 1

Pre-heat your smoker to between 225 and 250°F (107 and 121°C). Use whatever wood you like for smoke. We used Billows BBQ Control Fan and Smoke X2 to set our temperature just where we wanted it and decided on 240°F (116°C).

Step 2

Pat your chicken dry. Rub it all over with olive oil and season it liberally both outside and inside with the rub. (Do this step 4–12 hours in advance if you have time.)

Step 3

Put the thyme, fresh garlic, and quartered onion in the cavity of the bird. Truss the bird’s legs if you like, but we found it mostly helped with how the bird looks, not how it cooks.

Step 4

Place the chicken on the rack of your smoker. Insert a probe into the deepest part of the chicken breast and set the high-temp alarm for that probe channel to 157°F (69°C).

Step 5

Close your smoker and smoke the chicken for 1 hour (use a timer like TimeStick® to keep track of the time).

Step 6

When the time expires, increase the heat of your smoker to 375°F (191°C). If using Billows, simply turn the target temperature up on your connected Smoke X2.

Step 7

Continue to cook the chicken until its high-temp alarm sounds. Verify the internal temperature with your Thermapen ONE. We found a spot in the breast that was at least 12°F colder than our target, so we moved the probe to the cold spot and kept cooking.

Step 8

If you find no temperature lower than 157°F (69°C), remove the chicken from the smoker and allow it to rest for 10–15 minutes before carving and serving.

Step 9

Plate and serve with whatever sides you like. Enjoy!