traeger whole chicken

Easy Smoked Chicken is a great summer meal. The chicken turns out incredibly flavorful, tender and juicy. Perfect for BBQs or any time you want to cook a whole chicken but want to do something a little different than traditional roasting.

Easy Smoked Chicken

(8 cups) Cold Water, divided

Salt

Chicken,

cup Homemade BBQ Chicken Rub

Bring 1 cup cold water to boil. I usually...

Bring 1 cup cold water to boil. I usually do this in a 2 quart glass measuring cup in the microwave, however you can do this stovetop in a saucepan if you prefer.

Add the 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of...

Add the 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of Morton Kosher Salt (not table salt!) to the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Stir in the remaining 7 cups of cold water so that you have 8 cups of water total.

Place the whole chicken, giblets removed and discarded,...

Place the whole chicken, giblets removed and discarded, in a gallon sized freezer zip top bag.

Place the bag inside a large bowl.

Transfer the salt water to the bag containing the...

Transfer the salt water to the bag containing the chicken. Zip the bag to seal.

Place the bowl with the chicken and brine...

Place the bowl with the chicken and brine filled bag in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 8 hours.

Remove the chicken from the brine.

Discard the salt water. Rinse the chicken inside...

Discard the salt water. Rinse the chicken inside and out.

Place the chicken on a large baking sheet...

Place the chicken on a large baking sheet and pat dry.

Rub the chicken inside and out with the Homemade...

Rub the chicken inside and out with the Homemade BBQ Chicken Rub. I like to carefully separate the skin over the breasts from the meat so that I can put some of the rub under the skin.

Let the chicken sit while you prepare the...

Let the chicken sit while you prepare the smoker.

Prepare your smoker to a low heat setting.

On our Traeger, we use the "smoke" setting...

On our Traeger, we use the "smoke" setting (around 150-160 degrees F) and we either use Oak Pellets or the Gourmet Blend Pellets for our wood. Hickory or pecan would also work well for chicken.

Transfer the chicken from the baking sheet and...

Transfer the chicken from the baking sheet and place it on the smoker, insert the probe of a digital meat thermometer that is safe for BBQing into the thickest part of the breast, and smoke on 150-160 degrees F according to manufacturer instructions at 160 for about 3 hours.

Increase the temperature to 225 degrees F and...

Increase the temperature to 225 degrees F and continue to cook until the the meat thermometer registered 165 degrees F.

Remove the chicken from the smoker and let...

Remove the chicken from the smoker and let rest, loosely tented with foil, on a baking sheet for 20 minutes before slicing.

This easy Traeger smoked chicken recipe is a game changer. It results in tender, juicy meat with crispy skin and an incredible flavor all the way down to the bone. A brown sugar and garlic spice rub infuses the meat with robust flavor and keeps it moist and tender (there&#39;s no need for a wet brine in this recipe!). You can use a Traeger grill or any smoker you have for this easy recipe.

Ultimate Traeger Smoked Chicken Recipe (Whole Chicken)

Spice Rub

lemon

garlic cloves,

shallot,

thyme

Rub the spice paste all over the chicken (use all of the rub). You can either stuff the cavity with the lemon, garlic, shallot and thyme now or wait to do this tomorrow (if stuffing, tie the legs together). Refrigerate the chicken, uncovered, overnight (this will allow the spice paste to permeate into the meat as well as help the skin turn crispy on the smoker).

Dry brine the chicken

Preheat your smoker to 225˚F (105˚C). Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. If you haven’t stuffed it yet, do that now (be sure to tie the legs together with kitchen twine).

Position the chicken directly onto the grill grate. Cover and smoke until the internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 160˚F, about 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes.

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Easy Smoked Chicken

Ultimate Traeger Smoked Chicken Rec...

Top 2 traeger whole chicken recipes from across the web

The most viewed traeger whole chicken recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Smoked Chicken

Ultimate Traeger Smoked Chicken Rec...

The most viewed traeger whole chicken recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine