How many times have you went to the grocery store and bought one of those rotisserie chicken to take home for supper? They are good and make great leftovers, but they just don’t have the right flavor. Sometimes you just want a good BBQ chicken to eat for supper and then sandwiches.
Well, this recipe is one for you. WE are going to show you just how simply it is to cook a whole chicken that we
make you never want to get one of those grocery stores chickens again. And what will make it even better is that the price will be half of what those rotisserie chickens’ cost.
So, here is what you do. We are going to go to our favorite grocery store and select a Whole fryer Chicken that weighs around 3-1/2 to 4 lbs. Stay away from the one that are over 4 lbs. because those birds tend to be older and a little tougher. I like Springer Mountain Farms chicken because I know they are a good product and are also all natural.
For this recipe we are just brining the chicken and not injecting it. So, the smaller the chicken the more the flavor will penetrate the meat. If you use a bigger chicken, you will want to increase the time in the brine. A good rule of thumb that I use is that I will add 1-hour to the brine time for every pound over 4 lbs.
For this recipe we are just brining the chicken and not injecting it. So, the smaller the chicken the more the flavor will penetrate the meat. If you use a bigger chicken, you will want to increase the time in the brine. A good rule of thumb that I use is that I will add 1-hour to the brine time for every pound over 4 lbs.
After the brine, remove and dap dry with a paper towel and apply the seasoning. Always remember that people eat with their eyes as much as their mouth. So, keep this in mind when applying the seasoning. You want the top of the chicken to have the rub, but not be blemished. Therefore, apply the rub to the bottom of the chicken and flip it over and then do the top.
Now set the Pellet Grill to 250° and put the chicken in the smoker when it reaches the target temperature. About every 30-minutes you are going to want to rotate and spray with your spritz to maintain the moisture in the chicken skin.
When the Chicken Thighs reach a target temperature of 180° and the breast reach a target temperature of 165°, it is time to remove it from the smoker and let it rest.
Smoked Whole Chicken
Equipment
- Smoker / Grill
Ingredients
Smoked Chicken
- 3-4 lbs. Whole Chicken Fryer
- Fire Dancer BBQ Chicken Rub
Brine
- 6 cups Water
- 0.5 cups Butchers BBQ – Bird Booster Chipotle Flavor
Spritz
- 3 oz. Triple 9 Apple Habanero Glaze
- 3 oz. Apple Juice
Instructions
Brining
- Combine all the brine ingredients and mix until the solids have dissolved
- Remove the Chicken from the packaging and remove the inner packaging with Liver etc.
- Place the Chicken in a bag or container (breast side down) and place in the refrigerator for 4-hours
Seasoning
- After 4-hours remove from the Brine and dap dry with a paper towel
- Place the Chicken in a Grill Safe pan with the Breast side down.
- Liberally apply the Rib to the back side of the chicken
- Flip the Chicken over and apply the rub liberally to the top side.
- Allow the chicken to rest until the rubs bind to the meat
Grilling / Smoking
- Set the Temperature on the Pellet grill to 250°
- Place the Chicken in the Grill safe pan in the Pellet Grill
- Mix up you spritz
- Rotate and spritz every 30-minutes to maintain the moisture in the chicken skin and ensuring that the skin is not burning
- Remove from the grill when the Chicken Thigh meat reaches and internal temperature of 180° and the breast meat reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°
- Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes
- Slice, serve & Enjoy
- Let us know how they turned out and Tag #EliteBBQSmokers in your social media post.