The Smoky Smoked Chicken Recipe

by Soumyadip c. Tasty Fitness Recipes

The chicken turns out incredibly tender, flavorful and juicy. This Easy Smoked Chicken is a great summer day meal. Perfect for any time or BBQs you want to cook chicken wings or whole chicken

Ingredients:

BRINE:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Morton Kosher Salt
2 quarts (8 cups) Cold Water, divided
For CHICKEN
2/3 cup Homemade BBQ Chicken Rub
1 whole Chicken, approximately 6 pounds

DIRECTIONS:

BRINE THE CHICKEN
Put 1 cup of cold water to boil. I usually do this in the microwave with a 2-quart glass measuring cup, however, you can do this in a saucepan or stovetop if you prefer.
Add 2 tablespoons of Morton Kosher Salt and the 1/4 cup to the boiling water and stir until well dissolved. So that you have 8 cups of water total stir in the remaining 7 cups of cold water.
Place the whole chicken, giblets discarded and removed, in a gallon sized freezer zip top bag.
Inside a large bowl place the bag. Containing the chicken transfer the salt water to the bag. Zip the bag to seal.
Place the bowl with the brine and chicken filled bag in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 8 hours.
SMOKE THE CHICKEN
From the brine remove the chicken. Discard the salt water. Rinse the chicken thoroughly inside and out. On a large baking sheet place the chicken and pat dry.
With the Homemade BBQ Chicken Rub, rub the chicken inside and out. I personally like to separate the skin over the breasts carefully from the meat so that under the skin I can put some of the rubs. Now while you prepare the smoker let the chicken sit.
To a low heat setting prepare your smoker. On our Traeger, around 150-160 degrees F we use the "smoke" setting and we either use the Gourmet Blend Pellets or Oak Pellets for our wood. Pecan or Hickory would also work well for chicken.
From the baking sheet transfer the chicken and place it on the smoker, insert the probe of a digital meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast that is safe for BBQing, and smoke for about 3 hours on 150-160 degrees F according to manufacturer instructions.
Increase the temperature to 225 degrees F and until the meat thermometer registered 165 degrees F continue to cook.
From the smoker remove the chicken and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing loosely tented with foil, on a baking sheet.