How to Smoke Chicken

Chicken Breasts. The most popular of cuts, breasts are sold split with the bone, ribcage and skin still intact or boneless and skinless with the skin and bone (and ribcage) removed. You may find boneless chicken breasts with the skin still on, but that’s less common. They typically weigh 6 ounces or up to 1 pound, or more. Breasts are quite lean and benefit from a shorter smoking time.

Legs. This cut includes the thigh and drumstick still attached. It’s typically covered in skin and has a good amount of fat and connective tissue, making it ideal for longer smoking.

Things. Like breasts, you can find thighs sold with or without bones and skin. The structure of the protein benefits from a higher internal temperature compared to breast meat, so thighs are great for longer periods of smoking.

Drumsticks. When the thighs are cut away from legs, you are left with the drumstick. These have a relatively small amount of meat but plenty of skin, connective tissue and fat, making them one of the most popular cuts for smoking and barbecuing.

Wings. Typically sold split into the drumette and wing flap, chicken wings are another popular cut for smoking and barbecuing thanks to their large amount of skin, fat and connective tissue. The small amount of meat hiding under the skin can stand up to a very long cooking time and the skin can get crispy as the fat renders.

Half Chicken. You may find a half chicken, which is split down the spine or breastbone with the skin still on. A half chicken will have one breast, thigh, leg and drumstick covered in skin. This is a great option for smoking, as the skin will provide plenty of moisture to the leaner breast meat while the meat with more connective tissue will have time to break down.

Spatchcocked. Increasingly popular in a wide variety of cooking methods, a spatchcocked chicken has the spine removed. The breastbone is pressed down so the chicken lays flat. This creates lots of surface area for a nice crispy skin and decreases the cook time of a traditional whole chicken.

Trim, prep, and season the chicken

No matter if smoking a whole chicken or individual cuts of chicken, it’s important to trim off any excess fat or loose hanging skin. Use sharp kitchen shears or a boning knife to remove extra skin around the neck area of a whole chicken or overhanging skin on individual cuts. Your goal is to have skin that completely covers the meat, but not so much that it dangles through the grates as it smokes. 

For the juiciest, most flavorful meat, consider soaking the chicken in a brine similar to how you’d brine a turkey for Thanksgiving. A brine is simply salted water, often with additional flavorings or sugar. The salty water penetrates the protein to make for more flavorful, juicy meat. Chefs use everything from feta brine, buttermilk,  pickle juice, olive brine and even alcohol to make a flavorful brine. 

To make a basic chicken brine, dissolve 1/4 cup of kosher salt in four cups of water. Add a bit of sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup or honey, if preferred, along with 1/4 cup of a spice blend or rub. Place the whole chicken in a large bowl or add pieces of chicken to a ziplock bag and add enough brine to completely submerge the chicken. For the best flavor, brine the chicken overnight, but if you are short on time, aim for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

If you are short on time, you can simply liberally season the chicken with kosher salt and a spice rub of your choice and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes. If you brine the chicken, when you are ready to smoke, remove from the brine and discard the liquid. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it liberally with a salt-free spice rub (the chicken should not need additional salt at this point). 

Whether or not you brine, be sure the spice mixture gets under the skin. You can loosen the skin by carefully running your finger between the flesh and the skin (try not to break the skin) and then sprinkle on the seasoning.

Smoke the chicken

Whether you are using a traditional offset smoker, or an electric, gas or charcoal smoker, you want to go low and slow when smoking chicken. However, many chefs and pitmasters like to smoke chicken at a higher temperature than they would pork or beef ribs, shoulder or brisket. Preheat the smoker between 225°F and 275°F. You’ll get more smoke the lower the temperature of the smoker, but if it’s too low, the skin won’t render properly. 

“For smoking chicken, 275°F or higher renders the skin and gets you that crispy skin you want,” explains Heath Riles, championship pitmaster and owner of Heath Riles BBQ. “Really, the trick for chicken is letting it cook and flipping it over a live fire to get the skin a little crispy. You don’t want a piece of chicken skin that is rubbery.”

If you are smoking on a gas or charcoal grill, set up a two-zone cooking method where only half of the grill has fire and the other side is “cold.” You can place a pan of water under the grates on the cold side and place the chicken on the rack above the water. This will create some moisture and catch drippings to prevent flare up.

Depending on the model of your smoker and your ability to control heat, you can smoke chicken over a lower temperature, down to about 185°F. This is more ideal for whole, half or spatchcock chickens. Cooking this low will make the skin quite lackluster, so try only smoking for an hour at this low temperature then crank the heat and let the skin render a bit. If using a grill, finish the chicken over the heat source to encourage browning of the skin.

Choose the right wood

While just about any hardwood chip will work when smoking chicken, many chefs and pitmasters prefer using fruit wood for its more mild flavor. Try using cherry, apple or even pecan wood chips or chunks for a slightly sweet, mild smoky flavor.

Of course, you could skip the wood chips altogether if using charcoal. Ryan Brooks, third generation owner of Brooks’ House of BBQ in Oneonta, New York, says cooking chicken over charcoal provides great smoky flavor. As fat from the chicken falls to the coals, it will produce the quintessential smoky barbecue flavor.

How long to smoke chicken

Be sure to cook chicken to the food-safe temperature of 165°F. Use a good quality instant-read thermometer to get an accurate reading. For breasts, remove the chicken from the smoker or grill between 160°F and 162°F and allow the residual heat to gently increase the internal temperature to 165°F. 

Cuts with more connective tissue and fat, like thighs and drumsticks, are better cooked to a higher temperature, about 175°F. For whole chickens, halves or spatchcock, aim for these same temperatures; just be sure to grab readings from the breast meat and the thighs or drumsticks and be sure to let it rest at least 10 minutes.

A whole chicken smoked at 225°F will likely take about two hours to cook, while wings, thighs and drumsticks will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Boneless skinless breasts will take about an hour while breasts with the bone and skin still intact will take about one and a half hours. 

Wings are best served with the skin rendered a bit. Remove the wings from the smoker or grill when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Crank the temperature of the smoker or grill up to 375°F or 400°F and then continue cooking the wings until the skin is nice and crispy. You can do the same for legs, thighs or drumsticks.