In barbecue, as in life, patience is a virtue—and this showstopping smoked whole chicken recipe is no exception. The key to maintaining the temperature of your smoker is to load the chimney to its capacity with hardwood charcoal at the start and to replenish the coals and wood chunks or chips after one hour. Spritz newspaper or brown paper shopping bags with vegetable oil, not olive oil (which will burn too quickly to heat the coals properly) for the starter.
You can use whatever type of wood you like the flavor of. Hickory is classic for its pleasant smoky notes, while mesquite imparts a stronger smoke flavor. Meanwhile, fruit woods like cherry and applewood will lend mild, sweet flavors.
The recipe below presents two methods for flavoring your chicken: a dry-rub (also known as dry-brine) method and a wet brine. If you choose to soak your chicken in a wet brine, you do not need to season it after the second chill, which is essential for drying out the chicken skin. If you opt for the spice rub, feel free to coat your birds up to a day in advance and refrigerate them uncovered. The longer you let them go, the richer their flavor will be.
Any way you go, you’ll want a meat thermometer to gauge the internal temperature of one of the chicken thighs after three hours (it might take up to five hours). The smoky flavor of this whole chicken recipe is delicious on its own, but you can serve it with BBQ sauce or hot sauce, plus side dishes like coleslaw, potato salad, and cornbread.
This recipe was adapted for style from ‘Feeding the Fire’ by Joe Carroll and Nick Fauchald. Buy the full book on Amazon.
Recipe information
Total Time
16 hours
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Combine ¾ cup (150 g, packed) dark brown sugar, ½ cup Diamond Crystal or ¼ cup plus 1½ tsp. Morton (72 g) kosher salt, ½ cup ground espresso beans, 2 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper, 2 Tbsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, 1 Tbsp. ground cumin, and 1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper in a resealable container, cover tightly, and shake well to combine. (Makes about 2½ cups)
Do Ahead: Dry rub can be stored, covered, in a cool, dry place for up to 2 months.
Step 2
If using dry rub: Place one 3½–4-lb. whole chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and lightly coat all sides with ½ cup dry rub (you may not need it all).
If using wet brine: Combine 1 cup dry rub with 8 cups water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, until sugar and salt dissolve. Remove from heat and add 8 cups cold water to bring mixture to room temperature. Add 1 (3½–4-lb.) whole chicken and refrigerate for 4–8 hours. Remove chicken from brine, pat dry with paper towels, and transfer, breast side up, to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate 6 hours more, uncovered.
Step 3
Prepare smoker by removing any ash or debris; clean the grate. Fill a chimney starter with hardwood charcoal. Loosely crumple a couple of pieces of newspaper and drizzle or spray them with vegetable oil (this helps the paper burn longer and speeds up the charcoal-lighting process). Stuff the paper into the chimney’s lower chamber, place the chimney on the smoker’s top grate, and light it. Let the charcoal burn until the coals are glowing red and coated in gray ash, about 15 minutes. Put on a pair of heavy-duty fireproof gloves and carefully dump the charcoal into one side of the grill—over the bottom air vent if your grill has one—leaving the other half free of coals. Place a disposable aluminum tray on the other side to use as a drip pan.
Step 4
Place a few hardwood chunks or a foil packet of wood chips over the coals. Add the top grate and arrange chicken over drip pan. Cover grill, placing air vents in the lid over chicken. Open both vents about halfway.
Step 5
Smoke chicken, maintaining temperature in the smoker between 200°F and 225°F, replenishing the wood chunks or chips as needed, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into both the center of a thigh and the thickest part of the breast registers 165°F, 3–5 hours. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let chicken rest for 10 minutes.
Step 6
At this point, you can cut the chicken into quarters or tear the meat into shreds to make pulled chicken. Or, if you want extra-crispy skin, you can briefly roast the chicken in a 450°F oven, or prepare a grill with hot and cool sides, put the chicken over the cool side, cover the grill, and cook for 5–10 minutes.
Editor’s note: This smoked chicken recipe first appeared on Epicurious in May 2015. Head this way for our favorite BBQ side dishes →
Recipe notes
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