Smoked Whole Chicken
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 1 HR
Cooking Time: 4-5 HR
Ingredients
- Brine:
- 3/4 Cup Kosher Salt
- 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
- 12 Cups Water
- Chicken:
- 1 Whole Chicken (5-6lbs)
- 1 Half Lemon
- 5-6 Garlic Cloves, Minced
- Olive Oil
- Chicken Seasoning
Instructions
- Prepare the Brine. Combine water, salt, sugar, garlic, thyme, and rosemary in a large pot. Bring to a boil and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Place the chicken in a large bowl, remove the bits and cover the chicken with brine. Refridgerate overnite.
- Remove the chicken from the Brine, dump out the Brine.
- Coat the chicken with a small amount of Olive Oil and the chicken seasoning.
- Preheat pellet smoker to 225F. Place probe into the thickest part of the chicken breast.
- Smoke the chicken 3-4 hours until the internal temparature is between 160-165F. Double check the Grill probe with an instant-read thermometer.
More
Smoking whole chickens was one of the first things I tried when I got a pellet smoker. They are easy and taste great. Most of the time I cook two at a time. Be sure not to include too much seasoning on the chicken, or it will overshadow the suttle smoke flavor. Sometimes I increase the cooking temperature slightly after the first hour or two in order to decrease cooking time and keep the chicken from drying out.
