I should have done a post on this months a go, as it one of my favorite week night meals. Smoked or roasted whole chickens are so easy make and they are absolutely tender, moist, and delicious. I used to love the rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, but after learning how to properly cook a chicken, we never pick up the pre-roasted birds that have been sitting there for hours. Check out this video to learn how to smoke a chicken…. and you will never look back over your shoulder at the grocery store roasted birds.
I used a weber kettle grill for this cook, but you can easily use the same methods on a Big Green Egg, in the oven, or another smoker. The main thing to keep the temperature around 350 degrees +/- 50 degrees. I don’t mind if it drifts higher, just keep that in mind that your cooking time may decrease. I am usually shooting for crispy skin on the outside and fall off the bone on the inside. Surprisingly, I rarely have any issues with the chicken drying out at all. You will find it is crazy juicy, so use a large cutting board when carving up the bird.
You may notice that I did not add any wood to smoke this chicken. That is actually how I prefer them, with a light smoky flavor provided by the charcoal. I also find the skin stays a little more crispy with less smoking action going on in the chamber. Have some fun and experiment with this.
If there is something you have questions about, leave me a post and I will follow up with a comment or another post.
Happy smoking!
