Learn How to Smoke a Chicken

If you want to learn how to smoke a chicken then this set of instruction is for you!

1 whole unfrozen chicken

1 BBQ smoking pit with wood or pellets

1 bottle of mustard or bottle of Olive Oil (Binder used to hold seasoning)

1 cookie sheet

1 pair of cooking tongs or 2 large carving forks

3 cups seasoning dry rub (can be store bought or homemade)

1 digital thermometer

1 apron

Food grade rubber gloves (to prevent a mess)

3 to 5 hours depending on size of chicken your cooking

1 roll Tin Foil (optional)

I generally use a 3 lb to 5 lb bird. Make sure it is completely thawed before cooking the chicken.

remove the chicken from the package.

NOTE: Some frozen chicken come with internal organs that are placed in the cavity before being packaged. Remove these items and throw them away.

Wearing gloves, rinse off the outside of the chicken prior to the other steps.

Using your hand, wipe down the inside cavity of the chicken with the binder that you decided to use.

I choose to use mustard for the binder and it is used to help the seasoning stick to the meat during the cooking process.

Note:You can use olive oil instead of mustard as stated in the supplies list.

Using your hand, add seasoning to the interior cavity. It will stick to the binder that you used in the previous step.

I use about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of seasoning.

To loosen the skin, place your fingers between the skin and the breast meat. There is a membrane that must be broken to allow the seasoning to sit on the breast meat. Once the membrane is broken, you will be able to place seasoning directly on the meat from both ends of the chicken.

Using a small spoon place seasoning on to the breast meat then use your fingers to spread the seasoning around under the skin.

Spread the mustard (or olive oil) on the entire outside of the chicken.

Spread the seasoning on the outside of the chicken on both the back and the front of the chicken. Make sure the breast meat is facing up as this is how it is placed on the BBQ pit.

Place the chicken on the BBQ pit. I place it as far away from the fire box as possible. This allows it to sit in the smoke and be cooked slowly.

Remember to check the fire frequently. When I am smoking I check the fire every 35 to 45 minutes.

***Optional step***-When the chicken reaches the golden color you want you can wrap the chicken with tin foil and place it back on the BBQ pit. The tin foil will help heat up the internal meat of the chicken quicker and maintain a more golden color on the outside.

Watch the thermometer. I normally keep the temperature between 225 and 250 degrees.

The internal temperature of chicken must reach at least 165 degrees. Remember to cook to temperature and not just time. You need to make sure the chicken is fully cooked. The specific time needed to cook will depend on the size and weight of the chicken and the temperature that you cooked at.

Slice the chicken and be ready to enjoy dinner.

This particular chicken turned out a little dark because I did not wrap the chicken in tinfoil as listed in step 12. We like the skin to be a little more crunchy when we eat it..