Smoking a whole chicken is one of the easiest and most flavorful ways to prepare a whole chicken. Coated in a sweet and spicy barbecue rub and cut so that the chicken lays flat this chicken cooks up quickly with a flavor that tastes like a came from a bbq pitmaster. This recipe for Smoked Spatchcock Chicken is perfect for everything from your next backyard cookout to a gameday get together.
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You don’t need to be a champion bbq master or spend half a day tending the smoker to make great barbecue. During the summer I use the smoker most weekends I’m home (check out my Smoked Tri Tip and the Best Smoked Chicken Wings). If you’ve got a pellet smoker smoking a whole chicken is easy and fairly quick if you spatchcock the chicken. Serve with your favorite sauce, my Coffee BBQ Sauce and Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce are personal faves.
How to Spatchcock a Chicken
Spatchocking, also known as butterflying, your chicken helps it to cook more evenly and more quickly while allowing more smoke flavor to penetrate the meat. To spatchcock the chicken place the chicken on a cutting board breast side down. Using kitchen shears cut along each side of the backbone and remove it. Flip the chicken so the breast side is facing up and press down on the breastbone to flatten the chicken.
Ingredients for Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
- whole chicken
- baking powder
- smoked paprika
- brown sugar
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
How to Make Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
Preheat your smoker ( I recommend the Green Mountain Grill Daniel Boone or Trek model) to 225 degrees Fahrenheit according to manufacturer’s directions. After you’ve spatchcocked the chicken pat it dry with a paper towel.
Combine smoked paprika, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and baking powder until thoroughly mixed. (Alternately you can combine 1 tbsp baking powder with 3 tbsp of your favorite bbq rub). Rub the seasoning over the chicken, both under and under the skin. Adding baking powder to your rub helps the chicken skin crisp up beautifully ( I’ve also used this process in making chicken wings ).
Place the chicken in the smoker breast side up, smoke at 225 degrees F until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F. Increase the smoker temperature to 375 degrees F and smoke the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove the chicken from the smoker and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve as desired.
If you like this Smoked Spatchcock Chicken be sure to take a look at some of my other recipes!
Lemon Garlic Greek Yogurt Marinated Chicken
If you make this Smoked Spatchcock Chicken please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Youtube, Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making!
Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
Equipment
- 1 pellet smoker
Ingredients
- 1 4-5 lb whole chicken
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the pellet smoker to 225 degrees F per manufacturer's instructions
- To spatchcock the chicken place the chicken on a cutting board breast side down. Using kitchen shears cut along each side of the backbone and remove it. Flip the chicken so the breast side is facing up and press down on the breastbone to flatten the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
- Combine smoked paprika, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and baking powder until thoroughly mixed. (Alternately you can combine 1 tbsp baking powder with 3 tbsp of your favorite bbq rub).
- Rub the seasoning over the chicken, both under and under the skin.
- Place the chicken in the smoker breast side up, smoke at 225 degrees Funtil the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F. Increase the smoker temperature to 375 degrees F and smoke the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the smoker and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve as desired.
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