How to Smoke Chicken

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Want to know how to smoke chicken? Smoking a chicken is much like smoking any other sizable piece of meat.

It needs to be done fairly long and fairly slow, not under done – the internal temperature of the breast meat must reach 170F – otherwise there is a risk of food poisoning. Equally it doesn’t need to be over cooked.

See this page on how chicken can be barbecued safely for more information.

How to Smoke Chicken - Preparation

Get a whole chicken around 3 or 4lbs or 1.5Kg.

Some people like to wash poultry under running water before cooking. I think this splashes raw chicken juices around the sink which has to be cleaned up and does nothing else to improve flavour.

You could marinate the chicken marinate the chicken - nothing too heavy; tandoori marinade would be too much and wouldn't go with smoke at all.

Alternatively, BBQ rubs are a good choice and much quicker to do.

Or even make a basting sauce to mop on later in the smoking process. Try mixing up 2 tablespoons of runny honey and 2 tablespoons of mustard.

You could just brush it with olive oil and leave it at that if you prefer.

Making Smoke

First choose your smoking wood – maple, apple, cherry, a small amount of hickory maybe, are all good. Put them in water to soak for 30 minutes or so

Time to light up – lumpwood is best. Get your coals lit and glowing nicely – use plenty, this will be burning for 90 minutes or so.

Barbecuing the Chicken

Whether you have a smoker or a standard barbecue with a lid now is the time to put the chicken in. If you have a standard barbecue, with a lid – you will be using indirect heat to cook with.

Once the chicken is in, either put your smoker box with wood chips or a suitable log of wood in the fire box or above the heat source.

And close the lid for an hour or so. If your barbecue has a temperature gauge keep and eye on it – adjust the air vents to keep the temperature around 240F – 250F i.e. around 120C.

After an hour open the lid and inspect it – if you have a meat thermometer check the temperature. Now is the time to baste it as well, daub it on and get it in all the nooks and crannies round the legs and wings.

Close the lid a wait another 20-30 minutes, check the temperature again. Is the internal temperature of the meat 170F (80C)? If not baste if again and try again in another 10 minutes.

IF the temperature of the barbecue has been kept at a constant 250F or so, it should really be done by now – or at least it won’t be far from done if the bird was larger.

Carve it up and serve it with fresh bread, coleslaw, marinated peppers and olives.