How To Smoke Chicken

by Dennis
(Madison Wisconsin)

Tonight I plan to use my smoker/grill for the first time to smoke chicken. My smoker has an off-set box to hold the charcoal. I plan to cut the chicken into pieces, but don't know:

1. How much charcoal to use?
2. How long I should smoke the chicken?

Any advice would be helpful!

Dennis

Answer

How to smoke chicken is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string? It really depends on the size of the chicken as to how long you will smoke it for and the rate of consumption for your smoker.

I use a Big Green Egg that’s surprisingly economical but I guess in the first instance it’s suck it and see. Better to overdo it than under so be generous with your charcoal.

If doing a whole chicken I work on 60 minutes per pound at 230°F but because you’re doing pieces you should be able to get away with slightly less. Smoking however is also a slow roasting process so even if you over do it on the time, your chicken will still be succulent. Try putting the pieces on pre soaked cooking plank, this helps too.

To be sure about sealing the juices in, don’t cut up the bird, smoke it whole. Click here for my failsafe smoked chicken recipe.

See Also:-
Smoked Chicken
Safe Cooking Temperatures
Plank Cooked Chicken
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