Smoked Chicken – Sweet and Spicy
Today’s recipe is for smoked chicken with a great rub that brings together crispy flavors from the Southwest, a little sweet and a little heat.
I’ve had a lot of requests to use the Pit Barrel Cooker again, so today we’re going to use it to smoke a yard bird. And, I’m talking about chicken.
First Things First!
We’re using good hardwood lump charcoal. Just light it up and let it get going. It won’t take long to heat; the lumps need to be good and white.
Get the hardwood white and hot.
Keep your chicken covered while you’re mixing the rub for that chicken, to keep it from drying out.
For the rub, we’re going to mix:
- Brown sugar
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Let’s break out a little Mexican flavor to that with cumin.
- Next comes smoked paprika, one of my favorite seasonings.
- Ground mustard, which goes great with chicken.
- A little coarse ground black pepper.
- Red cayenne pepper. If you like your chicken to have some bite to it, put in a whole teaspoon, if you don’t, just leave it out.
Mix the seasonings together well.
Once all the seasonings are added, mix them together well.
A Little Coating for your Chicken
Now, when I’m getting chicken, I like it to have the skin left on. Be sure to look inside the cavity to make sure the liver, heart and gizzard have been removed.
Before you cook that chicken, be sure to wash it and dry it well. Also, check that there are no long pin feathers left on the wings. If you find any, just pluck them or burn them off with a lighter.
Grease the chicken well with olive oil, avocado oil, whatever you want to use. Now, take our seasoning mix and generously rub it all over the chicken. If there’s any coating left over, shake it inside the chicken.
Season the chicken on all sides.
In She Goes!
Time to hook up that chicken and get it smoking. You have to be sure to place the hooks in the right places so nothing falls off in the smoking process. Put one hook through the cavity by the breast and right under the wing. Be sure you go far enough down the chicken so it doesn’t fall through while cooking. Hook the other one on the opposite side. Check out our video below to see how we do this!
Hook the chicken so that the hooks are facing the same way.
We’re going to hang the chicken in the Pit Barrel Cooker and shut the lid. It’s going to take about 1 hour 40 to 45 minutes. After about an hour, around the halfway mark, I’m adding some soaked hickory chips to bring more of that smoked flavor. Let the chicken continue smoking another 45 minutes to an hour, until the temperature on the thighs is about 175 F and the breast, 165 to 170 F degrees.
We do recommend this Pit Barrel!
Now, y’all have seen me using the Pit Barrel Cooker before, and I do like it because it’s so handy, and it’s made in the USA. It is easy to cook in this thing, folks. I mean, you can build the fire in there, and the coals last nearly 7 hours in this thing. It’s a veteran-owned company, and they do a good job. Right now they are also offering free shipping!
You can check out our other Pit Barrel recipe here: smoked brisket, carnitas with smoked pork.
You can get more info on the company, the cooker and all its accessories here: Pit Barrel Cooker.
Meanwhile, Back to Our Chicken!
Add some hickory chips after an hour to give it more smoke.
About 45 minutes to an hour after you add the soaked hickory chips, check the temperature of the chicken. If it’s reached the proper temps, it’s a done deal. Just like a good piece of beef, we also got to let the chicken rest for a little bit before cutting into it. When it’s ready, just pull it apart, you’ll see how tender it becomes. The meat should just fall off the bone.
The chicken will be so tender that it will easily fall apart.
Friends and neighbors will be impressed when you tell them how you prepared this tasty chicken dish. It’s important that you share the food and the recipe with the others, ’cause the world needs more good food and more good people!
Check out the video below to watch us cook our little chicken. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon coarse ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 ½ lb. whole chicken
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Add about 2 handfuls of wood chips to a bowl of water and soak for about 3 hours. You can use the wood of your choice such as hickory, mesquite, oak or a fruit wood.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Generously rub all sides of the chicken with olive oil. Generously rub the seasoning mixture all over the chicken.
- Place the chicken in your smoker and smoke at 210 to 220 degrees for about 1 hour.
- Drain the soaked wood chips from the water and add to the smoker for extra flavor. Continue smoking about 45 minutes or until the breast temperature is about 170 degrees F and the thickest part of the thigh is 180 degrees F.
- Remove from the smoker and lightly cover with tinfoil. Let rest about 5 minutes. Cut and serve warm.