Chicken is a delicate meat that lends itself perfectly to various types of cookery. For best results, pan roast it, bake it, braise it, or grill it.
Smoking a whole chicken, on the other hand, is one of the most wonderful ways to have perfectly cooked chicken for your backyard events.
Before you can get very good at anything, you must first comprehend a few key elements. Chicken can withstand bold, intense flavors while preserving its own unique flavor.
The first thing you need to get right is choosing the best wood for smoking chicken.

With the correct wood, cooking temperature, and cooking time, your whole chicken can come out of your smoker moist, tasty, and infused with the flavor of wood smoke.
Let’s have a look at some of the best wood chips for smoking chicken.
Pimento Wood – Best Wood for Smoking Chicken

Going the Jamaican route and preparing actual smoked jerk chicken is a fantastic change from regular smoked chicken recipes.
You must smoke your chicken over pimento wood if this adventure appeals to you. Pimento wood may be difficult to find in some locations. According to recent reports, Jamaica has banned the export of Pimento woods.
However, if you can get your hands on it, smoking your jerk marinated chicken over this special wood gives the signature taste and scent of jerk chicken that many people know and adore.
We discovered a company that still offers it.
Almond Wood – Overall Best Wood for Smoking Chicken
Almond is frequently combined with pork chops. It can also produce outstanding results when used to smoke chicken.
The rich, sweet flavor that can permeate your chicken and the correct golden color that can make your bird ready for higher display are the keys here.
If you plan to serve your chicken with sweet sauces and sides, smoking with almonds is a great option.
Almond is also tolerant in terms of temperature and cooking time.
However, because the flavor is stronger than that of an apple, you must exercise caution.
Peach Wood
Peach wood is ideal for smoking poultry including chicken and turkey.
Poultry has a subtle flavor that powerful woods like hickory will cover up.
Peachwood also complements more bitter meats, such as gamey venison, by helping to balance out some of the natural bitterness.
If you intend to smoke chicken, it must be freshly chopped.
It has a somewhat sweet, fruity flavor that is similar to other fruit woods.
Cherry Wood
Smoking your chicken with cherry wood can be a terrific method to achieve that right blend of outstanding taste, a powerful aroma, and a gorgeous aesthetic finish.
Cherry wood gives your chicken a beautiful dark red color, making it ready for presentation right away.
The flavor is similar to the fruit itself—deep, rich, and deliciously sweet while remaining mild enough not to overshadow the chicken.
If you intend to smoke your chicken over cherry wood, brine it properly prior to preparing it to absorb and imbibe all that smoke for the greatest results.
Apple Wood
Fruitwoods are highly popular for smoking poultry.
These have mild, sweet, fruity flavors that complement the natural flavors of the chicken while providing the appropriate amount of smokiness and sweetness to make the bird delightful.
Applewood is an outstanding illustration of this. It is significantly mellower than most other fruitwood and might be the ideal foil for entire or jointed chicken pieces.
The delicate texture of the smoke taste also lends itself wonderfully to marinating or dry-rubbed chicken and ending with a sweet glaze or sauce.
Because the flavor is mild, this is also an excellent choice for novice grillers.
Hickory Wood
When it comes to smoking various types of meat, hickory is a popular choice. It has a savory, powerful natural flavor that is similar to bacon.
While hickory reflects the characteristic flavor of Southern BBQ when smoking red meat, it also works well when paired with chicken.
Hickory, in my opinion, is the ideal wood for smoking chicken wings because it complements the majority of chicken wing sauces.
Try hickory-wood chicken lollipops.
Unlike other conventional options like oak or mesquite, hickory is less likely to overpower the natural flavor of the chicken or introduce disagreeable flavors.
Rather, when applied appropriately, it may help construct layers of complex flavors atop the natural flavor profile of the chicken, resulting in a self-contained chicken dish that your friends will appreciate.
It is advisable for beginners to begin with lower amounts and gradually work their way up to the proper temperature and cooking time balance.
You must begin somewhere!
Oak Wood
Oak, which is more commonly used in European smoking, is comparable to hickory in that it has a rich smoky flavor that may quickly become overpowering if used excessively.
One advantage of using oak is that red oak species lend a vibrant scarlet hue to the meat and, when used sparingly, pair nicely with cherry wood.
Red oak is one of the classic brisket woods.
However, when used correctly, it can yield great results with brisket.
If you cook your brisket for a shorter period of time, the rich, earthy flavor of the smoke can do wonders.
Your brisket can be significantly flavored by oak smoke, which has a naturally fragrant, woodsy aroma. As a result, your turkey entrée won’t actually need a lot of sauces and sides.
Oak makes a great base for other types of wood if you choose to use them.
For instance, the correct fruitwood and oak can be used to create a superb sweet and savory result.
Simply verify that the ratios are accurate.
Pecan Wood
Look no further than pecan wood for a powerful, aggressive flavor profile that may perfectly match the natural flavor of the chicken.
Pecan wood lends a distinct savory, nutty flavor to the meat, making it an ideal foil for chicken.
Pecan is also an excellent starting point for developing your own signature flavor.
You can combine one or more fruitwoods with a pecan to create your own distinct, complex flavor profile.
Mesquite Wood
Mesquite, another powerful wood, generates the most strong smokey, spicy flavors.
Mesquite is commonly used in Southwestern barbecue, but if used in excess, it may quickly overshadow the flavor of the brisket and leave a bitter aftertaste.
Some people find this wood to be extremely smoky.
Even so, it imparts a wonderful color and a deep, smokey flavor, so try it infusing brisket.
Too much mesquite, on the other hand, tastes sour and nasty, so go light on this one.
Here are a few key points to smoking a chicken perfectly:
- Brine the chicken before smoking it to preserve it moist and juicy.
- Allowing the chicken to marinate for 3 to 4 hours before smoking will tenderize the meat and provide a wonderful flavor.
- Before you start smoking chicken with wood, properly pat it dry and let it air dry for about an hour.
- If you throw the skin in the smoker when it’s nice and dry, it’ll come out wonderfully crispy.
- The skin of a moist bird can become rubbery in the smoker.
- Butterfly or slash the chicken to allow the smoke to reach a larger surface area.
- Flattening the chicken will also aid in more equal cooking.
- Apply a dry rub to the chicken before putting it in the smoker.
- This will boost the flavor and produce ultra-crispy, delectable skin.
- When you place the chicken on the grill or smoker, it must be at 250°F.
- Maintain a temperature of 250 to 325°F.
- Wait until the chicken is almost fully cooked before brushing on the sauce for barbecue-basted chicken.
- Basting too early risks the sugars in the sauce burning and imparting a harsh flavor to the meat.
- To determine when the chicken is done smoking, use a meat thermometer.
- Internal breast temperature should be 160°F, and thigh temperature should be 175°F.
- Sear the skin over direct heat for the last 5 to 10 minutes of smoking the chicken so that the fat renders and it gets beautiful and crispy.
- The chicken must be cooked over indirect heat for the remainder of the time.
- The higher the grade of the chicken used, the better the smoked chicken will be.
- A grocery store chicken will not be as appetizing as a free-range bird from your neighborhood butcher.
Read our recent blog about Best Woods for Smoking
Best Woods for Smoking Turkey – Sizzling and Delicious Turkey
Best Wood for Smoking Brisket -For a Smokey and Tasty Beef Dish
Conclusion
There are numerous kinds of wood that can be used to smoke chicken, so there is plenty of potential for experimenting.
It applies to both wood chips and wood chunks.
Fruit woods, such as cherry wood, are always a good choice, but any hardwood that isn’t too resinous can do.
Avoid using coniferous wood (cedar, cypress, pine, fir, or spruce) and wood with a strongly flavored smoke, such as hickory or mesquite.
You don’t want to overpower the chicken’s delicious flavor.
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