Top 10 Smoked Chicken Recipes

Though chicken is not a staple item in most barbecue restaurants, most people love to smoke chicken meats at home. Smoking chicken is very rewarding as you can change the flavor depending on your preferences such as with marinades, smoker wood chips and seasonings.

Unlike red meat, smoking chicken you can entirely change the flavor profile. With so many chicken sauce recipes that you can try, you’ll surely think outside the box and customize your own flavor.

The smoked chicken recipes listed below will surely delight the taste buds of your guests.

1. Slow Smoked BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup ground espresso beans
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), giblets removed

Pairing barbecue sauce and seasonings with chicken may result in great flavor combinations. All you have to do is to make a dry rub by combining all the ingredients and apply a modest amount to the chicken. If you want to try this recipe, you can visit here for a full guide.

2. Lemon-Brined Smoked Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 quarts water
• 3/4 cup kosher salt
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons Frank’s RedHot or other hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• Two 4-pound chickens, backbones removed and chickens split through the breast (see Note)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Paprika-Ancho Spice Rub
• 1 cup hardwood chips, soaked in water for 1 hour and drained

One of the traditional methods of smoking chicken is through brining. Preparing this recipe is very easy as long as you have all the ingredients. The best thing about brining is that the seasonings completely absorbed into the chicken meat. Your family will surely love this smoked chicken recipe.

3. Tea-Smoked Chicken

Ingredients:

1. One chicken about 4 pounds (900 g), Wings detached backbone removed
2. 1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns
3. 2 tablespoons kosher salt
4. 4 to 6 ginger slices, smashed
5. 3 green onions, cut into short lengths
6. 5 index-finger lengths dried strips of tangerine peel, broken into small pieces
7. 2 to 3 cinnamon sticks broken into small pieces
8. 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
9. 1/3 cup raw rice
10. 1/3 cup loose leaf tea (one kind or a mixture)

It’s worth trying the Chinese approach to smoking chicken. Unlike American-style smoking, with Chinese approach, you’ll only do smoking once the chicken meat is cooked. To come up with a delicious tea-smoked chicken, you must use a balanced amount of sugar, tea, aromatics and rice.

Likewise, you need to marinate the chicken overnight and steam it the following day. You can stock the steamed chicken in your fridge if you won’t smoke it on the same day. To enhance the recipe, you can add Vietnamese pickles and Sichuan peppercorn salt. To learn more about tea-smoked chicken recipe you can browse Viet World Kitchen.

4. Smoked Paprika Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 1/3 Tbsp garlic salt (or substitute 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp dried parsley)
• 2 Tbsp smoked paprika

Smoking chicken would take time, thus it’s not for those people who don’t have enough time to cook. But, smoked paprika chicken is an exemption to the rule. This is the best recipe that you can try if you’re busy yet craves for smoked chicken.

This recipe needs just three ingredients and preparing it takes only two minutes. All you need is a boneless chicken thigh and use smoked paprika that has a strong and smoky smell or a mesquite-like essence. If you want to try this recipe you can visit In Erika’s Kitchen and experiment on this recipe.

5. Mustard Smoked Whole Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 WHOLE CHICKEN
2. 1/2C. MUSTARD
3. 1/2C CHICKEN DRY RUB OF YOUR CHOICE
4. 1 MEDIUM YELLOW ONION
5. 1 SPRIG ROSEMARY
6. 1/2 LEMON
7. 2 CLOVES GARLIC (WHOLE)

This is a very simple smoked chicken recipe and requires minimal ingredients. The mustard and chicken dry rub will give a unique taste to your chicken. See to it that the chicken meat is completely smoked and cooked both outside and inside.

Once smoking is done you can cut it and serve it for dining. You can find all the ingredients here, but you can experiment or customize your own flavor and seasoning.

6. Hickory Grill-Smoked Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 roasting chicken, about 4 lb., neck and giblets
   removed
2. 1 tsp. coarse sea or kosher salt
3. 3/4 tsp. freshly ground coarse black pepper
4. 2 tsp. sweet paprika
5. 2 tsp. dried thyme
6. 2 tsp. dried oregano
7. 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
8. 4 to 6 handfuls of hickory or other wood chips,
   soaked if using charcoal

To produce a natural flavor of smoked meat you’ll need to use wood chips or chunks. But make sure to use the right type and amount of wood. If you’ll try the Hickory Grill-smoked chicken recipe, you’ll need to use Hickory wood with the right balance of fruitwood.

This is very important to prevent the bitter taste of your chicken meat. To enhance the taste, you can use a peppery rub. It is best to serve this smoked chicken recipe with grilled vegetables, coleslaw or cornbread. For a complete list of ingredients and prep guide, you can visit Williams-Sonoma.

7. Cajun Smoked Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 4 tablespoons onion powder
2. 2 teaspoons paprika
3. 2 teaspoons garlic powder
4. 2 teaspoons salt
5. 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
6. 1 teaspoon (or to taste) of cayenne pepper
7. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
8. 1 teaspoon dried thyme
9. 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
10. 1/2 teaspoon dried sage

Do you want to try an American classic dish using your favorite bird? Here’s Cajun Smoked Chicken that your family will surely love. This southern-influenced chicken recipe has a kick as it is a little bit spicy. You can try the Cajun smoked chicken recipe here.

8. Apple wood Smoked Chicken

Ingredients:

1. ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2. 2 Tablespoons chili powder
3. 1 Tablespoon paprika (I use smoked paprika)
4. 1 Tablespoon onion powder
5. 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
6. 1 Tablespoon oregano
7. 1 teaspoon salt

The secret to achieving a perfect taste of Applewood smoked chicken is by using Applewood chips in your smoker. The ingredients of this recipe are very basic and most likely always available in your kitchen. All you have to do is mix all the dry ingredients to make a dry rub and apply it to both sides of the chicken.

Let the chicken set in the refrigerator for an hour allowing the seasoning to absorb through the meat.  After an hour, you can grill the chicken over medium heat for an hour and 20 minutes. Turn the chicken to its other side every 30 minutes. Once you see that the juice near the bone is clear, then you can take it off the smoker. Visit recipes worth repeating and learn more about the recipes.

9. Smoky Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

1. 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, rinsed and trimmed of fat, 4 breasts
2. 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3. 1 lemon, zested and juiced
4. 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped
5. 2 tsp honey or agave
6. 2 tsp salt
7. 1/2 tsp black pepper

Obviously, you can find smoked chicken breast in restaurants and even in supermarkets, but it’s not as good as home-smoked. If you want to try this recipe you should use the chicken brine to obtain a great tasting smoked chicken. Soak the chicken meat into the brine.

However, you can also add fennel seeds, honey, cayenne, lemon peel or orange juice to enhance the flavor. Use the required temperature enough to smoke the chicken breast well. Try the Smoky Chicken Recipe from Tori Avey.

10. Jamaican Jerk Smoked Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

1. 6 chicken thighs
2. 4 tablespoons soy sauce
3. 1 teaspoon sesame oil
4. 3 garlic cloves
5. 3 scallions
6. 1/2 tablespoon thyme
7. 1 teaspoon allspice
8. 1 teaspoon pepper
9. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
10. 1/2 teaspoon red pepper

Some people loved the dark meat of a chicken and that is on the thighs. The good thing about using chicken thighs is that it is cheaper as compared to other parts of the chicken. Make sure to buy freshly cut chicken to ensure that it tastes good.

You can experiment with your own seasoning and flavor by using the available herbs and spices in your kitchen.  Cut away the excess skin and fat and apply the dry rub or you can marinade it. It takes about three hours to smoke thighs while firing your smoker at 225-250 degrees. Visit here if you want to try this recipe.

Smoking is one of the best methods of cooking meat. It allows you to enjoy not only succulent taste and awesome flavors not to mention the aroma of wood smoke. Smoking does not need culinary knowledge because you do it by experimenting with your own smoked chicken recipe.

Make sure that the smoke coming out of your best smoker is white. Black smoke is not acceptable as it can lead to an unpleasant taste of the food. With this, you should keep the air moving and never overdo it.

Chicken Grilled Temperature

Preheat the smoker/grill to 350-400 degrees F and the best temperature for grilled chicken is 165 to 180 degrees F.