DINNER

Smoked Whole Chicken

Dry Brine Ingredients

Spice Dry Blend

Cooling Down The Brine

Spice Blend Applied To Chicken

Finished Project!

Ingredients

  • 1 Whole Chicken ~8lb, Fresh or Defrosted

  • For Brine

    • 2 Cups of Brown Sugar

    • 1 Cup of Kosher Salt

    • 1/4 Cup of Red Pepper Flakes

    • 1/4 Cup of Whole Peppercorns

    • 2 Bay Leaves

    • 1.75 Gallons of HOT water

    • ~ 4 Cups of Ice

  • 1/4 Tbsp of Butter

  • 3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

  • 1/2 Cup of Apple Cider Vinegar

  • 1/2 Cup of Water

  • Spice Blend, Equal Parts: (will all depend on the size of the chicken)

    • 1 Part Ground Mustard

    • 1 Part Salt

    • 1 Part Black Pepper

    • 1 Part Brown Sugar

    • 1 Part Onion Powder

    • 1 Part Garlic Powder

    • 1 Part Paprika

    • 1 Part Thyme

    • 1/4 Part Cayenne Pepper

  • 1 Onion, chopped into quarters

  • Apple Wood Chips/Pellets

Directions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, large enough for the water and chicken to fit, add the DRY brine ingredients.

  2. Add HOT water to the pot & stir to until the salt & sugar dissolve. You can heat the water on the stove if the tap water is not hot enough.

  3. Once the salt & brown sugar is dissolved, add the ice to cool the mixture down. Stir in the ice. You don’t want to add a chicken to hot/warm water because it will start cooking.

  4. Now that the mixture is cold, add the chicken to the pot and make sure it is completely submerged. (1)

  5. Place lid on pot & refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

  6. After refrigeration, remove chicken from brine, discard the brine liquid, & place the chicken in a 13x9 glass dish or aluminum roasting pan. Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel. (2)

  7. Melt butter. Add smashed garlic & spice blend to butter. Gently slide you hand under the skin located at the bottom of the breast. This will create a pocket between the skin and chicken breast. Pour the butter mixture under the skin. (3)

  8. Generously add spice blend to the chicken trying to cover all areas. Add onion & left over spice blend to the cavity. Finish with the chicken on its back/breast side up.

  9. Add water & apple cider vinegar to the baking dish. (4)

  10. Heat Smoker to 250 degrees. Place chicken in smoker, uncovered. Cook for 2-3 hours. Spray with water/apple cider vinegar mixture every 30 minutes. When the internal meat thermometer reads 150 degrees, increase smoker to 300 & cook for ~30 more minutes; until internal meat thermometer reads 165.

  11. Remove chicken from smoker, cover/tent chicken with aluminum foil & let rest for 30-45 minutes. Serve & enjoy!

Tips

  • (1) The amount of water, sugar, salt for the brine directly depends on the size of your chicken. The ratio used in this recipe is for a 8 pound chicken.

  • (2) We want the chicken to be dry so the spice blend sticks to the chicken.

  • (3) With the breast side up, the chicken breast will slope down from feet to head, allowing us to use gravity to run the butter over the breast. Do NOT make the pocket so large that you go all the way through to the top opening; then the butter will just run out the hole.

  • (4) Adding these liquids will allow them to combine with the natural drippings from cooking, giving you a larger volume & delicious flavor. Highly recommend this as your stock for a stew in the coming days.

  • No Smoker? No Problem! This recipe will work just as well in the oven at 325, still wanting to reach an internal meat temperature of 165.