Smoked Whole Chicken – Girl Carnivore

On the subject of meals that can change the way you cook dinner, a smoked entire hen is considered one of them. With juicy, tender meat and tons of taste, smoking could also be your new go-to methodology for entire hen each time.

On the subject of the easiest way to cook dinner a complete hen, we’re satisfied it’s on a smoker. An effective way to cook dinner a cheap protein, pop this on the Traeger grill for simple lunches and meal prep for the week. In the event you’re smoking a complete hen, simply throw one other on, and the leftovers shall be devoured up in days.

The place our smoked beer can chicken sits upright on a can of ale, this chicken merely lays over a wire rack on a baking sheet on the pellet grill to cook dinner—making it faster and simpler for once you simply need one thing with out an excessive amount of work. We skip the sauce like on our smoked chicken thighs and maintain it fundamental for this simple recipe. With a fast and easy seasoning mix from a pre-made rub and our favourite butter hack, this hen is so scrumptious.

And since it’s on a pellet smoker, you get a lighter smoke taste when smoking hen, which is ideal for making versatile leftover dishes from chilaquiles to chicken salad.

Ever since mastering smoking entire chickens on an electrical smoker (again when that was the one one we had), we’ve made a convention of breaking in each new grill with one. And proceed to place them on the menu each week simply due to how and inexpensive simple they’re. It doesn’t take up a lot area, so when you’ve received your grill preheated for 3-2-1 ribs or smoked pork loin, seize a small chicken and pop it on as properly.

Substances

• Complete hen, be certain it’s thawed utterly. We’ve been testing the place to order our chickens from, and when you’re curious too, take a look at our checklist of locations to order meat online.
• Butter – all the time use unsalted when cooking
• GirlsCanGrill Chicken Rub – or your favourite hen bbq dry rub.
• Kosher salt 
• Oil – we use avocado oil, however any impartial cooking oil will do

Easy methods to smoke a hen

• Begin by patting the entire hen dry with paper towels. Be certain that to test the cavity for the neck and giblets and pat it dry as properly.
• Along with your fingers, discover the place the pores and skin of the hen breast meat traces up with the cavity and gently loosen the pores and skin together with your fingers or a spoon between the meat and the hen pores and skin. Don’t pull too onerous, simply sufficient to slip the butter in and slightly of the spice rub and coat the meat.
• Then season the surface of the hen liberally on all sides with the spice combination and salt. Some will fall off when cooking, so put a superb coating on the whole hen. Make sure to rub seasoning within the cavity as properly.
• Place the chicken on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, breasts facet up. This makes transferring the smoked hen and cleansing up simpler. Tuck the hen wing suggestions again behind the breasts and tie the legs with butcher’s twine.

• Subsequent, prep your pellet smoker or grill for 325 levels. And when the grill is sustaining warmth, place the hen on the wire rack and baking sheet straight onto the grill grates.
• If utilizing a standard offset smoker, be certain the hen is over the cooler facet of the grill (oblique warmth).

• Smoke the hen for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours till the inner temperature of the thickest a part of the hen reaches 160 levels F and the darkish meat (thighs and drums) reaches 170F. At about half-hour into cooking, baste the hen with just a few dabs of oil over. Repeat this each 15 to twenty minutes, till the
• Rigorously switch the entire hen and baking sheet from the grill and permit the chicken to chill for quarter-hour. The inner temperature will proceed to rise 5 to 10 levels whereas the hen rests.

• Lastly, carve the hen legs and thighs from the chicken, then the wings and breast. Slice the breast into skinny strips to serve together with your favourite bbq sauce or our Alabama white sauce if desired.

Easy methods to Retailer Leftovers and Reheating

Retailer leftover hen in an hermetic container or wrapped in foil within the fridge for as much as 4 days. We carve our hen for simpler storage and leftovers and freeze the carcass to make chicken stock in a while.

Solely reheat what you want in parts in a preheated oven at 325F. Wrap leftovers tightly in foil and place within the oven for five to 10 minutes to reheat. If reheating thighs or quarters, set the oven to broil for crispy pores and skin, and reheat on a foil-lined baking sheet for five to 10 minutes, till heated by way of.

Leftover smoked hen is wonderful in Mexican Chicken Soup, on a giant pile of nachos, in bbq sandwiches, enchiladas, chicken tinga stuffed poblanos, and even foil wrapper sandwiches.

What to serve with smoked hen

This Traeger smoked hen recipe goes properly with so many issues. Nearly any facet dish or taste profile works as a superb pairing.

We like to serve entire chicken with smoked brussels sprouts, rajas con crema, creamy dutch oven mac and cheese, or smoked corn on the cob. A light-weight salad is all the time a beautiful facet dish with this as properly.

how lengthy Does it take to smoke a complete hen?

Smoking is all the time about inside temperature and never time, however a 4 to 6-pound hen will cook dinner in about 1 to 1 1/2 hours on a smoker, sustaining a good warmth of 325 to 350 levels F. Remember, when grilling, altitude, wind, climate, and the airflow to the grill all have an effect on cooking time and smoker temperature.

It’s all the time finest to make use of an instantaneous learn digital meat thermometer for probably the most correct inside temp. Insert the probe into the thickest a part of the breast and hen quarters with out touching the bone to test. Chicken and darkish meat cook dinner in another way, and we encourage rotating the chicken not less than as soon as throughout the smoking course of to assist it evenly cook dinner. If you already know your grill has a scorching spot, put the darkish meat in direction of that facet to assist the chicken to not overcook or dry out.

Have you ever tried a complete smoked hen recipe but? What’s your favourite dry spice rub or mix to make use of? In the event you made this recipe, please be sure you charge the recipe card and drop a remark under, letting us know what you served it with.