Smoking a chicken is EASY! Wow your tastebuds with this melt-in-your-mouth Applewood Smoked Chicken! Prepped with a brown sugar, smoky paprika and garlic based rub, this smoked chicken tastes amazing!
The 4th of July is less than a week away! What’s on your 4th of July food list? Well, I’m sure you can guess what’s on mine…yep my Applewood Smoked Chicken! I love to use my smoker. Smoking meat is one of my favorite things to do and I honestly don’t get to do it as much as I want! A lot of people ask me what types of meat I like to smoke. I love to smoke salmon, tri tip, ribs, brisket and chicken!
I’ve been asked by my friends to post my Applewood Smoked Chicken recipe, so here it is guys right in time for the 4th of July holiday! And I took Monday off so it’s going to be a 4 day weekend for me! That’s plenty of time for me to smoke a couple of these chickens! Smoked meat is the best! By the way, this is MY smoker, not Mr. Mason’s smoker. Most husbands have a smoker and a grill. Nope, not here at Mason Manor. I own the grill and the smoker. I asked my husband for a smoker last Christmas and he was like…really? You want a smoker for your Christmas present? Not clothes or jewelry? He was a little shocked!
Smoking meat has been a part of my life since I was a child. I grew up with my dad telling stories about how he and his dad and brothers used to dig a hole in the ground and smoke an entire hog. At Thanksgiving, Mr. Mason’s family smoke their turkeys and it’s so good! So naturally…I NEED a smoker! So what did Mr. Mason do? He bought me a smoker. He’s such a good hubby!
So, let’s jump into how I prep and smoke my Applewood Smoked Chicken. First, let me talk about my rub and wood for a minute. I use (and recommend) wood chunks instead of wood chips. I find that chunks produce more smoke and the meat turns out more flavorful. There are so many different types of wood out there and so many different rubs! I have used several different kinds of wood for chicken, but I’ve found that applewood chunks give me the best results when it comes to smoking a chicken. It gives the meat a subtle smoky apple flavor.
Next, we have the rub. The rub…oh man where do I start!?!? Let’s start with brown sugar. Brown sugar is just a must when you are making a rub. I’ve tried making several rubs, but this one below is my favorite when smoking chicken. When putting the rub on your chicken, make sure you press the rub into the chicken. You want your chicken to be saturated with the rub. I highly recommend letting your chicken marinate in the rub overnight. It makes a huge difference in the way it tastes. By the way…this rub is Gluten Free.
Lastly, let’s talk smoking time for your chicken and temperature for your smoker. I smoke my chicken at around 225 degrees for 4 to 5 hours. It takes about 30 minutes to warm up my smoker to 225 degrees. Towards the end of the smoking process, I always insert an internal thermometer to ensure the temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees for the breast and 175 degrees for the thigh. I insert the digital thermometer at about the 4th hour so I can see how much longer it has before reaching 165 degrees. Make sure to watch the actual smoker temperature and don’t let it go over 250 degrees. Slow and low my friends….you want to smoke this slow and low!
Guys, I can’t even explain how much my smoker means to me. I know that sounds silly but when I first got my smoker, my dad came over and we smoked several cuts of meat. Both my dad and I really enjoy cooking and I knew that if I got a smoker we could smoke meat together and compare and create new rub recipes. It’s been so fun spending afternoons with dad hovering over the smoker and talking! We have created some fantastic memories together just sitting around talking about our family and his childhood memories. And…my dad ended up buying a smoker shortly after I got mine! It’s just been amazing!
You guys are going to LOVE this Applewood Smoked Chicken! Happy Eats my friends!
Smoking a chicken is EASY! Wow your tastebuds with this melt-in-your-mouth Applewood Smoked Chicken! Prepped with a brown sugar, smoky paprika and garlic based rub, this smoked chicken tastes amazing!
- 1/4 cup cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
Take the whole chicken and on a cutting board, cut the chicken with a meat cleaver down the middle of the breast. (I like to do this so I can open up the chicken and get the rub everywhere.)
Take the chicken and remove all the inside parts that need to be tossed out, like the liver, neck, etc.
Run cold water over your chicken and rinse well. Pat dry and place the chicken in a 9×13 Pyrex dish.
In a small bowl, mix all the dry rub ingredients listed above. Generously rub the chicken that is still in the Pyrex dish with the mixture until rub is gone.
Place plastic wrap over the Pyrex dish and refrigerate overnight. I like to marinate my chicken for at least 8 to 12 hours.
After the chicken has marinated, turn on your smoker (or light it) and let it preheat until the smoker hits 225 degrees.
Once preheated, place the whole chicken on the rack breast side up and close your smoker. You should expect to see a lot of smoke in the first 2 hours and then it will die down a bit. It will smell wonderful outside!
Smoke the chicken at about 225 degrees for about 4 to 5 hours. Sometimes the smoker temperature will get up to 250, but I never let it go over that. You will need to manage your temperature to ensure the smoker doesn’t get too hot.
At the 4th hour, insert a digital thermometer to see how much longer it has before reaching 165 degrees. When the chicken is done, turn the smoker off and remove the chicken.
Your chicken breasts should be at 165 degrees and the thighs/legs at 175 degrees. Note that the chicken juices should run clear.
Let the chicken sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and eating.
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I have yet to smoke chicken. Or smoke any meat for that matter. But this recipe makes me want to. It looks so delicious!!
Thanks! Having a smoker is one of the BEST purchases I’ve ever bought. We smoke everything. Such an amazing investment! If you ever try it, let me know how it turns out!
That chicken looks absolutely fabulous! Love the flavor combinations!
Thanks! Yes, you will love it. It’s a beautiful color and the moisture in this smoked chicken is ridiculous! So moist and flavorful!
I’m new to smoking meat but I recently purchased a very nice propane smoker. I have the Applewood chunks to make this recipe but I couldn’t find in your instructions whether I leave the chunks in the smoker the entire time it’s cooking or not. Would you please elaborate on that part of the process.
Hi there! Yes, leave the chunks in there the entire time. When you start smoking meats that require a longer smoke time, you’ll want to add more chunks to your pan but for this recipe, the chunks are added at the beginning and your leave them alone until the smoking is done. Make sure you soak your chunks before you start smoking. I soak mine in water overnight. Also, you’ll have a separate pan of water in your smoker so when you smoke (or at least in my smoker) I have a separate pan for my chunks and a separate pan for my water. I line my water pan with aluminum foil then put the water in. Let me know if you have any other questions! Some people also cover their wood chunks with aluminum foil and poke holes in it. Lots of different methods. Let me know if you have any other specific questions!