Smoked Whole Chicken

This Smoked Whole Chicken recipe is a tender, juicy, and flavorful dinner made easy on your smoker with a simple seasoning rub and low-and-slow cooking—perfect for weeknight meals or meal prep.

Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and we'll send the recipe straight to your inbox!

Email *

Save This Recipe

Juicy, tender chicken with a delicious smoky flavor right at home! How does that sound? Whole chickens are one of my favorite things to make, but during the winter I typically just put them in the crock pot. During the summer, we put the best homemade BBQ rub on them and put them on the pellet grill.  After three hours or so, depending on the size of your chicken, you’re left with a tender, juicy whole smoked chicken that is great for meal prep or family supper.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Only 5 minutes of prep then hands off until it is time to enjoy a juicy, smoky chicken. This is a great recipe for a beginner smoker.
• Make the best smoked chicken rub using pantry staples. Double up the batch to keep some on hand for another time.
• Perfect for meal prep or make two of them and use one for meal prep and one for dinner tonight.

Ingredients for Smoked Chicken

• Whole chicken – This recipe works for a 3-4 pound whole chicken. You will need more seasoning and a longer cook time for a bigger bird.
• Chicken Rub – We love our homemade chicken rub and make a batch up to have whenever we smoked chicken. You can also use your favorite store-bought or tried and true homemade rub. You can also buy a Gimme Some Grilling Rub to have on hand any time.

How To Smoke A Whole Chicken

Pat chicken dry and trim any excess skin or fat around neck area on in the cavity of the bird. Liberally rub the chicken with dry rub.

Place chicken on smoker. Close lid and cook at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3 hours for 3.5 lb chicken or until chicken has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Allow to rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

Storage and Reheating

Fridge: Store leftover chicken, once cooled, in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Freezer: If you’ve got too many leftovers, carve the meat from the carcass and freeze on a baking sheet before storing in a freezer safe container. Thaw what you need in the fridge overnight.

Reheat leftover chicken covered on the stove top with some water or broth to retain moisture. You can also use the microwave.

Smoked chicken is going to become a part of your weekly meal prep. It is so easy to prepare and convenient to have in the fridge when you need a quick lunch or supper idea.

Shop Our Spices

Shop Now!

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @gimmesomegrilling or #gimmesomegrilling so I can see your grilling masterpieces!

5 from 2 votes

Smoked Whole Chicken

Tender, juicy chicken that's rubbed with a homemade BBQ seasoning and smoked low and slow.

Prep:10 minutes mins

Cook:3 hours hrs

Resting Time:10 minutes mins

Total:3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Print Recipe Rate Recipe

• Pin

Save RecipeSaved!

Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and we’ll send the recipe straight to your inbox!

Email *

Save This Recipe

4

Equipment

• Smoker
• Wood chips
• Measuring spoons
• Meat Thermometer

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 whole chicken
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons BBQ Chicken Rub

Instructions

• Set smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit using wood of your choice.
• Pat chicken dry. Trim any excess skin or fat around neck area or in the cavity of the bird. 
• Generously rub the chicken with dry rub. Make sure you get all areas of the chicken covered with the spices. We recommend lifting the skin away from the chicken and rubbing spices under the skin to make sure the spices infuse into the chicken. You can even throw some spice inside the cavity to give it even more flavor.
• Place the chicken on the smoker rack. Close the lid and smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This can vary by chicken size. Ours took about 3 hours and was 3.5 lbs.
• Remove from the smoker and allow to rest 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 418kcal (21%), Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 35g (70%), Fat: 28g (43%), Saturated Fat: 8g (50%), Cholesterol: 142mg (47%), Sodium: 134mg (6%), Potassium: 380mg (11%), Vitamin A: 345IU (7%), Vitamin C: 3.4mg (4%), Calcium: 51mg (5%), Iron: 2.8mg (16%)

© Gimme Some Grilling ®

We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.

How To Serve Smoked Whole Chicken

The ultimate side for a delicious smoked chicken? It is definitely sticky, sweet BBQ Baked Beans On the Grill. Three different types of beans and BBQ sauce take your meal to a whole new level.

Smoked Stuffing is a great addition to any family meal plus you can smoke it at the same time as your chicken. If you need a few more options for everyone to add to their plates, Grilled Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread and Grilled Caesar Salad are two awesome dishes to make out on the grill.

More Great Dry Rubs

• A multi-purpose rub can save you on a busy weeknight when you’re trying to get something ready for supper and our Dry Rub for Ribs is exactly what you need. Whether you are preparing beef, pork or chicken, it’s going to add so much flavor to your meal.
• Sweet and Smoky Rub is a versatile rub you can keep on hand to season your favorite proteins and veggies, too.
• BBQ Chicken Rub will totally change the way you enjoy chicken whether it is grilled, smoked or baked. Plus it is so easy and made with pantry staples.
• Our slightly sweet Dry Rub for Pork is going to change your grilling game. Elevate your favorite cuts of pork like the loin and chops and you’ll impress everyone at the table.