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This Spatchcock Smoked Chicken is juicy, flavorful, and cooked evenly every single time. The spatchcock method ensures the breast stays tender while the skin gets beautifully crisp, and slow smoking infuses every bite with rich, smoky flavor.
Krissy’s Notes
If you’ve ever smoked a whole chicken only to have the breast turn dry while waiting for the thighs to cook, spatchcocking is your solution. I’ve made this smoked spatchcock chicken more times than I can count, and it’s hands-down the best way to smoke a bird.
Spatchcocking simply means removing the backbone and flattening the chicken so it cooks evenly. The result? Perfectly cooked white and dark meat in less time. The skin crisps up beautifully, and the smoke penetrates every inch of the bird.
This recipe is a staple on my Traeger during summer BBQs and fall weekends. It’s easy, foolproof, and so flavorful that leftovers rarely last long.
If you love smoked meats, try my Smoked Prime Rib or Hot Smoked Salmon next.
What You’ll Need To Make It
You’ll find the full recipe in the card below, but here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need.
- Whole chicken (about 4 pounds): Spatchcocked so it cooks evenly.
- Olive oil: Helps the seasoning stick and promotes crisp skin.
- Dry rub: I use my One Spoon Dry Rub for smoky, balanced flavor.
- BBQ sauce (optional): Brush it on near the end if you love that sweet-smoky glaze. I highly recommend homemade Whiskey BBQ Sauce or Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce.
Wood choice matters too. Apple or cherry wood gives a mild sweetness, while hickory or pecan adds deeper, richer smoke flavor.
How to Make Spatchcock Smoked Chicken
Full instructions are in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick breakdown.
Step 1: Spatchcock the chicken. Place the chicken breast-side down and use kitchen shears to remove the backbone.
Remove the entire spine as well as any internal organs that make have been packaged with the chicken. These can be discarded or used to make chicken broth.
Flip the chicken breast-side up and firmly press on the breastbone to flatten it. This creates an even thickness throughout the chicken, ensuring that the breast and thigh meat cook to perfection.
Step 2: Season. Rub olive oil all over the chicken, then generously coat it with dry rub.
Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Step 3: Smoke at 250°F. Place the chicken skin-side up in your smoker or pellet grill. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone. Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (about 3 hours).
Step 4: Optional BBQ finish. If you like a glazed finish, brush on BBQ sauce once the breast reaches 145°F and continue smoking until done.
Step 5: Rest before serving. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving so the juices redistribute.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Reheating
To make ahead: Prep and season the chicken a day in advance. Refrigerate wrapped until ready to smoke.
To store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat: Warm in a 300°F oven or air fryer until heated through. The skin will crisp back up beautifully.
Leftover smoked chicken is fantastic in open faced chicken salad sandwiches, hazelnut chicken salad, or chicken quesadillas.
Learn From Me
I’ve experimented with smoking chicken at every temperature from 225°F to 300°F, and 250°F is the sweet spot. It’s slow enough to build deep smoke flavor without drying out the meat.
If you’re wondering how long to smoke a spatchcock, it takes a few hours always go by internal temperature, not time.
My favorite trick? Spatchcock first, season generously, and let it rest uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before smoking. That step helps dry the skin slightly so it turns perfectly crispy in the smoker. Take the seasoned bird out of the refrigerator about an hour before you cook it to promote even cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the questions I’ve gotten from readers and how I’ve answered.
This recipe is for a smoker or pellet grill. For a similar effect, you can do the following:
For a charcoal grill, set up an indirect cooking zone by placing the hot coals on one side and the chicken on the other.
You can smoke spatchcock chicken on a gas grill by using indirect heat and placing soaked wood chips in a smoker box or foil packet.
Brining is not necessary, but can enhance flavor and moisture. Consider a simple brine of water, salt, sugar, and aromatics for a few hours before smoking. Or consider making my Apple Cider Brine that I use to make my Thanksgiving Turkey.
While marinades can add flavor, they may affect the texture and prohibit a crispy skin. I do not recommend using a marinade with this recipe.
Consider serving this chicken with roasted vegetables, coleslaw, or cornbread.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Cut chicken in half: Using sharp clean kitchen shears, start at the tail and cut all the way up both sides of the spine so that the 1 whole chicken is split down the middle (breast, wing, thigh, drumstick on each side).
- Prep chicken: Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap long enough to wrap chicken and lay them on the counter in a cross/perpendicular. Set chicken on intersection of plastic wrap. Coat the entire chicken with the 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Apply dry rub: In a separate bowl, mix up the 1/4 cup dry rub. Generously coat all sides of the chicken with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour or up to overnight.
- Smoke chicken: Set the smoker to smoke at least 5 minutes with the lid open. Increase heat to 250°F and close the lid. Unwrap the chicken and place it on the grill, skin side up. Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh, avoiding contact with bone. If only using the dry rub and not BBQ sauce, continue to cook until the internal temperature of the thigh reads 165°F. My chicken took about 3 hours to fully cook, but time will vary depending on the smoker and starting temperature of the chicken.
- Optional BBQ sauce: If making homemade BBQ sauce, prepare it while chicken is smoking. Plan on smoking the internal temperature of the breast reads 145°F. At this point, smother the chicken in BBQ sauce and continue to cook until the internal temperature of the thigh reads 165°F.
- Rest: Allow chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated with helpful information, ingredient and process photos, as well as recipe tips. Don’t worry – the recipe hasn’t changed!
Smoking two chickens as I write. One is almost 6 pounds and the other just three. Using a Char Broil electric smoker. Set it and forget it except to check the doneness of the birds. Using Apple chips and your rub. Will probable try both Betty Crocker’s mustard bbq sauce with one and BC’s best bbq sauce with the other.
Ok, I ended up using my IR ThermoPro and I must’ve had the probe in the wrong spot. The Chicken ended up smoking for over 5 hours at 225ºF. It was a great blend of savory, smokey, crunchy flavor and texture. My husband who is a very picky eater and who eats chicken very reluctantly ended up having seconds and insisted I make this again soon! The meat was very tender and flavorful all the way through. A few notes: There’s a membrane inside the chicken that prevents the smoke from penetrating the muscle tissue underneath. So you will want to slice some openings throughout that membrane (It’s not easily removable like pork ribs membranes are) to allow for some extra smoke flavor throughout. I would also try brining the chicken overnight as another comment mentioned. I also used Holy Gospel rub both on and under the skin. I personally don’t like eating the skin of the chicken, so I do this to get the flavor into the muscle. One additional suggestion would be to make an injection of whatever rub you’re using with some water and just inject the breasts all over to get more flavor within the thick muscle tissue. The thighs and wings didn’t need this additional step, but I would try this next time if it’s a 4+ hour long smoke. Thanks for a good recipe!
I’m making this right now. I’m using my Traeger 35 Texas Elite smoker in Northern Illinois in June where it’s currently 80ºF outside and my spatchcock chicken is going on 1.5 hours now and is already at 139ºF. I lowered the temp on the grill to 225ºF to slow it down a bit. The chicken itself was at 59º starting and is over 5Lbs. I’m not sure why it’s climbing that fast. But I hope it absorbs the smokey flavor of the wood pellets. I’m going to add BBQ sauce once it gets to 145º internal with an Instant Read thermometer. I’ve been using this grill for over a year now, and this is the second time I’m making a spatchcock chicken and it cooked this fast last time too. Not sure what I’m doing wrong here.