Spatchcock Smoked Chicken is a whole chicken cut to lay flat, covered in a delicious dry rub, and smoked to tender moist perfection.
The deep rich hardwood smoke flavor is infused into the entire chicken. The mouthwatering homemade dry rub and optional whiskey BBQ sauce really takes this main dish over the top!
Spatchcock Smoked Chicken is the perfect summer meal to enjoy out on the patio. There are about a million different ways to cook a chicken. You can throw it in the Instant Pot and make Shoyu Chicken. Or you can leave it in the crockpot all day and make a Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Stack. You can always cook it on the stove and make something like Chicken and Brussel Sprouts with Mustard Sauce.
But nothing quite beats the taste of a slow cooked smoked chicken that has been smothered in a mouthwatering dry rub. Especially during the warm sunny days of summer where we're all trying to maximize our time outdoors.
How to spatchcock a chicken:
Spatchcock is a specific kind of butterflying technique, for birds. It involves removing the backbone so that the entire chicken can lay flat. Some people will remove the keel, or breast bone, as well, but I don't bother.
The reason for spatchcocking (is that a word?) a chicken is to allow for faster and even cooking. This cutting technique works great for both baking and grilling.
You can use a sharp knife to spatchcock a chicken, but I highly recommend using a high quality pair of clean kitchen shears. A good pair of kitchen scissors will cut through bone and cartilage easily and I just run it through the dishwasher to sanitze when I'm done.
The best seasoning to put on smoked chicken is...
My One Spoon Dry Rub, of course! I first put this dry rub together a few years ago. I was tired of recipes that called for a half teaspoon of this and a tablespoon of that. I wanted a dry rub that was really easy to put together, had all the great flavors you could ask for in a rub, and most importantly - a dry rub recipe that only required a single measuring spoon.
I didn't end up using any BBQ sauce on this chicken, but you can easily smother it with some sauce before serving. Just give it enough time to seize up and get sticky on the grill. I highly recommend making my Whiskey BBQ sauce. If you're in a hurry, my Carolina Yellow BBQ Sauce is super quick and easy to throw together.
How long does it take to smoke a chicken?
I smoked my chicken at a temperature of 250 degrees F. At that temperature, it may take several hours to fully cook the chicken. You must use a thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
The cooking time will depend heavily on the size of your chicken as well as the starting temperature. Whether you let it sit out at room temperature or it came straight from the refrigerator will be a factor on how long it will take to cook. Always trust the thermometer over recommended time!
What to serve with smoked chicken:
- Grandma's Potato Salad
- German Potato Salad
- Easy Broccoli Slaw
- Angel Hair Coleslaw
- Hidden Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Spatchcock Smoked Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup dry rub (see full recipe link in notes for my One Spoon Dry Rub)
- ½ cup BBQ sauce (optional, see full recipe link in notes for my homemade whiskey BBQ sauce)
Instructions
- Use kitchen shears to cut chicken in half. Start at tail and work your way all the way around both sides of the spine so that the chicken is split down the middle (breast, wing, thigh, drumstick on each side).
- Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap. Cover each chicken half with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- In a separate bowl, mix up dry rub. Generously coat all sides of chicken with dry rub, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate an hour or up to over night.
- Set smoker to smoke at least 5 minutes with the lid open. Increase heat to 250 degrees F and close lid. Unwrap chicken and add to grill, skin side up. Insert meat thermometer into the thigh, avoiding contact with bone. If just using dry rub and not BBQ sauce, continue to cook until internal temperature of the thigh reads 165 degrees F. My chicken took about 3 hours to fully cook.
- Optional: While the chicken is smoking, make whiskey BBQ sauce. Smoke until internal temperature of breast reads 145 degrees F. At this point, smother chicken in BBQ sauce and continue to cook until internal temperature of the thigh reads 165 degrees F.
- Allow chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before eating.
Howard Thorkilson
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.
Kendall
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!
Kendall
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.
Krystal Castillo
Hi Krissy I hope you & yours have been Well! I DON'T currently have a smoker any chance this can be put in the oven ? If so what temp ? Thanks as always for your Delicious RECIPES! Stay Well!
Krissy
Sorry for such a late reply! Yes, this can be made in the oven. You just won't have the same smoky flavor, but it will still be delicious. Just cook it at 250 (low and slow) until you reach the appropriate internal temperature. You may even want to give it a quick broil at the very end to crisp up the skin. If you make it this way, please let me know how it turns out!
Beck
Convection cooks faster than conventional and drumsticks cook faster than thighs. My guess would be they got overcooked. This is amazing. Was trying to find a chicken thighs recipe and I have now made this twice!! Thank you!
Jean
We brine the chicken overnight
Pull it out, dry it, rub it let it sit for an hour or 2
then into the smoker
Pull it out of the smoker, bbq sauce, cover in tinfoil on low heat on the BBQ
All good
L.M.F.
An hour and fifteen minutes???
Krissy
Yep... because you're cooking at a low temp. -Krissy
Jenkins
A chicken in the smoker takes way more than an hour and 15 minutes. It's about 45 min per pound. Unless you have some magical smoker.
Krissy
At 250 degrees with the chicken laid out flat, that's how long mine took to cook.
Robert
Great recipe and gorgeous result but My 5 pound bird took just under 4 hours at 250 to get 165 in the breast. 1 hr 15 doesn’t seem possible? Are you cooking at 450 maybe?
Krissy
Hi Robert, Sorry for the confusion! I just saw that the total time in the recipe card wasn't reporting correctly. It took me about 3hrs to hit temperature.
Christie
I have been making spatchcock chicken for a few months now. I made your one spoon spice rub and the jack daniels bbq sauce. Absolutely delicious results in my table-top smoker. Thanks for posting the recipes. I recommend to everyone to try the spatchcock method. Chicken cooks quicker, more evenly, the dark meat is done before the white meat dries out. My favorite method!
Vicky
I have never cut up a chicken like that, but it does make a gorgeous presentation. I've been meaning to get a smoker.
Tara
Great chicken recipe! Love all the flavors
Danielle
That skin looks so deliciously crispy! This might have to be the star at our next roast.
Michele
With a dry rub does the skin come out crispy in the smoker? I made a turkey breast and it was wonderful but the skin was not crispy I'm assuming due to using butter on and under the skin. First time smoking and was wonderful but would like a crispy skin.
Krissy
The rub definitely helps make the skin nice and crispy.
Mindy Fewless
I've always wanted to try making this! I'm going to try your dry rub too!
Matt @ Plating Pixels
Looks amazing. Maybe this year I’ll finally spatchcock chicken!