Smoked Pulled Chicken
Smoked Pulled Chicken tantalizes the taste buds with its delightful blend of flavors. This delectable dish features tender, succulent chicken, expertly cooked over wood or charcoal to infuse it with a mouthwatering, smoky essence. To achieve the perfect level of tenderness, we season the chicken with a dry spice rub and carefully smoke it until it reaches its flavorful peak.
One of the fantastic aspects of smoking a whole chicken is its relatively shorter cooking time when compared to other meat cuts like pork shoulder or brisket. It is also very versatile, you can carve and it as is, shred the meat like we are doing with this recipe and then use it for pulled chicken sandwiches, soups, tacos, quesadillas, salads or anything your imagination can dream up.
Preparing the Chicken
Starting with a whole chicken remove the chicken from its packaging and discard the giblets. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel. If needed trim any loose skin or fat from around the cavity and neck openings.
To help achieve a crispy skin and provide a bit of a binder for the dry spice rub to stick to, run the entire outside of the bird with olive oil. You can use spray oil or butter here if you prefer.
Liberally season the entire chicken with a dry spice rub, you can use your own homemade blend of seasoning or store bought. My favorite is a garlic jalapeño rub and a bbq chicken rub.
Prepare the Smoker/Grill
Prepare your smoke or grill for indirect cooking at 325°F using charcoal or a mild fruit wood such as apple or pecan.
I am using the Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Smoker filled with charcoal briquettes and apple wood chunks. This is a great style of smoker that allows you to have easy control over the smoke and temperature.
Smoking the Chicken
After preheating the smoker and ensuring a steady temperature of 325°F, carefully position the chicken inside. It is advisable to utilize a digital thermometer equipped with a probe. Insert it into the thickest part of the breast for accurate temperature monitoring. This allows you to monitor the internal temperature as the chicken cooks.
Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165° in the breast. Using a handheld instant read thermometer check the temperature for accuracy and tenderness. You want the probe to easily penetrate to meat to ensure it is tender. To achieve the desired tenderness, you can cook beyond 165°F, up to 175°F if necessary.
Remove the chicken from the smoker and loosely cover with aluminum foil. Rest covered for 20 minutes to allow the meat to relax and distribute the flavorful juices throughout the bird.
Pull/Shred the Chicken
Once the chicken has rested it is time to shred! To protect your hands, it’s advisable to wear a pair of nitrile gloves with cotton glove liners. Using your hands, gently tear the smoked chicken apart into perfectly sized, bite-sized pieces. You can also shred the chicken with two forks or a pair of shredder claws.
I prefer to keep the crispy skin intact and shred it along with the chicken, though I must admit, it’s hard to resist snacking on it while pulling the chicken apart. The skin will have the most flavor from the dry rub and smoke.
Congratulations! You now have a delectable bowl brimming with smoky, tender pulled chicken goodness, ready to be savored as a satisfying meal or used as a versatile ingredient in your favorite recipes.
Click the link below to check out my recipe for pulled chicken sandwiches.
Spicy Smoked Pulled Chicken Sandwich
Smoked pulled chicken topped with tangy pickled red onion, dill pickle slices and Alabama White Sauce.
Smoked Pulled Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup dry rub
Instructions
Prepare the chicken:
- If needed remove the giblets from the chicken cavity and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Run the entire outside of the chicken with olive oil. This will help crisp the skin while cooking and also act as a binder for the dry rub to stick to.
- Using you favorite spice rub, home made or store bought apply liberally over all sides of the chicken.
- Gently pull the skin away from the chicken breast and apply dry rub under the skin too.
Prepare the smoker:
- Prepare your smoker order grill for indirect cooking at 325° F using a light fruit wood such as apple or pecan for flavor.
Smoke the chicken:
- Place the chicken on the cooking rack and smoke until internal temperature reaches 165 in the breast. It should take about 2-2.5 hours depending on the size of the chicken.
Pull the chicken:
- Once done, remove and let rest covered lightly with aluminum foil for 20 minutes.
- Shred/pull the chicken into bite size chunks and discard the bones.
Notes
- Use a light fruit wood for the smoky flavor. I recommend apple or pecan.
- Keeping the cooking temps between 300° F and 325° F helps to get a nice crispy skin. You can cook at a lower temp such as 250° F which may extend the cooking time but still makes a tender flavorfull pulled chicken. The skin will not get as crispy so I recommend removing the skin before pulling.
- Use the pulled chicken for Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, Tacos, Nachos, Salads, and more!
