This smoked spatchcock chicken requires just two ingredients and is a simple set-and-forget recipe that is extremely simple to smoke! Mouthwatering, deliciously moist meat is the happy result when you take the time to smoke a spatchcocked chicken.
Spatchcocking is a method of flattening a bird so it cooks faster and more evenly.
Not only will it take half the time of a whole chicken, but it will also be full of flavor, and a family favorite.
And the best part? This works for any rub, BBQ sauce, glaze, and anything else you use to flavor your grilled chicken!
🐔 Ingredients
Whole Chicken – You will need about a half pound of meat per person you plan to serve with chicken. If you just picked up a whole chicken at the grocery store on sale and don’t know what to do with it, you’ve come to the right place. You have everything you need in your kitchen to make an amazing smoked spatchcock chicken.
Dry Rub – Use your favorite BBQ seasoning! We used Spicy Pineapple Head from Dizzy Pig. We also have a great all-purpose rub you can make yourself too!
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
Poultry Shears – These are an absolute must for spatchcocking a chicken. You have to cut through the chicken’s spine, and regular scissors just won’t do the job.
Pear Wood – This wood has an ever-so-slightly sweet flavor that pairs perfectly with chicken and doesn’t overpower the overall flavor profile for great smoke flavor. This wood also plays very nicely with the pineapple-flavored rub we used. Use your favorite wood chips. Hickory and mesquite might overpower the chicken flavor but that’s all up to you.
Smoker – The Big Green Egg or a Traeger smoker are two of our favorites.
🔥 Instructions
How to Spatchcock a Chicken
Step One: Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and pat dry.
Step Two: If the chicken is not already butterflied open, use poultry shears, a sharp knife, or a pair of kitchen scissors and cut along each side of the backbone. The toughest area will be near the leg bones and surrounding cartilage. Remove the spine and toss.
Step Three: Place the chicken on a non slip large cutting board, flip chicken with the chicken breast side facing up. Use palm of your hand and press down hard on the breastbone of the chicken to make it crack and lay flat. Sometimes one press will do it, and other times we have had to repeat that several times. You can also make a single sharp cut in the breastbone so that it will break open easier. You will notice the chicken will now lay flat.
Step Four: Season the flattened bird with the dry rub of your choice. Make sure there’s an even layer of rub all over the chicken.
Smoking the Spatchcock Chicken
Step One: Preheat, your smoker to 300ºF with indirect heat.
Step Two: Place the chicken on the grate of the smoker using pear wood (or other fruit wood that you love) and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF in the thickest part of the thigh region, per the USDA. If you prefer, you can pull it when internal temp reaches 160ºF, and tent it with aluminum foil to bring it up the final five degrees. Use an internal meat thermometer with a probe that you can leave in the time you’re smoking.
Step Three: Let the chicken rest for 5-15 minutes, so it doesn’t lose all its tasty juiciness. Serve.
Our Favorite Tips and Tricks
Before spatchcocking the bird, remove all the extra parts and pieces (neck, heart, gizzards, etc.) and rinse in cold water inside and out, just as we did with the grilled spatchcock turkey and the grilled spatchcock Cornish hens. You can use those extras and the backbone to make chicken stock later if you like.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels before applying the dry rub. Be very thorough with the dry rub because it adds so much great flavor! Doing this part while the bird is on a rimmed baking sheet helps contain the raw chicken juices.
Additions and Substitutions
If you can’t find pear wood, apple, cherry, apricot, peach, or pecan wood are all great substitutes and find all your options on the Wood Smoking Cheat Sheet.
This basic recipe will also work with a Cornish Hen in even less time.
Serving Suggestions
Smoking your chicken keeps the kitchen and grill open for making amazing and delicious sides. Serve this with a fresh salad, baked sweet potatoes, or yummy fries. It will go beautifully with almost any side dish you can think of. If you’ve never tried our Amazing Smoked Potato Salad, you should! Biscuits or crusty bread are always a welcome addition to your chicken meal.
FAQ
While it is not a perfect science if you love good crispy chicken skin, here are a few things you can try.
One) Dry out the skin of the chicken either by letting it sit in the fridge for a few days, patting it dry, or using a hair dryer on cold.
Two) Up the temperature of the smoker significantly for the last ten minutes. Do this before it comes up to temperature, not after, because you don’t want dry meat.
Three) Pull the bird early and throw it in a hot oven on broil for ten minutes. Again, do this before the chicken is finished cooking and not after.
Four) Throw the chicken halves in a hot skillet with hot oil for a few minutes to crisp up the skin.
Related Recipes
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Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
Equipment
- Smoker
- Poultry Shears
- Fruit Wood we used Pear
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken
- 3-4 tbsp Dry Rub
Instructions
Spatchcock the Chicken
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and pat dry.
- If the chicken is not already butterflied open, Use kitchen shears (or poultry shears if you have them) and cut along both sides of the spine of the chicken. The toughest area will be near the leg bones. Remove the spine and toss.
- Place the chicken on a solid surface with the breast facing up. Use both palms and press down hard on the breastbone of the chicken to make it crack and lay flat. Sometimes one press will do it and other times we have had to repeat that several times. You will notice the chicken will now lay flat.
Smoking Spatchcock Chicken
- Set up the smoker to 300ºF on indirect heat.
- Using your favorite BBQ rub, sprinkle the rub on the chicken and use your hands to help get it in all the grooves.
- Place the chicken on the grate of the smoker using pear wood (or other fruit wood that you love) and smoke until the internal temperature is 165ºF in the thigh region. You can pull it at 160ºF degrees and tent it to bring it up the final 5 degrees as well.
- This should take about 75-90 minutes but remember to base the cooking time on internal temperature, not time for poultry.
Notes
Nutrition
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
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