This Smoked Spatchcock Chicken on a Pellet Grill is one of the best ways to smoke a whole chicken. Just spatchcock a chicken (I explain how to do it below), cover it in dry rub, and smoke it on the pellet grill. This gorgeous chicken is juicy with crispy skin and full of delicious smoky flavor.
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This smoked spatchcock chicken recipe can be made on any type of smoker. I have made it on my Traeger smoker, Pit Boss pellet grill, and Masterbuilt electric smoker. You can even use a charcoal grill.
I start by smoking the chicken at a lower temperature to infuse it with a lot of smoky flavor, then finish it off at a higher temperature to get crispy skin. The result is juicy, tender, and flavorful chicken that is dripping with moisture. Serve it with a side of broccoli slaw for a meal everyone will love.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Using the Spatchcock method is a favorite way to smoke a whole bird.
- It's easy, and no chicken stand is needed.
- The chicken skin is nice and crispy with super juicy meat.
- It is full of delicious flavor from the smoke and the dry rub.
Ingredients Needed
To make this spatchcocked chicken, you'll need:
- Chicken. I used a 4-pound roasting chicken, but you can use any size. Remove the neck and gizzards if it has them inside the body cavity.
- Dry rub. I used my homemade dry rub, which is made with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Feel free to use your favorite dry rub.
See the printable recipe card for exact measurements and a full list of ingredients.
How To Make A Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
Spatchcock the Chicken
- Place the chicken breast side down on a cutting board or baking sheet.
- The easiest way to remove the backbone of the chicken is to use a pair of sharp kitchen shears. If you don't have a good pair of kitchen shears, use a sharp knife, but be extra careful. Cut into the chicken on each side of the spine and cut both sides of the backbone from bottom to top. Remove the backbone and excess skin.
- Flip the chicken over and press on the breasts with the palm of your hands to crack the breastbone so the chicken lies flat.
Season the Chicken
- Dry chicken with paper towels.
- Brush or spray olive oil or avocado oil over the chicken.
- Mix the spice rub ingredients together and generously apply it to the entire chicken. Lift up the legs and wings to reach all the nooks and crannies.
Smoke the Chicken
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 225 degrees F and top it up with wood pellets.
- Place chicken directly on the grill grates, breast side up, and smoke for one hour.
- After one hour, insert temperature probes into the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh, turn up the temperature to 350 degrees F, and smoke the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F in the breast.
- If you want to add BBQ sauce to your chicken, apply it once the chicken reaches 160 degrees F. I usually don't add sauce as I think the chicken has plenty of flavor without it.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken from the smoker and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. If you like, serve with barbecue sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this smoked chicken with a Creamy Potato Salad, Traeger Smoked Corn on the Cob, and Cucumber Salad with Mayo for a delicious meal.
You can also serve it with Smoked Baked Potatoes, Greek Cucumber Salad, and Hawaiian Macaroni Salad. The possibilities are endless!
Variations
- For a sweeter chicken, use my Brown Sugar Smoked Chicken Rub.
- Let the chicken sit with the dry rub on it for up to 12 hours.
- Add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the spice rub to add some heat.
- Brush the chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce during the last 10-15 minutes of the smoking time.
Expert Tips
- Cook the chicken for one hour at 225 degrees F, then cook by temperature once you turn it up to 350 degrees F.
- Use a good meat thermometer to keep an eye on the internal temperature of the chicken.
- The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the chicken and the temperature of your smoker - they all cook differently.
- Let the chicken sit at room temperature while the smoker preheats - this will ensure more even cooking.
Recipe FAQ's
If you are using an electric smoker, soak your wood chips for 30 minutes before using, and top up as needed to keep the smoke flowing.
No, I wouldn't recommend flipping your Spatchcock chicken. You can move it farther away from the heat source if it is cooking too quickly.
Pull a whole chicken off the smoker when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast. The leg and thigh may be higher than 175 degrees F, but that's okay.
More Smoked Chicken Recipes
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Printable Recipe
Smoked Spatchcock Chicken On Pellet Grill
Equipment
- Meat Thermometer
Ingredients
- 3-5 pound whole chicken
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Spatchcock the Chicken
- Place the chicken breast side down on a cutting board or baking sheet. The easiest way to remove the backbone of the chicken is to use a pair of sharp kitchen shears. If you don't have a good pair of kitchen shears, use a sharp knife, but be extra careful. Cut into the chicken on each side of the spine and cut both sides of the backbone from bottom to top. Remove the backbone and excess skin.
- Flip the chicken over and press on the breasts with the palm of your hands to crack the breastbone so the chicken lies flat.
Season the Chicken
- Dry chicken with paper towels. Brush or spray olive oil over the chicken.
- Mix the spice rub ingredients together and generously apply it to the entire chicken. Lift up the legs and wings to reach all the nooks and crannies.
Smoke the Chicken
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 225℉.
- Place chicken directly on the grill grates, breast side up, and smoke for one hour. After one hour, insert temperature probes into the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the thigh, turn up the temperature to 350℉, and smoke the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165℉ in the breast.
- If you want to add BBQ sauce to your chicken, apply it once the chicken reaches 160℉.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken from the smoker and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. If you like, serve with barbecue sauce on the side. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Cook the chicken for one hour at 225 degrees F, then cook by temperature once you turn it up to 350 degrees F.
- Use a good meat thermometer to keep an eye on the internal temperature of the chicken.
- The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the chicken and the temperature of your smoker - they all cook differently.
- Let the chicken sit at room temperature while the smoker preheats - this will ensure more even cooking.
Nutrition
The provided nutrition information is automatically calculated. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tom says
Delicious and very easy. I thought it might be dry, definitely not. I made it on my Masterbuilt. I wish I could post a pic.
Jeri Walker says
I'm so glad you liked it Tom! Thanks so much for your kind review! And what a great idea - I will see if I can set it up so commenters can post their pictures. 😊
Shem Ishler says
I made a super spatchcock chicken on the recteq today using this recipe. Everyone was impressed! Thanks for the excellent advice.
Jeri Walker says
I'm so glad everyone loved it! 😀
Anonymous says
Pretty good recipe.. but had to ding you a star because I am convinced that your recipe has more pop-ups and other #&@*(! attached to it than any other recipe I've seen.
Jeri Walker says
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you liked the recipe, and I appreciate your note about the site experience. I'm always looking for ways to make things easier for readers, and I'll keep this in mind for future updates. 🙂
Jennifer Pfalzgraf Patrick says
It was excellent and my family loved it, however, we scraped about half of the paprika spice off after grilling. I think 1 TBSP to 1.5 TBSP might work better for us.
Swathi says
This is delicious grilled whole chicken. my family loved it. I had with corn on the cob. Excellent meal alltogether.
Jeri Walker says
Thanks Swathi! I'm glad you liked it! I love it with corn on the cob too!
Jacqueline Debono says
I usually roast my spatchcock chicken but cooking it on a pellet grill makes it so much more flavorful! Love the smoky taste!
Jeri Walker says
I'm so glad you liked it! 🙂
Marina Shalneva says
This fantastic Smoked Spatchcock Chicken on a Pellet recipe, thank you for the detailed explanation
Claudia says
Your smoked spatchcock chicken on the pellet grill sounds fantastic! I bet the smoky flavor adds a delicious depth to the juicy chicken. Thanks for sharing this mouthwatering recipe idea! I can't wait to fire up my grill and give it a try.
Sonja Goeden says
This is exactly what I needed to start off BBQ season! I always thought I need a dedicated smoker to smoke anything. Thanks for showing how to do it on a standard charcoal BBQ. 🙂
krystel says
Before this recipe I’d never made a
Spatchcock chicken before! I always thought that it might be a little hard for me but this recipe looked to delicious not to at least try. I’m glad that I did! It wasn’t hard at all and had the best flavor! It is definitely going to be added to my list of favorites!
Jeri Walker says
I'm so glad you liked it Krystel! 🙂