Big Green Egg – Smoked Chicken

Smoked chicken on a Big Green Egg is one of those simple recipes that you just have to keep coming back to because of how much delicious bang you get for your buck. A simple prep followed by a few hours of smoking yields some amazing results. Let’s talk about how to get it done. You can get a fancy as you’d like, but I recommend starting off with the most simple of recipes first, and then spicing it up as you get more comfortable with your egg and want to try out different variations, as this dish can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.

Prep

First things first: Fire up the Big Green Egg for indirect cooking with the platesetter legs up.  A target temperature between 225-250 is what we want.

Find a decent sized whole fryer chicken at your local grocery store and let it come to just below room temperature.  A frozen chicken can work just as well, but make sure to thaw it appropriately.  Wash the entire chicken (inside and out) under cold water and then pat dry with a paper towel. Generously rub olive oil inside and out and in between the wing and thigh sections.  A good coating of olive oil will provide a better surface for any seasonings to adhere to and as well as providing  a crispy skin once cooked.

Once the chicken has been well coated with the olive oil it’s time to add seasonings. Again, starting simple is key.  Salt and pepper will be what we use in this recipe before moving on to more advanced recipes.  Keep in mind what type of wood you will be smoking with (if any) and if the wood-seasonings pair makes sense and sounds like a good combination.  The milder the flavor of the smoke, the more aggressive you can be with your spices.  In this recipe we will be using peach wood which will provide the chicken with a nice base flavor while still allowing any other spices to shine through.

Chop the vegetables next in about 1 inch size pieces.  We’re using standard roasting veggies in this recipe which includes celery, carrots and potatoes with a mixture of herbs that includes rosemary and thyme.  Find a roasting pan that will fit your Big Green Egg. The last thing you want is to have everything prepped only to realize later that you won’t be able to roast any of the veggies because the pan doesn’t fit! Then place the chopped vegetables in the pan. Drizzle more olive oil in the pan and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as any additional herbs.  We will put this under the chicken to catch the drippings and provide fantastic flavor.

As a final step, place some of the celery and carrots inside the cavity of the bird.  I rarely eat those vegetables but they sure make the bird look nice!

Cook

Place the roasting pan on the platesetter (legs up remember).  Next place the grate on the Big Green Egg and set the chicken on it breast side up.  At this time place any digital meat thermometer probes you may have inside the thickest part of the breast or the thigh.  Loosely cover the chicken with aluminum foil to prevent the skin from burning.  Cook until the internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the temperature has been reached. Remove the aluminum foil and let cook another 15 minutes or until the skin is browned.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.