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Zesty & citrusy flavored chicken that is brined in a buttermilk brine. This easy-to-make buttermilk traeger chicken recipe is great for weekend BBQ's or the perfect family dinner. Fire up the smoker and let's make this mouth watering buttermilk traeger chicken!
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Video - How to make Traeger Chicken
Why use a buttermilk brine?
Buttermilk helps tenderize the chicken and retains moisture within the meat. Dried out chicken is often experienced when smoking chicken, but NOT this recipe! This chicken will turn out with crispy skin and extremely moist meat.
Choosing a chicken
Purchasing a roaster chicken from the grocery store is the most inexpensive way to grab for a great smoked chicken. Raw whole chickens will range around 5-7lbs in weight and will feed about 6 people.
Calculate about 1lb of uncooked chicken per person. I normally don't smoke less than 2 chickens when firing up the smoker. This chicken recipe is great for leftovers!
Prepping the chicken
The first step in getting this buttermilk traeger chicken started is to rinse the bird with cold water and remove the innards. The innards will most likely be placed in the bird including the heart, liver, and neck. Some store bought chickens will NOT come with these, but double check to make sure they are still not in the bird.
I am cooking these chickens whole. You could spatchcock this chicken, but the cooking times will be different. Check out my smoked spatchcock chicken recipe if you want to go this route.
Buttermilk Brine
I like to use turkey roaster bags when brining my chickens. This will prevent using as much buttermilk, saving money. Pour the buttermilk in the roaster bag and add the kosher salt.
Mix the ingredients together well and add the whole chicken(s) to the bag submerging it in the buttermilk brine. Place the bag in the refrigerator to brine for 6-12 hours.
Seasoning
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk brine and pat dry with paper towels removing any excess buttermilk from the chicken. Dispose of the bag of brine, do NOT reuse.
Traeger Chicken Rub was used for seasoning when making this recipe. Cover the bird liberally with the chicken rub making sure to get spices all over and under the legs of the bird.
How to cook the Traeger Chickens
Now comes the fun part, smoking chicken! We're going to hit the smoked chickens with a lot of smoke at a low temperature and then turn the heat up to get that crispy skin.
Temp - Low then HOT
Fire your Traeger Grill up to 225°F and allow the temperature to stabilize before placing the chicken breast side up directly on the grill rack. First, smoke for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 225°F to get some good smoke on the chicken.
Second, turn the heat up to 350°F and smoke for another hour. Turning the heat up will prevent the chicken meat from drying out. The higher temperature will help cook the chicken faster.
Third, turn the heat up to 400°F and cook for another hour to get the skin nice and crispy.
Finished Temperature
Use the temperature probe from the Traeger smoker to monitor the internal temperature of the chicken while cooking. Once the internal temp reaches 165°F when tested in the breast meat, the chicken is finished cooking.
Remove the chicken from the grill and place on a cutting board. Allow the chicken to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. This gives the meat time to reabsorb juices that would otherwise escape from the bird when carving.
Smoker and Wood
This buttermilk traeger chicken recipe was made on a traeger pellet smoker with traeger pellets. Can you use a different smoker / grill? Yes you can. But I definitely recommend the Traeger
Traeger Pro Series 780
My favorite pellet grill to use is the Traeger Grills Pro Series 780 Wood Pellet Grill. This smoker maintains its temperature very well and is extremely easy to use. With a large cooking area, it's easy to fit a lot of meat if cooking for a party.
This grill looks fantastic and works amazingly. Imparting a delicious smoke flavor on the chickens, it's the best smoker you can own.
Best Wood to use
Using a hickory wood or fruit wood imparts the best flavor when smoking chicken. My favorite to use is applewood or cherry wood pellets. It's not too strong and gives a nice subtle flavor to the meat.
Try to stay away from mesquite wood which is very strong and will take over giving too much smoke flavor to the meat.
Old Pro Tips
- Make sure to finish the cook at a high temperature to achieve a nice crispy skin.
- Fruit woods impart the best smoke flavor on chicken.
- Use multiple temperature probes to get the most accurate internal temp readings.
- Tie the legs together prior to cooking to prevent overcooking.
FAQ
Brining the chicken and NOT smoking for the entire cook will keep the bird nice and juicy.
Only smoke a chicken at 225°F for less than 1.5 hours. Turn the heat up to 350-400 degrees fahrenheit to finish cooking.
NO. Place the chicken breast side up on the smoker and leave it that way throughout the entire cooking process.
Other Smoked Recipes
Ingredients
- 5 lb roaster chicken (giblets removed)
Brine
- ½ gallon buttermilk
- ¼ cup kosher salt
Seasoning Rub
- 3 tablespoon Traeger Chicken Rub
Equipment
Instructions
- Pre-heat smoker to 225°F.
- Remove giblets from inside of roaster chicken and rinse bird with fresh water.
- Add brine ingredients in a turkey roaster bag and add chicken to brine. Brine chicken for 6-12 hours in the refrigerator.
- Once finished brining, remove chicken and dry with paper towels. Tie the legs together with butcher twine. Coat with olive oil or butter. Make sure to get both sides of the bird and in between the skin and breast meat.
- Season bird with rub seasoning everywhere you put olive oil or butter.
- Lay chicken directly on grill rack breast side up and smoke for 1:15 minutes at 225°F. Turn up temperature to 350-400°F and cook until the internal temperature is 165°F when checked with an instant read thermometer.
- Let rest 10-15 minutes and serve.
Pro Tips
- Make sure to finish the cook at a high temperature to achieve a nice crispy skin.
- Fruit woods impart the best smoke flavor on chicken.
- Use multiple temperature probes to get the most accurate internal temp readings.
- Tie the legs together prior to cooking to prevent overcooking.
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