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If you want an evenly cooked juicy and tender bird, smoking a spatchcock chicken is the ONLY way to go. It cooks faster and comes out perfect every time!
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Video - Step by step
Why smoked spatchcock chicken is the best
By removing the backbone of a roaster chicken it makes it possible to lay the bird flat on the smoker rack where it can cook evenly, no more dry chicken! The process of removing the backbone is what is referred to as spatchcock.
- Juicy evenly cooked chicken
- Smoked flavor
- Cooks faster than a whole chicken
- Crispy skin
Once you learn how to smoke a spatchcock chicken, you will never cook chicken a different way.
How to prep the bird
A spatchcock chicken is a way to prepare the bird that lays the bird flat while cooking. This let's all parts of the chicken to cook evenly together so you don't have any dry meat, only juicy.
- Remove the backbone from a whole roaster chicken with a pair of kitchen scissors, poultry shears, or kitchen shears as they are commonly known.
- Then remove the giblets from inside the chicken
- Lay the chicken, breast side down, and cut on each side of the backbone removing it from the chicken.
- Flip the chicken over so the breast side is facing up and spread the bird out flat.
- Put the palm of your hand on the breast of the chicken and push down firmly. This will break the breastbone and allowing the chicken to lay even more flat.
Rinsing the bird
Using cold fresh water, rinse the chicken under the kitchen faucet removing any small bits left over from cutting the backbone out. Dry the chicken with paper towels.
Seasoning
Rub the entire chicken with olive oil, outside and inside. Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breast meat and cover inside with olive oil. The oil will help the skin crisp up, the BEST part of the chicken!
Using your favorite dry rub, season both sides of the bird to taste. Season in between the skin and breast meat as well.
I used Meat Church's Holy Voodoo seasoning rub when making this pellet smoker spatchcock chicken. I LOVE this seasoning and all it's spices. If you don't have a rub, I've included a great tasting homemade rub below.
Smokers, grills, & wood
Let's start by choosing a smoker or barbecue grill for making this spatchcock chicken.
These smokers and grills will churn out a nice crisp bird, you really can't go wrong with either method you choose to use.
Pellet Smokers
I'm smoking this pellet grilled spatchcock chicken on my wood pellet grill, just like the Camp Chef 36 smoker or Traeger 780. Wood pellet smokers are an easy and great way to impart fantastic smoke flavor and are extremely easy to use.
Offset Smokers
A traditional offset smoker is another great smoker to use. These can get very hot (which is great for cooking chicken) and are normally less expensive than a pellet smoker.
A traditional offset smoker, like this Oklahoma Joe's Smoker is a great option to use.
Grills
Using a charcoal grill or propane grill are also great ways to cook chicken. These are another great option when needing to achieve a very high heat and most people already own one in most cases.
I'm a Weber fan and love grilling over charcoal on the Weber Kettle grills. These are very inexpensive and are great for cooking all types of meats, especially chicken.
Best wood to use
My favorite wood to use when it comes to chicken are subtle flavored.
- Hickory wood
- Pecan wood
- Apple wood
- Cherry wood
Smoking the bird
The trick to smoked chicken is to NOT smoke it too long. Cooking chicken at low temperatures will make the skin rubbery and it won't have that nice crisp that you NEED to make a perfect chicken.
- Pre-heat your smoker to 225°F and lay the chicken, breast side up, directly on the grill.
- Smoke for 45 minutes to give it a great smoke flavor.
- After 45 minutes, increase the temperature of the smoker to 425°F. No need to remove the bird from the smoker while the temperature increases, just leave it on there.
- Continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F when read with an instant read thermometer in the breast and thigh of the bird.
This was another 45 minutes for me when cooking this chicken. So the total cooking time was 1hr 30 minutes.
- Remove the smoked chicken from the smoker and rest for 10-15 minutes. I do NOT tent in aluminum foil, this tends to soften that nice crispy skin and makes it soggy and wet.
- Cut the bird into pieces with a sharp knife and plate. (legs, wings, breasts)
Saucing the bird (optional)
If you want to add barbecue sauce to your smoked spatchcock chicken, the best time to do that is about 15°F before it's finished cooking.
When the chicken's internal temperature reaches 150°F, brush on your favorite bbq sauce. It will adhere to the bird nicely while it finishes cooking.
Perfect side dishes
Here are some of my favorite side dishes that accompany smoked spatchcock chicken perfectly and elevate the dishes flavor and taste to the next level.
FAQ
Not normally. Most store bought chickens are already injected with a salt water mixture to keep it moist. If you are buying an organic bird that is not injected, than brining will help keep it moist.
Always cook to temperature, not time. However, it takes about 1.5 hours to smoke a spatchcock chicken to perfection.
My favorite wood for chicken is hickory or applewood.
Yes! Spatchcock chicken turns out great on a grill.
Ingredients
- 5 lb roaster chicken (giblets removed)
Seasoning Rub
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat smoker to 225°F.
- Remove giblets from inside of roaster chicken and rinse bird with fresh water.
- With breast side down, cut on each side of backbone with poultry shears to remove the backbone.
- Turn chicken over, breast side up, and push down on the breasts with the palm of your hand firmly. This should break the breast bone allowing chicken to lay flat. Using your fingers, loosen the skin from the breast meat.
- Dry chicken with paper towels and then coat with olive oil. 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.
- Lay chicken directly on grill rack breast side up and smoke for 45 minutes. Turn up temperature to 425°F and cook until the internal temperature is 165°F when checked with an instant read thermometer, about another 45 minutes.
- Let rest 10-15 minutes and serve.
Pro Tips
- If using meat for sandwiches, tear the meat off the bones when the chicken is still warm. The meat comes off better when it's warm.
Lisa Cann
This is the most delicious, moist and tender chicken ever! I’ve made it twice and my family said “Best Chicken Ever”!
Cathy
Excellent recipe. Easy, way faster than doing a traditional bird on the smoker. The seasonings can be changed up depending on what you have on hand.
We used a mesquite rub and then followed the directions for the smoke time. Absolutely delicious, tender juicy meat and crispy skin. This will be our go to for smoked chicken.
Kari Kelch
This is the simplest, foolproof recipe. Our pellet grille does not have a 425 setting so I just use ‘high.’ Watched it carefully the first time and it smelled like it was burning up….but turned out PERFECT! I prep the chicken on a cooling rack and put the chicken and rack straight onto the smoker rack. Makes removing the hot chicken much easier.
$mittyzola
I do jerk marinated chicken in the pellet smoker and this method with a little pimento wood has allowed me to replicate authentic Boston Beach style jerk chicken!
Danielle
Great recipe! I would recommend chicken is near room temp before putting it on the grill. The second time I did it the chicken was right out of the fridge, ans I was pressed for time and it took about an extra hour and half to cook (my fault). Trying it again tonight. Thank you!
Terry H
Our absolute favorite way to smoke a whole chicken.
Rick Wilson
I cooked this today 9/13/2025. I added some oregano and rosemary to the rub, as I like those flavors. I also dry brined it with salt for 2-3 hours because I had time. It turned out awesome. Juicy and delicious. I will definitely use this recipe again.
darrin
Off the hook! I used alder chips and it was awesome!
Doug
How big was the chicken? That matters for timing a meal. Many recipes don't mention that. I have a 7 pound chicken, yours might be 4. Would help to estimate time.
Will
5lb chicken. It's stated in the recipe card along with all the ingredients.
Brian
This is a fantastic recipe! My family just loves the taste and how juicy the bird is when finished!
Rob Black
This was great! I decided to smoke at 220 for 2 hours and then up to 350 to cover the last 20 degrees or so. It still came out great! I did include a waterbath in the back of the smoker to keep it as humid as possible.
Deedles
Great flavor, crispy skin. This is now my favorite way to cook a whole chicken!
Will
Thanks! I LOVE this chicken too.
Russ Norris
I've used this method about a dozen times on my Oklahoma Joe's pellet smoker. Smoke to internal temps of your chicken indicated in the recipe and it will turn out great!
Mary Nourse
I followed the instructions and the chicken turned out perfectly. Thanks for sharing.
Paul Leslie
Absolutely cooked perfectly. Timing is right on
Sabrina
Great instructions, it was thorough and worked perfect, thanks!
Catherine
This was amazing!
Jim
Perfect. This my “go to” recipe for smoked spatchcock chicken.