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hickory smoked whole chicken

(1 rating)
GonzoHog avatar
Recipe by
Christopher Gonzalez
@GonzoHog
Greenwood, AR

Serve this chicken any way you choose. The chicken or the bacon makes' awesome sandwiches with fresh tomato slices straight out of the garden!

(1 rating)
yield 4 to 6
prep time 40 Min
cook time 5 Hr
method Smoke

Ingredients For hickory smoked whole chicken

  • 1 lg
    whole chicken (4 to 5 lbs.)
  • 1
    meat injector
  • 1 sm
    bottle apple juice (12 to 16 ozs.)
  • 1 pkg
    mccormick's tennessee smokehouse bbq rub (for chicken)
  • 1/2 lg
    yellow onion
  • 1 lb
    thick cut bacon
  • 2 (18 inch sheet
    heavy duty tinfoil
  • 1
    wood burning smoker
  • 4 handfuls
    dry kinling (small dry wood)
  • 6 small
    sticks seasoned hickory (1 inch in diameter)
  • 6 sticks md
    hickory (3 inches in diameter)

How To Make hickory smoked whole chicken

  • 1
    Inject chicken all over with apple juice, covering as much of the chicken as possible. Rub the chicken inside and out with rub. (use entire package)
  • 2
    Cut 1 yellow onion in half. Leave the root core in tact, so the onion won't come apart, and slice onion half into 1/4 inch slices.
  • 3
    After half the onion is sliced, take half the slices and shove into the cavity. Take the other half of the slices and place on top of the chicken with the breast side up, fanning them out as much as possible. (Make sure the chicken is laying on it's back!)
  • 4
    Next, take half the bacon and place horizontally on the chicken until covered all the way across. Then take the other half and criss-cross vertically.
  • 5
    Take the chicken and place onto first piece of tinfoil horizontally and wrap completely around. Take the next piece and wrap vertically completely around.
  • 6
    Using a kitchen knife, poke several holes into the bottom of tinfoil and chicken. (Again, make sure the breast side is up!) Refrigerate for 24 hours.
  • 7
    The next day, plan your meal about 5 1/2 hours after lighting your smoker. After the kinling has been lit, allow it to burn down until flame is only 3 or 4 inches high. Add 3 small pieces of hickory, and 3 more medium sized pieces on top.
  • 8
    Keep a close eye on your temp. Make sure you average 220 degrees throughout the process. Add hickory sticks when neccesary. Don't allow heat to go over 240 or under 200 ideally. (Keep water on hand for dowsing) Check chicken with a knife after 4 1/2 hours. If chicken is still pink, check every 30 minutes until done.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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