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a dark brown smoked whole chicken resting on a light brown cutting board with silver tongs and a meat thermometer in the background
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4.50 from 14 votes

Traeger Whole Smoked Chicken Recipe

Dry brine and smoke a whole chicken on a pellet smoker for a delicious, tender, and juicy chicken dinner.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time3 hours 30 minutes
Resting Time20 minutes
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, smoked, traeger grill
Servings: 4
Calories: 510kcal

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan with wire rack
  • 1 large cutting board
  • 1 sharp knife
  • kitchen string

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 2 tablespoon Traeger Gill seasoning
  • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

Dry Brine the Chicken

  • Line a sheet pan with paper towels and place wire rack inside. The paper towel is only meant to catch any liquid that drains off the chicken. We don't need chicken juice moving around on a sheet pan.
  • Prepare the whole chicken by removing it from all packaging. Remove any pieces from inside the chicken such as the neck or extras if those are packaged inside.
  • Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
  • Gently loosen the skin around the chicken breast, legs and thighs.
  • Sprinkle seasoning under the skin and rub into the breast meat, legs, and thighs. Lightly sprinkle seasoning on the outside skin of the chicken.
  • Tuck the wings behind the back. Pull the legs together and tie with the kitchen string. We will undo this when it's time to spread the butter, but this step helps the chicken hold together while it dry brines. Dry brining will firm up the whole chicken.
  • Place the chicken on the sheet pan fitted with a wire rack. Put in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight.

Smoking the Whole Chicken

  • Remove the dry brined chicken from the refrigerator and leave on the counter to come to room temperature for 20 minutes.
  • Preheat the Traeger Grill to 225F.
  • Untie the legs. Spread room temperature unsalted butter underneath the skin and on the outside of the whole chicken. The skin will have dried quite a bit and that makes spreading butter over the meat easier.
  • Tie the legs back together.
  • Place the chicken on the rack in the center of the Traeger Grill. Close the lid. Cook at 225F for 3 hours.
  • Increase the temperature to 325F and cook for an additional 30 minutes. This will allow the skin to get extra crispy and ensures doneness all the way through.
  • Using an instant meat thermometer, take the temperature on the chicken breast. The chicken is fully cooked when the temperature of the breast meat reads 160-165F and the thighs read 180F.
  • Remove the cooked chicken to a large cutting board. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before cutting.

Notes

Other recommended rubs: Traeger brand Chicken Rub- citrus black pepper.
Make your own rubs with salt, brown sugar, granulated garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, and white pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 510kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 135mg | Potassium: 363mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 616IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 2mg