Whole Smoked Chicken – BGE
I originally got this recipe from the Virtual Weber Bullet and have modified it slightly for my tastes.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3-4 pd chicken whole
- 8 oz Italian dressing
- lemon pepper
- apple juice for basting
Instructions
The night before:
- Remove the giblets, neck bones, etc. and trim excess fat from around the cavity opening. Butterfly the chicken so it will lay flat. Rinse the bird inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
- Fold the wings back under the bird to keep out of the way. Place the bird in a Zip top bag and add the Italian dressing. Squeeze out as much air as possible and place in the refrigerator. Turn the bird several times to ensure even distribution of the marinade.
Next day, 45 minutes before cooking:
- Remove chicken from the refrigerator. Don't worry if the skin is kind of white. That's what the vinegar in the marinade does. Remove any excess Italian dressing but the bird should still be wet.
- Apply generous amounts of Lemon Pepper seasoning to all sides of the bird. Leave the bird on the counter to come to room temperature while you get the smoker ready.
Time to cook:
- Lite the smoker and bring it up to 250 degrees. Put your smoke wood on. Put your meat on to cook, using the indirect cooking method.
- In about 2 hours, rotate and turn the bird over. Baste with apple juice for a juicier finished product. Cook until the internal temperature is 180 degrees. Take the temperature in the meaty part of the thigh (about 4 hours total).