Smoked Whole Chicken

1. Remove the chicken from its packaging and remove any giblets from the cavity of the bird. Pat the whole chicken dry using paper towels.
2. In a small bowl, add all of the spices and mix to combine. Sprinkle the dry rub evenly over the whole body chicken and use your hands to lightly press the spices into the chicken.
3. Note: If you have the time, you can refrigerate your rubbed chicken for 12-24 hours. This is known as dry brining. Ours was chilling in the refrigerator for 2 hours before smoking.
4. When you’re ready to smoke the chicken, Preheat your smoker or pellet grill to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure there are enough pellets in the hopper.
5. Place chicken on the preheated smoker either breast-side down or breast-side up on the smoker.
6. Close the lid and allow chicken to smoke for 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the chicken. Checking the temperature of the meat with an instant-read thermometer. The chicken should be 165 degrees F before pulling it from the smoker grill. To check the internal temperature, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh and the thickest part of the breast. Most electric smokers (like a Traeger grill) come with an electric probe thermometer which can be used during the entirety of the cooking process.
7. If the chicken needs more time after 3 hours, you can adjust the temperature to 375 degrees in order to finish cooking.
8. After the chicken has finished smoking, transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet and let the chicken rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

How to Get Crispy Skin:

1. In order to achieve crisp skin out of this whole chicken recipe, you will need to adjust your smoker to a very hot setting for the last 8 to 15 minutes of cooking. To do so, change the smoker setting to 500 degrees once the internal temperature of the chicken is 125 to 130 degrees. This will give you time to crisp up the skin while not overcooking the inside of the chicken. Avoid overcooking the meat by performing this step well before the chicken is finished cooking.
2. This step results in crispier skin rather than rubbery skin.
3. Serve smoked whole chicken with your choice of side dishes and enjoy.