How Long Does it Take to Smoke Chicken?
Smoking chicken is a timeless cooking technique that requires patience and a willingness to reward your taste buds. When smoking chicken, the answer to this question is crucial. Whether you’re a seasoned pitmaster or a BBQ newbie, understanding how long to smoke chicken is vital for achieving tender, flavorful meat. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of smoking chicken and answer the question, "How long does it take to smoke chicken?"
Step 1: Prepare Your Ingredients
Before answering the primary question, let’s ensure we’ve set the stage for a delicious smoke-fest. The ingredients, equipment, and wood types may vary depending on the chicken pieces being smoked. For simplicity, let’s use a whole chicken or some boneless breast and thighs for our reference.
- Brine time: 14-18 hours (optional but highly recommended!)
- Wet-bringing or dry-rubbed chicken, especially whole pieces, benefit from extended soaking (brining). This process absorbs flavors and helps reduce cooking times.
- Marinate time (optional): 2-8 hours
- Flavor-infused marinades may require attention, as extended exposure may lead to mushiness.
- Towel-dried and brought to room temp: about 30 minutes before smoking
Step 2: Start Your Pit
For newbies or those seeking ease, let’s summarize the basic smoking technique:
- Fill your smoker with preferred wood shavings or pellets.
- Soak the wood before use; this will reduce smoky aromas.
- Close the lid (if you haven’t yet).
- Adjust venting if necessary, maintaining around 18-20°F temperature tolerance.
- If using an electronic temperature controller: set target 275-325°F, depending on smoker and intended outcome.
Timings: Total Estimated Smoke Times
| Chicken piece | Pre-smoke timing (min-hrs) | Actual smoker time | Done indicator |
| — | — | — | — |—
| Whole Chicken (thigs, legs & breast | – | 8-10 hours | Inflated meat |
|(bone-in 2,5-3ibs, 18-20 lbs | |
|Fatty and not fully moist | 6 hours |
|| Boneless Chicken breasts and legs | – |
|8-10 | Not required | Soft interior | Moisture reading (>3 in 5lbs/227g) | Thigh with 150/16C for 20-minute temp soak |
| Debone thighs+legs & wings |- | – |
& – &
| 3 & & Boneless |
|-&=&& Boneless=
If you prefer crisper meat, you may start the timer right after bringing time. In many cases, for a full hour at any temperature, there has to ensure that chicken doesn’t
Key considerations and caveats
Some tips we should always adhere to
If you notice how this helps you avoid errors:
you can still follow with another 2
As to other factors
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