Smoked Chicken

So as a follow up to my post about my nifty electric smoker, I thought I'd share the latest adventure in smoking.  My Dad has been saying how much he would like to smoke a chicken on his smoker, but just hasn't done it yet.  So I invited Mom and Dad out to the house and tested a recipe out to see if he would liked it.

When I smoke chickens, I use simple fryers.  I try and get birds that are hormone free, or as naturally raised as possible.  A fryer will range in price from 4-8 bucks a bird, depending on where you buy it and how "naturally" raised it was.  When I get it home, I split the bird down the back by cutting down it's backbone.  I like to use kitchen shears for this..it's easy and quick.  Once you slice down it's back, open up the bird to it's basically laying flat.  I rinse the chicken off, getting any remaining blood, and trim off the huge fat flaps near the backside.  After a basic clean up, I pat it dry with some paper towels and get the chicken ready for seasoning.  At this point,
you can pretty much season the chicken as you wish.  This run, I used a seasoning that my brother gave me for Christmas called "Butt Rub".  Pretty basic rub flavors and worked well.  Once seasoned liberally on BOTH SIDES, take the birds out and get them on your smoker.  If you are running at 225-250 degrees, they will take about 4-5 hours.  you want the temp to be around 170 and juices to be clear.

I've done this recipe many times and it's always a crowd pleaser.  Enjoy!