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- 1
Dry-brine and air-dry the night before
Pat the bone-in, skin-on thighs bone dry with paper towels. Season them all over with the kosher salt, then set them skin-side up on a rack over a sheet pan and leave them uncovered in the fridge for at least 4 hours, overnight if you can. This isn't optional fuss. The salt seasons deep and the open air dries the skin into a tacky pellicle, and that pellicle is the whole reason your skin takes smoke and firms up instead of turning to rubber. Wet skin is why most people's smoked chicken skin is no good.
- 2
Mix the rub
Combine the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. That's a balanced poultry rub: a little sugar for color, paprika for bark, enough cayenne to wake it up without lighting it on fire. Notice there's no salt in the rub. You already salted in the dry-brine, so don't double up.
- 3
Trim and season
Right before they go on, rub the thighs with the olive oil so the spices grab, then coat them top and bottom with the rub, and work a little up under the skin while you're at it. If any thighs have a flap of loose skin hanging off the edge, trim it flush so it doesn't flare and burn. Skin-side up from here on out.
- 4
Fire the smoker to 250 and pick the right wood
Get the smoker steady at 250 degrees F. For poultry you want a mild fruit wood, apple or cherry, and cherry will give you a deeper mahogany color on the skin. Do not reach for hickory or mesquite here. Those are made for beef and pork; on chicken they turn harsh and acrid because chicken takes smoke fast and doesn't cook long enough to mellow it out.
- 5
Smoke low and slow
Lay the thighs skin-side up directly on the grate, close the lid, and leave them alone. Let them ride until the thickest part of the meat hits about 175 degrees F, usually 1 to 1.5 hours. Here's where people go wrong: 165 is the safe minimum, but chicken thighs are dark meat full of connective tissue, and pulled at 165 they're tough and rubbery. Take dark meat to 175, even 185, and it goes tender and juicy. The thermometer runs this cook, not the clock.
- 6
Sauce and set the skin
Once they're at 175, brush the thighs with a thin coat of barbecue sauce and give them another 15 to 20 minutes on the smoker to let the sauce tack up and set into a glaze. If your skin still isn't where you want it, crank the pit to 400 or move the thighs over direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes to crisp it, watching close so the sugar in the sauce doesn't scorch.
- 7
Rest and serve
Pull the thighs and let them rest 5 to 10 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat. Serve them up. If you did the dry-brine and held your temps, you get bite-through skin, a clean smoke ring under it, and dark meat that's tender all the way to the bone.
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Smoked Chicken Thighs
Created by: SmokeRingSteve
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Dry-brine and air-dry the night beforePat the bone-in, skin-on thighs bone dry with paper towels. Season them all over with the kosher salt, then set them skin-side up on a rack over a sheet pan and leave them uncovered in the fridge for at least 4 hours, overnight if you can. This isn't optional fuss. The salt seasons deep and the open air dries the skin into a tacky pellicle, and that pellicle is the whole reason your skin takes smoke and firms up instead of turning to rubber. Wet skin is why most people's smoked chicken skin is no good.
- Mix the rubCombine the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. That's a balanced poultry rub: a little sugar for color, paprika for bark, enough cayenne to wake it up without lighting it on fire. Notice there's no salt in the rub. You already salted in the dry-brine, so don't double up.
- Trim and seasonRight before they go on, rub the thighs with the olive oil so the spices grab, then coat them top and bottom with the rub, and work a little up under the skin while you're at it. If any thighs have a flap of loose skin hanging off the edge, trim it flush so it doesn't flare and burn. Skin-side up from here on out.
- Fire the smoker to 250 and pick the right woodGet the smoker steady at 250 degrees F. For poultry you want a mild fruit wood, apple or cherry, and cherry will give you a deeper mahogany color on the skin. Do not reach for hickory or mesquite here. Those are made for beef and pork; on chicken they turn harsh and acrid because chicken takes smoke fast and doesn't cook long enough to mellow it out.
- Smoke low and slowLay the thighs skin-side up directly on the grate, close the lid, and leave them alone. Let them ride until the thickest part of the meat hits about 175 degrees F, usually 1 to 1.5 hours. Here's where people go wrong: 165 is the safe minimum, but chicken thighs are dark meat full of connective tissue, and pulled at 165 they're tough and rubbery. Take dark meat to 175, even 185, and it goes tender and juicy. The thermometer runs this cook, not the clock.
- Sauce and set the skinOnce they're at 175, brush the thighs with a thin coat of barbecue sauce and give them another 15 to 20 minutes on the smoker to let the sauce tack up and set into a glaze. If your skin still isn't where you want it, crank the pit to 400 or move the thighs over direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes to crisp it, watching close so the sugar in the sauce doesn't scorch.
- Rest and servePull the thighs and let them rest 5 to 10 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat. Serve them up. If you did the dry-brine and held your temps, you get bite-through skin, a clean smoke ring under it, and dark meat that's tender all the way to the bone.