If you love the delicious flavor and aroma of real smoked chicken, you’ve come to the right place! Smoke your own whole chicken with these simple steps:

1. Choose your Chicken: When it comes to choosing the right chicken, our Fresh to Market Pure Air-Chilled Chicken is the smart choice—literally! We’ve partnered up with Smart Chicken to make sure our house brand of chicken is the best there is. Our Pure-Air Chilled Smart Chicken is humanely raised cage-free and vegetarian-fed with no added hormones or antibiotics ever. It's also free of added water and hand-trimmed for premium quality you can see and taste!
2. Spatchcock: This simple technique of splitting and flattening a whole chicken ensures quick and even cooking. To spatchcock a chicken, simply turn it breast-side down and use kitchen shears to cut along either side of the backbone, starting near the thighs. Remove the backbone, then flip chicken over, split it open and press firmly to flatten it (the breastbone will crack in the process). Don't want to DIY? Ask one of our Butchers to do it for you!
3. Brine: Brining chicken and other proteins is a fantastic way to help the meat retain its moisture and impart extra flavor. Get creative and make your own with these easy tips.
4. Smoke: For the finishing touch, smoke your chicken on the barbecue or in a smoker to infuse it with rich, complex flavor. On your barbecue, start cooking over direct heat with the lid on to brown the meat, then flip the chicken over and cover to brown the other side. Once the chicken has a good color to it, move it to indirect heat and replace the lid to finish cooking. NOTE: The safe internal temperature for chicken is 165°F.

Ready to get started? Try our recipe for Brined & Smoked Spatchcocked Chicken with Lillie's Q Ivory Barbeque Sauce! 

P.S. If you don’t have a smoker, we can help with that, too! Check out our blog on how to convert a gas grill into a DIY smoker.