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I have to say that I have become quite addicted to smoking bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs on my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. They’re crazy easy and a lot more forgiving than say brisket or pork butt. And when they’re on sale they’re a tremendous bargain. I can fill my freezer with delicious pulled, chopped or shredded smoked chicken for darned near nothing. This right here is my go-to method for awesome smoked chicken thighs. You can use boneless and/or skinless but the bones and skin keep them moist and add tons of flavor. I pull the meat away and just chop it for whatever I want, be it sandwiches, nachos, backed potatoes…
Perfect Thighs with Tons of Flavor
I do not sauce my thighs while I’m smoking them. Since I’m not sure exactly how I’ll use the meat I keep it ‘dry’. You can always add sauce later, but you can’t un-sauce it. Well, not easily that’s for sure!
I prefer to use fruit or nut woods when I smoke unless I want a heavier smoke flavor. Pecan, apple or cherry are my favorites.
- Pecan wood chunks
- Provides a rich & Sweet flavor
If you prefer your chicken thighs cooked over charcoal, try my grilled sweet-n-spicy chicken thighs. Or go big and make my whole smoked turkey on a WSM (or any smoker for that matter).
Awesome Smoked Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 pounds chicken thighs family pack, bone in, skin-on
- brine see below
- Your favorite chicken seasoning
For the brine
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup apple juice
- 12 ounces Sprite
- ยฝ cup kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken into a large resealable container.
- Whisk together the brine ingredients until the salt has dissolved. Pour over the chicken.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Fire up your smoker for 225 F cooking. Use whichever wood you prefer (I went with apple).
- Remove chicken from the brine and rinse with cold water.
- Pat dry then sprinkle liberally with the rub on both sides.
- Tuck the skin underneath of the thighs and transfer to the smoker.
- Smoke for 2 hours or more until the internal temperature has reached 165 F.
- If you wish to sauce your thighs do so in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
- ใBILLOWING SMOKE AND BIG CAPACITYใ The pellet…
- ใUNFORGETTABLE FLAVORS FOR HOT AND COLD…