How To Smoke Cajun Chicken
Smoking a Cajun chicken is a delicious way to spice up any dinner party with a dish that is a classic recipe inspired by the south. The ideal temperature to smoke the chicken at is long and slow at a temperature of 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit. This will allow the smoke from your wood chips to pierce the meat and allows the meat to cook slowly and absorb the smoky flavor of the wood chips. You want to allow between 2 to 5 hours to smoke a whole chicken depending on the weight of the bird. Because you will be cooking the meat on your smoker for such a long period of time, this recipe calls for injecting it to prevent it from drying out. You will know when your smoked chicken is done when the internal breast temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The Cajun recipe below will provide step by step instructions on how to inject and smoke the chicken, recipe ingredients, cooking time, and other smoking tips.
Smoking a Cajun chicken is a delicious way to spice up any dinner party with a dish that is a classic recipe inspired by the south. The ideal temperature to smoke the chicken at is long and slow at a temperature of 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit. This will allow the smoke from your wood chips to pierce the meat and allows the meat to cook slowly and absorb the smoky flavor of the wood chips. You want to allow between 2 to 5 hours to smoke a whole chicken depending on the weight of the bird. Because you will be cooking the meat on your smoker for such a long period of time, this recipe calls for injecting it to prevent it from drying out. You will know when your smoked chicken is done when the internal breast temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The Cajun recipe below will provide step by step instructions on how to inject and smoke the chicken, recipe ingredients, cooking time, and other smoking tips.
Smoked Chicken Recipe Ingredients
You can either purchase a Cajun seasoning off the shelf of your grocery store or use the recipe ingredients below to make your smoked Cajun chicken rub. Just make sure you fully coat the chicken with the seasoning inside and out to provide the maximum flavor in every bite. The thing that makes this recipe special is the hot sauce, but if you are not big on spicy foods, you can always use smaller amounts or substitute oil as the liquid for the rub.
You can either purchase a Cajun seasoning off the shelf of your grocery store or use the recipe ingredients below to make your smoked Cajun chicken rub. Just make sure you fully coat the chicken with the seasoning inside and out to provide the maximum flavor in every bite. The thing that makes this recipe special is the hot sauce, but if you are not big on spicy foods, you can always use smaller amounts or substitute oil as the liquid for the rub.
Smoked Cajun Chicken Injector Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 can chicken broth
- Louisiana-style hot sauce
- 1 meat injector
- 3-6 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bag of charcoal
- 1 bottle of lighter fluid or a charcoal chimney starter
- 1 or 2 bags of wood chips of your choice
- Aluminum foil
- Foil drip pan (optional for making gravy)
Smoking Cajun Chicken Recipe Directions
The average cooking time for smoked chicken is about 4 hours but will vary depending on the weight of the bird, the temperature and the type of smoker you are using, and how many times you open the lid during the cooking process. To check to see if the chicken is done you can use an instant-read meat thermometer. Stick it in the deepest part of the chicken breast and check for a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. See our meat doneness chart for a full list of different meat internal temperatures.
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- Start this recipe by soaking wood chips in water for an hour to two but no longer than two hours. Soaking these wood chips will allow them to smolder and smoke for a long period of time instead of lighting on fire and quickly burning up.
- The next step is to light your charcoal smoker approximately 30 to 35 minutes before you want to start cooking the Cajun chicken. The charcoal will be ready when all of the coals turn to a glowing white hot color.
- While you are waiting for the charcoal to set up, mix all of the Cajun chicken rub recipe ingredients together. Then fully coat the chicken inside and outside with the Cajun seasoning. Make sure you separate the skin and the breast of the chicken by sliding your fingers in between them. This will allow you to stuff the seasoning down this pocket and will add additional flavor throughout the smoking process.
- Mix the injector recipe ingredients together and use as much hot sauce as you can handle to inject into the bird with the chicken broth. Our recommended amount is to do a 30% hot sauce and 70% chicken broth mixture. Inject the bird in the breast meat, legs, and wings. This is an essential and final step in preparing your chicken for the smoker to prevent it from drying out.
- Wrap the water soaked wood chips in an aluminum foil pouch and punch holes in the top with a fork in order for the smoke to escape. Put the foil pouch above the charcoal at the same time you put the Cajun seasoned chicken on the smoker. You may need to add more foil pouches throughout the cooking process depending on how long your chicken takes to cook. You can place foil drip pans beneath the chicken during the smoking process to catch the drippings if you want to make gravy.
- You want to adjust the vent on top of your smoker to allow about 75% of the vent to be open. If your grill lid is adjustable, make sure the vents are positioned over the top of the chicken in order to draw all of the smoke over the chicken before it escapes the grill.
- Check the Cajun chicken about once an hour to see if you are holding the right temperature. Do not over check your chicken as this will add to your cooking time and will make the smoke escape and throw off the cooking process. You can also baste the bird with the Louisiana-style hot sauce (optional) during the smoking process to add another element of that Cajun flavor. If you are using a side smoker box grill, you will need to turn your chicken half way through the cooking process to ensure both sides are cooked evenly. See below for more information about cooking times and how to determine when your chicken is done.
The average cooking time for smoked chicken is about 4 hours but will vary depending on the weight of the bird, the temperature and the type of smoker you are using, and how many times you open the lid during the cooking process. To check to see if the chicken is done you can use an instant-read meat thermometer. Stick it in the deepest part of the chicken breast and check for a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. See our meat doneness chart for a full list of different meat internal temperatures.
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