Smoked spatchcock chicken on the Traeger pellet grill is the only way to go! It’s tender, it’s juicy, it’s crispy, and of course it’s extra crispy! Sip Bite Go’s EPIC recipe will show you how to smoke Traeger spatchcocked chicken to perfection. Time to fire up the smoker!
How do you spatchcock a chicken?
Start by placing the chicken breast side DOWN on a cutting board. Removing the backbone is done by using a sharp pair of kitchen shears and cutting along each side of the backbone. After cutting down each side of the backbone, you should easily be able to pull out the backbone.
Next, you’ll want to flip the chicken so it’s facing breast side UP on the cutting board. Using the palms of your hand, press down firmly on the center of the chicken breasts to fully flatten out the chicken. It should lay flat on the board when done. Now you have a spatchcocked chicken that’s ready for smoking.
How long to smoke spatchcock chicken?
It takes 60 – 90 minutes to fully cook the chicken. Please keep in mind that timing will change depending on the size of the chicken and the temperature that you smoke it. Always use an internal read thermometer and cook to 165 degrees F temperature vs cooking to a specific time. In any case, you can expect a spatchcocked chicken to cook a lot faster than a non-spatchcocked whole chicken.
What temp to smoke spatchcock chicken?
In this recipe I uses three different temperatures. I first started the smoker at 225 degrees F set on ‘super smoke’ (if you have it) to blast it with its initial smoky flavor. I then increased the temperature to 400 degrees F and finished the bird at 450 degrees F to crisp up the skin after the butter baste.
Do you need to flip a spatchcocked chicken when it’s smoking?
No, you do not need to flip the chicken during the smoke. Keep it breast / meat side UP the entire time.
How do you get crispy skin on a smoked spatchcock chicken?
Follow these three steps…
1). You increase the smoker temperature to at least 400 degrees F after 30 minutes of smoking at a lower temperature like 225 degrees F.
2). You add a butter or oil baste on top of the chicken skin. This will help crisp up the skin.
3). You increase the smoker temperature again to 450 degrees F for the last 15 minutes of the cooking time to give the chicken one final blast of heat which will crisp up the skin.
How do you carve a cooked spatchcock chicken?
First, lay the cooked spatchcocked chicken on a cutting board. Grab a sharp knife and start by removing the legs / thighs. Gently run the knife along the thigh bone while pulling the leg a bit with your other hand. If done properly, you should pull off the leg and thigh in one piece. You can follow the same steps for each wing.
For the chicken breasts, there is a breast bone that runs down the center. Use your knife and run it along each side of the breast bone (that’s directly in the center of the breasts). Use your free hand to slowly pull away the chicken breast as you cut alongside the bone. You do this for each chicken breast, so you’re making two cuts in total. When you’re done, you should have two equal pieces of boneless chicken breasts (skin still intact).
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make Smoked Spatchcock Chicken.
- Whole chicken (I’ll teach you how to spatchcock it)
- Olive oil
- BBQ rub, or any chicken / poultry dry rub seasoning you’d like
- Butter (optional, for crisping skin toward the end of smoking it)
- Parsley, or fresh herbs of your choice, optional for serving
How to smoke a spatchcock chicken
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Detailed recipe steps
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F.
- Prep whole chicken for smoking. (skip if you’re smoking an already spatchcocked chicken) Remove whole chicken from packaging and discard extra chicken parts (giblets). Rinse if desired.
- Spatchcock whole chicken for smoking it by flipping it back bone side up (breast side down) on a large cutting surface. I like to use a baking sheet with a rim to catch chicken juice. And I like to use gloves and kitchen shears. Cut along each side of the backbone, remove and discard it.
- Flip spatchcocked chicken upside down (breast facing up) and push on the breast, to flatten it out and help it smoke evenly. This should break the breast bone so it lays flat.
- Season spatchcocked chicken by first patting it dry with a paper towel, to help the seasonings stick. Then drizzle on olive oil and rub it in with a good ol’ massage. Lastly, sprinkle seasonings all over the chicken (as much as you’d like), and rub in the seasoning.
- Smoke chicken for 30 minutes at 225 degrees F. Place the spatchcocked chicken in the smoker, directly on the grill grates, with breast side up. Close the lid to the Traeger and hit the “super smoke” button. This will help you get more smoke flavor from the pellet grill. Basically, you’re going to blast it with a smoky flavor for a half hour at a low smoke temperature, then crank it up in the next step.
- Crank the smoker up to 400 degrees F, while leaving the partially smoked spatchcock chicken in there. Continue smoking the bird. NOTE: This is a good time to add a thermometer to the chicken, if you have a probe you can leave in while smoking (see my recommendations in this post).
- Brush on melted butter (optional step for extra crispy skin) when spatchcock chicken smokes to about 15 degrees LESS than the done temp of 165 degrees F (around 150-155 degrees F), it’s time to brush on melted butter. (I usually pull mine OFF / finish smoking it completely at 165 degrees F or 170 degrees F, as measured in the thickest part of the thigh, and it continues coming up to temp a bit. That’s where I arrive at the “brush the butter temp” of 150-155 degrees math-wise. Now, some people like to smoke whole spatchcocked chickens to 180 degrees F. So do what’s right for you. )
- Crank the smoker up to 450 degrees F to finish smoking with crispy skin.
- Remove Traeger spatchcock smoked chicken when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (or 170, 180 depending on your preference) as measured with an internal read thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken thigh. (Also see how to make smoked chicken thighs – they’re so good!)
- Finish smoker spatchcocked chicken with a sprinkle of fresh herb, if desired. Rest for 20 minutes, slice / carve, and enjoy.
Also check out these smoked red potatoes and smoked asparagus for other tasty side dish ideas for this chicken.
Next up? Learn how to smoke a ham…
Tasty whole chicken recipes from Sip Bite Go
- Pellet smoker beer can chicken
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked spatchcock chicken
- Air fry whole chicken
- Sous vide whole chicken
- Crock pot whole chicken
- Vacuum seal whole chicken
- How to spatchcock chicken
Next, see how to make smoked pulled chicken…
Can’t wait to hear what you think!
I’d love to know how your version turned out! Drop a rating and leave a comment below to help the Sip Bite Go community. And if you snapped any photos, tag me on Instagram—I love sharing reader pics in my Stories!
Feel inspired to cook with my free Foodie Friday newsletter.
EPIC Crispy Skin Smoked Spatchcock Chicken Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Video
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken I’ll teach you how to spatchcock it
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp BBQ rub or any chicken / poultry dry rub seasoning you’d like
- 2 tbsp butter salted, melted (optional, for crisping skin toward the end of smoking it)
- 1 tbsp parsley or fresh herbs of your choice, optional for serving
Instructions
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F.
- Prep whole chicken for smoking. (skip if you’re smoking an already spatchcocked chicken) Remove whole chicken from packaging and discard extra chicken parts (giblets). Rinse if desired.
- Spatchcock whole chicken by flipping it so the back bone side is up (breast side down) on a large cutting surface. I like to use a baking sheet with a rim to catch chicken juice. And I like to use gloves and kitchen shears. Cut along each side of the backbone, remove and discard it.
- Flip spatchcocked chicken upside down (breast facing up) and push on the breast, to flatten it out and help it smoke evenly. This should break the breast bone so it lays flat.
- Season spatchcocked chicken by first patting it dry with paper towel, to help the seasonings stick. Then drizzle on olive oil and rub it in with a good ol’ massage. Lastly, sprinkle seasonings all over the chicken (as much as you’d like), and rub in the seasoning.
- Smoke chicken for 30 minutes at 225 degrees F. Place the spatchcocked chicken in the smoker, directly on the grill grates, with breast side up. Close the lid to the Traeger and hit the “super smoke” button. This will help you get more smoke flavor from the pellet grill. Basically, you’re going to blast it with a smoky flavor for a half hour at a low smoke temperature, then crank it up in the next step.
- Crank the smoker up to 400 degrees F, while leaving the partially smoked spatchcock chicken in there. Continue smoking the bird. NOTE: This is a good time to add a thermometer to the chicken, if you have a probe you can leave in while smoking (see my recommendations in this post).
- Brush on melted butter (optional step for extra crispy skin) when spatchcock chicken smokes to about 15 degrees LESS than your desired done temp, it’s time to brush on melted butter. For this recipe demonstration, that targeted "done temp" for me was around 165 degrees F or 170 degrees F (so butter was brushed on around the chicken reaching 150-155 degrees F internally). (Now, some people like to smoke whole spatchcocked chickens to 180 degrees F. So do what’s right for you.)
- Crank the smoker up to 450 degrees F to finish smoking with crispy skin.
- Remove Traeger spatchcock smoked chicken when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (or 170, 180 depending on your preference) as measured with an internal read thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken thigh. (Also see how to make smoked chicken thighs – they’re so good!)
- Finish smoker spatchcocked chicken with a sprinkle of fresh herbs, if desired. Rest for 20 minutes, slice / carve, and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE
Pro tip: One of my go-to tricks for perfectly cooked food every time is using the right BBQ meat thermometers.
Paul Holverson says
Friend is bringing split chickens over can I do this with them ?
Chris Fowler says
Loved this recipe. I had done whole chickens in the past, but the spatchcock has a better result. Also, if you fire up the grill, might as well cook two of them at a time. Eat one off the grill, and pull the second for other recipes calling for cooked chicken.
Jenna Passaro says
Glad it worked out! You can find a lot of updated smoked chicken recipes on the Sip Bite Go youtube channel too
Erica says
Absolutely perfect! I adjusted a turkey spatchcock recipe to follow this one because the flavor & skin was so delicious.