Primo Smoked BBQ Chicken

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You have options when preparing chicken on the Primo.  You can decide to smoke it or grill it, sauce it or not, cook whole or in pieces, direct or indirect, high heat or low heat.  All methods have pros and cons and will depend on your preference- however, we would recommend a “high heat smoke” to create awesome BBQ Chicken on the Primo.  You won’t be disappointed.

No matter how you prepare your chicken, we would always recommend soaking it in a brine for at least a few hours to overnight. We like to use a combination of Kosmos Q Chicken Soak and Goya's Bitter Orange. Your volume will depend on the size of the container and how much chicken you are preparing. Here, we have enough to fill two grills including leg quarters, thighs, and bone-in skin-on breasts.

No matter how you prepare your chicken, we would always recommend soaking it in a brine for at least a few hours to overnight. We like to use a combination of Kosmos Q Chicken Soak and Goya’s Bitter Orange. Your volume will depend on the size of the container and how much chicken you are preparing.  To prepare your own brine use a base ratio of 1/2 cup salt to gallon of water and add whatever flavors (herbs, spices, acids etc) you desire.  Here, we have enough chicken to fill two Oval XL grills including leg quarters, thighs, and bone-in skin-on breasts.

Before you rub your chicken, prepare your Primo for smoking.

Before you rub your chicken, prepare your Primo for smoking.  We would recommend a 3 to 1 apple wood to hickory chip ratio for chicken – chicken can usually handle a few handfuls of chips.  When ready, pull chicken out of the brine and rub the chicken well.  Here is our basic rub recipe.

"Hot Smoke" the chicken at 275 to 325 until the internal temp is 160 or so.

“Hot Smoke” the chicken at 275 to 325 until the internal temp is 160 or so.

Once the interanl temp is 160 or so (a Thermopen is a wonderful too here) glaze the chicken with your favorite sauce.

Once the interanl temp is 160 or so (a Thermapen is a wonderful tool here) glaze the chicken with your favorite sauce.

Continue cooking the chicken to set the glaze until the internal temp is 175 to 180.

Continue cooking the chicken to set the glaze until the internal temp is 175 to 180.  Enjoy!

Alternatively, you can keep things as simple as rubbing kosher salt on a whole chicken. Also, here is our chicken wing method.

Alternatively, you can keep things as simple as rubbing kosher salt on a whole chicken and use the same smoking/temperature guidelines.   You could also choose not to use the d plates and grill the chicken- this will allow for a crispier skin. Also, here is our chicken wing method.

This method also works great with chicken thighs.

This method also works great with chicken thighs!

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