Smoked Hanging Chicken in my Oklahoma Joe Bronco drum smoker today. I love cooking chicken this way, especially because the smoker makes it so easy! I did a simple seasoning mix on this and then topped it with an Alabama White Sauce. It’s crazy to know how simple this recipe is, yet so extremely delicious! If you’ve never tried to cook a hanging chicken, let this be your sign that it’s time to give it a go!
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Hanging Chicken Before It’s Smoked
Like all my hanging chicken recipes, this one starts by trussing a whole chicken. I grabbed my trussing string, cut a long piece of it and soaked it in a bowl of water. It’s important to soak the trussing string for a bit so that it doesn’t catch fire in the cooking process. If that happens, your smoked hanging chicken will turn to a chicken on the coals recipe real fast. Ha!
In my cookbook, Food X Fire, I have a whole section dedicated to how I truss a chicken. I include instructions as well as tips and tricks from what I’ve learned in my cooking journey. Definitely check it out! If not, there’s a variety of ways to truss a chicken, so do a quick internet search and find your favorite way.
After the chicken is trussed, it’s time for seasoning. I lathered the chicken with some oil and mixed all my seasoning ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. From here, cover every inch of that chicken in seasoning. I’m talking, under the wings, legs and even the inside cavity if you’d like. Now, let’s take it out to the Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco. Smoked Hanging Chicken coming right up!
Putting the Smoked in this Smoked Hanging Chicken
Instead of arrange the chicken on the grill grate, like these smoked chicken thighs, you hang the chicken in the center of the preheated smoker. Then close the drum and let the chicken cook for 4 hours. Check on the chicken periodically and turn/flip the chicken as needed. The great thing about cooking this in my Bronco drum smoker is the even distribution and consistency of heat. I only needed to flip my chicken once because the circulation of heat was so great. Remember, we cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. We will leave it in the smoker until it hits that internal temperature.
While the chicken is cooking, let’s throw together the Alabama White Sauce. I love the sharp, but also creaminess of this sauce. It brings about a whole different side to this dish and is great for drizzling over this smoked hanging chicken or used as a dipping sauce. All you have to do is mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Then, set in the fridge to chill while we wait for the chicken to finish up.
Winner, Winner Chicken for Dinner
Pull the smoked hanging chicken from the Bronco once it hits internal temperature. I placed mine directly on the cutting board, let it cool for a second and then got to slicing. I broke the chicken down to legs, drumsticks, wings and breast. Then, I drizzled that Alabama White Sauce all across the chicken on the serving dish. Lastly, I garnished it with some chopped parsley and dug in. Best enjoyed with friends and family. Cheers!
Smoked Hanging Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 Whole Roasted Chicken
- 2 tsp of Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp of Black Pepper
- 2 tsp of Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp of Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp of Dried Thyme
- 1 tsp of Cayenne Powder
- 2 tsp of Canola Oil
- Chopped Parsley for garnish
OTFC Alabama White Sauce:
- 1 cup of Mayonnaise
- 1.5 tbsp of Spicy Mustard
- 1 tbsp of White Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp of Prepared Horseradish
- 1 tsp of Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp of Black Pepper
- 1 tsp of Hot Sauce
- 1 Lemon juiced
Instructions
- Begin by trussing your chicken with some wet trussing string. Lather your chicken in oil. Add to a bowl the salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, thyme and cayenne. Thoroughly season your chicken and set in the fridge for 1 hour to set.
- Preheat your Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco to medium-low (around 250F) adding one of the hanging racks inside.
- Hook your chicken on the trussing string with a butcher hook and set in the smoker for about 4 hours, flipping halfway through, until the chicken reaches 165F in the breast and 170F+ in the thighs. Once done, pull it off and rest for 5 minutes.
- Add all the ingredients for the OTFC Alabama White Sauce to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Slice up the chicken, drizzle some of the sauce over top, garnish with parsley and enjoy!
This hung, Smoked Yardbird recipe looks like fun and I’m going to do it in my P.B.C. plus the Alabama White Sauce will be made.to go with it. I bought your cookbook but can’t decide where to begin because everything looks so good.