Crispy Spatchcock Chicken on a Pellet Grill

Today’s recipe is for a Spatchcock Chicken on a Pellet Grill.  This smoked chicken recipe will show you how to get great smoke flavor into the meat while also getting the skin cooked just right!

Smoked Spatchcock Chicken

Spatchcock and Season the Chicken

Get the chicken ready for the grill by using a pair of shears to cut the backbone out of the chicken and then pressing down on the top of the breasts to flatten the bird out.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and then lightly spray with Pam non-stick cooking spray.  The Pam is going to help the skin get browned and crisp while also helping the rub adhere.

I read this recipe for Traeger Spatchcock Chicken and loved the color the bird got from the Traeger Chicken Rub so I decided to use that for this chicken.  If you want to make your own batch of seasoning instead of paying way too much for a Traeger product, then let me point you over to our Award Winning Dry Rub for Chicken Recipe.

Coat the skin side of the chicken with as much rub as you can.

Traeger Chicken Rub

Brine or Inject the Chicken for More Flavor

This step is completely optional but, if you wanted to add more flavor to the chicken then you could use either a brine or injection.

For example, in this post for a Weber Q Spatchcock Chicken I used a bottle of Tony’s Creole Butter Injectable Marinade and it made the chicken super juicy.

If you feel like brining the bird instead then here is our recipe for a whole bird chicken brine.

You can get more flavor into a bird using an injection rather than a brine and the injection technique is also a lot faster.

Injection and Marinade for Spatchcock chicken

Smoke the Spatchcock Chicken at 350F on Your Pellet Grill

One of the biggest challenges in the world of smoking chickens is to get both:

  • Tasty Skin
  • Smoky Meat

If you cook the chicken “low and slow” at 250F then you will get great smoke flavor and a chewy, almost inedible skin.

If you cook the chicken “hot and fast” at 350F then you get great skin but little smoke flavor.

I tackled this problem by cooking the chicken hot and fast at 350F while using a smoke tube filled with smoldering wood pellets. I was cooking on a Z Grills pellet grill but the recipe will work fine with your Traeger or Pit Boss.

Spatchcock Chicken on Pellet Grill

I was using Royal Oak Charcoal Pellets in the smoke tube and the hopper and the smoke flavor was great.  Apple is another great wood choice for chicken.

The chicken goes on the pellet grill with the skin side up and is never flipped over during the cook.

Let the chicken cook for one hour or until an internal temperature of 165F is reached in the breast meat.

Slice and Serve the Spatchcock Chicken

Once the breast meat reaches an internal temperature of 165F pull the chicken off the grill and place it on a baking sheet.  Let the bird rest for about 10 minutes and collect any juices that collect in the baking sheet.

Cut the chicken into its various sections (wings, legs, thighs) and slice the breast meat into medallions.

Pour any collected juices over the meat and serve!

Sliced Smoked Chicken Pieces

Smoked Spatchcock Chicken

Spatchcock Chicken on a Pellet Grill

A whole chicken is butterflied, seasoned and then smoked at 350F until done.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Calories 325 kcal

Equipment

  • Smoke Tube

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Whole Chicken 4-5 lbs
  • 3 tbsp Poultry Seasoning
  • 2 tsp Pam Cooking Spray

Instructions
 

  • Butterfly the chicken by removing the backbone and flattening the breasts.
  • Pat the chicken dry with paper towels
  • Lightly spray the bird with Pam
  • Apply the dry rub to the skin side of the chicken.
  • Turn on your pellet grill and set the temperature to 350F.
  • Fill a smoke tube with pellets, light and place on the grill.
  • Place the chicken on the grill skin side up and cook for one hour or until the breast meat reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
Keyword Smoked Spatchcock Chicken