Traeger Smoked Chicken Thighs
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Traeger Smoked Chicken Thighs have a crispy skin and juicy dark meat – the best and most delicious chicken you can make! Bone-in chicken thighs are my favorite part of the chicken and smoking them on the Traeger makes them even better!
What You Will Love About Chicken Thighs on the Traeger
As with most things on the pellet smoker – it’s just so darned easy to make chicken thighs on the Traeger! (My grilled chicken thighs are killer!) This time around instead of a marinade – I used some new dry rub seasonings and they did NOT disappoint! Chicken thighs are so forgiving and using the bone-in, skin-on means they will be juicy & crispy every time!
Smoked Chicken Thigh Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 3 tbsp bbq rub – I used Sure Shot Sid’s for all these
Sure Shot Sid’s Gunpowder Seasoning & More
So the kind folks at Sure Shot Sid’s saw my amazing brisket post that used their famous Gunpowder seasoning and wanted to send me their latest blends of flavors and spices to try out. For these chicken thighs, I used (from favorite to least):
- Lime Pepper – I’m a sucker for lime – this was far and away my favorite and I can tell you – I’ve used it since then on chicken and vegetables! It’s a great all around seasoning to use for so many things!! It’s got salt, lime, pepper and more…so good!
- Smokey Bacon – pretty self-explanatory and very delicious! You can’t go wrong by adding the taste of bacon.
- Original Gunpowder – this is a smoky flavor with onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and more – but it also has that smoke flavor built in. We used this as a layer on the brisket and it really adds a lot. I’d layer this with the bacon!
- Roasted Coffee – still tasty but this was my least favorite. Again – I think if you layered this with other rich flavors – it would be a great addition.
They have other new flavors, including Chipotle Pepper, Original BBQ, Honey BBQ and Lemon Pepper. I really appreciate the folks at Sure Shot Sid’s loading me up with seasonings! You can find them in retail stores as well!
How to Smoke Chicken Thighs
Normally I smoke at 225º but I bumped the heat up to 275º which cut down the cooking time but still imparted plenty of smoke into the chicken and kept the tenderness level high!
- Preheat your smoker to 275 degrees F.
- Rinse chicken thighs and pat dry with a paper towel. Trim off excess fat and skin.
- Season on all sides of chicken thigh generously with spice rub
- Place chicken thighs skin side up on grill grates of Traeger. Skin side up insures you get that crispy chicken skin that everybody likes!
- Close the lid and smoke for approx an hour until internal temperature of chicken is 160º. Test with instant read meat thermometer.
- OPTIONAL: If you want to add your favorite barbecue sauce – this is the time to do it! Baste with BBQ sauce and close the lid. Leave on the Traeger for 5-10 minutes and let the heat bake that sauce into the skin.
- Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Tips, Tricks & FAQs
This smoked chicken thighs recipe is pretty simple but there are a few FAQs that I like to cover off on:
There are many flavors of pellets that work in your Traeger pellet grill. I keep it simple and always use the Traeger Signature Blend which is a blend of Maple and Cherry. That said if you’re looking for something specific for turkey – the best type of wood pellets for chicken are Maple, Apple and Cherry wood.
Nope – the air circulates around them – no need to flip. Just put them on and leave them be. Open the lid as little as possible.
Chicken is always done at 165º – I usually take the chicken off at 160º internal temperature because it will continue to cook and rise to 165º as it rests. Use an instant read thermometer to check your chicken – always!
My friend Nick introduced me to the wonderment of a smoke tube! It’s a metal tube with holes – fill that tube with Traeger pellets and then light it with a butane lighter. Once the pellets catch fire – let them get started – then blow the flames out. Set them in the grill and shut the lid. The smoke flavor is all those tubes will leave behind!
Store leftovers in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) in the refrigerator for up to a week. Reheat in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes at 250º.
What side dish to serve with Smoked Chicken recipes
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I absolutely love my Traeger Pellet Grill and you can pretty much use it right out of the box! But over the years I’ve definitely found that there are some Traeger smoker accessories that make everything a lot easier!
Traeger Smoked Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 3 tbsp bbq seasoning rub
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 275 degrees F.
- Rinse chicken thighs and pat dry with a paper towel. Trim off excess fat and skin.2 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Season on all sides of chicken thigh generously with spice rub3 tbsp bbq seasoning rub
- Place chicken thighs skin side up on grill grates of Traeger. Skin side up insures you get that crispy chicken skin that everybody likes!
- Close the lid and smoke for approx an hour until internal temperature of chicken is 160º. Test with instant read meat thermometer.
- OPTIONAL: If you want to add your favorite barbecue sauce – this is the time to do it! Baste with BBQ sauce and close the lid. Leave on the Traeger for 5-10 minutes and let the heat bake that sauce into the skin.
- Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
