I love ribs but they can take a lot of time and are very messy. My hubby has deemed this smoked chicken thighs recipe “the chicken that taste likes ribs.” So much so that now that is how we refer to them when planning out our meals for the week. I love them because they are pretty simple to make and are even doable on a week night.
How to Make Smoked Chicken Thighs
I use bone in chicken thighs with the skin on. Using bone in and keeping the skin on for most of the cooking keeps these thighs nice and juicy. Chicken thighs are also normally cheaper than purchasing chicken breast as well. I love being able to rotate chicken thighs into the rotation.
I try to get high quality chicken. Preferably regeneratively raised chickens where they are able to roam and eat a diet that nature intended all while helping build better soils. When chickens or any of the animals you eat are able to forage for their foods they provide better nutrition to us. I love buying from Pasture Bird. They are local to me but will ship all of the Unites States.
Dry Rub
Mix together a dry rub of coconut sugar, yellow mustard powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. I get most of my spices from Thrive Market. I have a lot of my staples setup on autoship so I never run out.
To ensure the dry rub gets on all of the chicken I will pull back the skin but not remove it from the chicken. After I place the dry rub on I put the skin back in place.
I then apply the rub to the rest of the chicken.
Smoker
Prep your smoker to be a 250 degrees and I like to use either apple or hickory wood chips/pellets. I have a propane smoker that has a tray for wood chips. Once ready place the chicken thighs skin side down and let smoke for 2 hours.
At the two hour mark remove the chicken from the smoker. We don’t eat the skin of the chicken in our house so I do remove them at this point but you can leave them on if you like. Next coat the chicken with the BBQ sauce ensuring all of the chicken is covered. My favorite BBQ sauce is the Kinder Organic Hot BBQ Sauce. We have tried a few others and that is our favorite for this recipe.
Then place the chicken back in the smoker for an additional 30 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. I place the chicken the none skin side down this time. Allowing for the BBQ sauce to pick up some smoke flavor. I think this is one of the key parts to making the chicken taste like ribs. Once finished remove the chicken and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy
This recipe pairs great with all the classic BBQ side dishes. I’d love to know what you think the chicken taste like ribs. Please leave a comment below.
Smoked Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard Powder
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 lb Chicken Thighs (Bone-in with Skin)
- 1/4 Cup BBQ Sauce (Suggest Kinder's Organic Hot BBQ)
Instructions
- Combine the coconut sugar and all spices in a small bowl to make a dry rub.
- Pace the chicken in a bowl or on a cutting board. Peal back the skin but do not remove it.
- Sprinkle the dry rub on the chicken ensuring to get under the skin and on the skin. Pull the skin back over the chicken.
- Prep your smoker to smoke at at 250 degrees with either apple or hickory chips/pellets.
- Place the chicken in the smoker skin side down. Let smoke for 2 hours.
- Remove chicken from smoker and remove skins. Pour the BBQ sauce on the chicken and coat it.
- Place chicken back in the smoker for an additional 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove from the smoker and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 306Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 755mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 27g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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