Smoked Chicken Thighs Recipe

These smoked chicken thighs are coated in a homemade spice rub then cooked in a smoker to tender and flavorful perfection. Serve these chicken thighs your favorite barbecue sauce for your next outdoor gathering!

Chicken thighs are an inexpensive and flavor filled cut of meat. They’re the perfect candidate for the smoker and are great for feeding a crowd. Serve your smoked chicken thighs with Mexican coleslaw, honey cornbread, candied carrots or pesto pasta salad for a complete meal.

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Smoked Chicken Thighs Ingredients

When you make smoked chicken thighs you will want to have bone in, skin on chicken thighs, BBQ rub and BBQ sauce.

How Do You Make Smoked Chicken Thighs?

The first step to make this smoked chicken thighs recipe is to coat your thighs in a BBQ rub. Be sure to rub the spices both on top of and under the skin of the chicken for the maximum amount of flavor. After you coat them in rub, place them into your heated smoker until they cook to tender perfection. Brush on a little barbecue sauce, then cook the chicken a few more minutes and dinner is ready!

How Do You Cook Chicken In A Smoker?

The chicken needs to smoke until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F. This takes approximately 2 1/2 – 3 hours depending on the size of your thighs. The recipe calls for a smoker temperature of 250 degrees F.

Tips For The Perfect Smoked Chicken Thighs

• You can really serve these smoked chicken thighs with just the rub as seasoning. However, I do add a little barbecue sauce for added flavor and moisture. Brush the barbeque sauce on the chicken during the last 10 minutes of the smoking process.
• Make sure to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
• You can smoke your chicken directly on the smoker grates or in an aluminum foil pan for easy cleanup.
• You can use a store bought BBQ rub or make your own BBQ rub. I prefer my BBQ rub that is a combination of brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and other spices. I make extra and keep it in a resealable bag for whenever I need it!
• Feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce from the store or you can make my super tangy and flavorful homemade BBQ sauce.
• I often make a double batch of smoked chicken thighs. The leftovers are great to use in other dinners during the week. I make pulled chicken sandwiches, bbq chicken salads, and this chicken is even great served on a pizza or in a pasta dish.

Flavor Variations

This recipe make delicious smoked chicken thighs; however, you can change up the recipe to suit your taste:

• Chicken: You can also use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts if you prefer white meat. For other smoked chicken take a look at my smoked chicken wings, whole smoked chicken and boneless, skinless smoked chicken breast.
• Spicy: For a spicy rub add some cayenne pepper to your BBQ rub.
• Butter: Try brushing your chicken thighs with melted butter before applying your BBQ rub.
• Seasoning: Try adding some other flavors to your BBQ rub. You can add in some Jamaican jerk seasoning, Creole seasoning, fajita seasoning or Cajun seasoning.

You can easily double or triple this recipe for parties, picnics and any summer get-togethers. So go ahead and load up that smoker to enjoy some restaurant quality smoked chicken thighs in the comfort of your own home!