Easy Roast Chicken on the WSM

How to cook a whole roast chicken on the Weber Smokey Mountain WSM smoker

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Keyword: bbq, smoker, smoking

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 3

Servings: people

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Martin (Dad What Cooks)

Cost: 10

Equipment

BBQ capable of smoking

Ingredients

1 whole Chicken Be good and pick a free range one
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
2 sprigs Coriander finely chopped
2 twist Salt
2 twists Pepper

Instructions

Prepare your chicken and pat it down with kitchen roll to dry it off. Keep the legs and co tied together for now. It makes it easier to move it about on the smoker later on.
Prep your coating by mixing together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped coriander. Once mixed, brush it all over the chicken so everywhere gets a covering. Now you can leave the chicken and go and prepare the smoker.
Get your 15-20 charcoal briquettes coal lit in the Weber chimney. This will get things going and you can leave them for 20 minutes to take while you prepare the smoker coals.
Arrange the smoker coals in a circle or however you want to according to whichever method you are using. Place a few pieces of smoking wood chunks along the top of the coals. I find Peach or Apple is good for Poultry, something not too strong.
Fill your water bowl up ⅔rds full. If you use warm water, the temperature can regulate a little quicker. Of course we should never rush a smoke!
Once your coals in the chimney are roaring, pour them on the end of the coals (if using the snake method), or in the middle (if using the minion method)
Stack up the rest of the smoker and get the lid on, letting it get to the right temperature. You are looking for a steady 120-125c (240-260F).
Once there, give the chicken another little baste with the liquids and set the chicken on (directly on the bars works best), with a tray on the shelf below to catch the drips.
Cook that chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 75c/165F.

Notes

It takes a little while to master a roast chicken on the wsm however once you get it right, the succulent flavours of the smoke seep into the chicken breast meat and it is a delight to serve up.

To avoid the dreaded rubbery skin which can come with smoking chicken, try cooking it at 120c/230f for the first hour, then getting the temperature up to 180c for the last 90minutes. Hotter and faster will give a crispier skin.

Nutrition

Calories: 350kcal