Ready to sink your teeth into a flavor blasted perfectly smoked chicken? I’ve got you with this Citrus Ale Smoked Chicken recipe where each tender bite bursts with flavorful smoke and spices. With minimal prep, you can have a delicious and juicy whole smoked chicken ready to eat in just a few hours.

The citrus chicken brine I used is so easy to prepare, loaded with flavor, and helps make the chicken super moist! I will walk you through some essential tips and the smoked whole chicken brine I made. Get ready to impress friends and family with this super juicy Traeger smoked chicken that is perfect for the Spring and Summer months.

Why I love making Traeger Whole Smoked Chicken

Just four ingredients!
Tender juicy meat
The kids liked it
The chicken is great as is or for other recipes
Great Spring/Summer lighter meal
Easy on the wallet
Shorter smoke time, making it a great weeknight or beginner recipe

I have made several whole smoked chickens on the Traeger so far. They are great because they only cost about $7-9 and the meat is so juicy every time. This is great for a quick Summer dinner or if you are entertaining with friends. You can enjoy as is, put the smoked chicken over a fresh salad, or even make some chicken salad wraps with it!

Oberon Beer

We are from Michigan so tend to LOVE our Bell’s Oberon for a great Summer beer. It is a wheat ale made with citrus notes. If you don’t have that available to you, other options would be Blue Moon, Sam Adam’s Summer Ale, or any of your favorite local breweries version!

Ingredients Needed for this Citrus Ale Smoked Chicken

🍊Water- needed for the brine.

🍊Oberon- This is a citrus wheat beer (regular or light) but something similar will work as well.

🍊Kosher Salt- I used Diamond Crystal Salt flakes. Kosher salt is preferred in brining because it dissolves easily and creates a clear brine because it doesn’t contain any additives.

🍊Whole Chicken- these are sometimes listed as “young chicken” they are about 5 lbs.

🍊BBQ Rub – Traeger Chicken Rub is a great option because it has citrus notes. If you don’t have that you can use your favorite BBQ rub, or poultry seasoning and also a little lemon pepper seasoning, too!

Watch me make this Smoked Chicken Below!

How to make the Citrus Brine For Chicken

If you are new to smoking poultry, you may see a lot of recipes call for a brine. So what is brine? It is a liquid made up of salt and water where the meat soaks in it to help add moisture and flavor. It may sound complicated but it is actually pretty simple. You can spruce it up and change things around. So for this Citrus Ale Smoked Chicken I chose to use an Oberon beer along with water and kosher salt.

Step 1: Pour water, the beer, and kosher salt into a sauce pan and bring to a low boil. Stir and make sure salt dissolves. Let this mixture come down to room temperature (or you can speed up the process by adding ice cubes to cool it down).

Step 2: Add the chicken to a brine bucket or large bowl. Make sure your giblets are removed and I also like to cut part of the neck down a bit. Pour the cooled brine over the chicken. Add a couple cups of cold water if the liquid doesn’t cover the chicken. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to smoke. I like to do this the day before so at least 4-24 hours in the brine will be good!

Step 3: When you are ready to fire up the smoker, pull the chicken out of the brine and either pat dry with a paper towel or let air dry. I like to put mine on a rack over the sink. I did NOT rinse the brine off. If the brine you use has tons of salt then you can.

Step 4: Next season the chicken with the bbq rub. I usually use Traeger Chicken rub because it has citrus notes. This last time I didn’t have that so used a BBQ rub and also some lemon pepper seasoning. Sprinkle it on and try to get under the skin, too.

How to smoke a whole chicken

Step 5: Place the whole chicken on the smoker grates and tuck its legs and wings under. Then close the lid. Smoke at 275 degrees F for approximately 2.5-3 hours. If you have a wireless meat thermometer, go ahead and stick that in the thickest part of the breast.

Step 6: Once the internal temp of the thickest part of the breast comes to 165, pull the chicken off and let rest for about 10-15 minutes. Cut and serve! Enjoy!

What to serve with this smoked whole chicken on pellet grill

We ate the chicken as is. My kids like to dip in ranch or BBQ sauce. But smoked chicken is great to use in other recipes such as wraps, burritos, chicken salad, nachos, and more! I think to enjoy this as a light Summer meal you could put the chicken over some greens for a nice salad. You could also make some smoked shells n cheese, some easy beer bread, or whatever your family likes!

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