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Home » Chicken & Turkey Main Dishes

Published: Jul 25, 2023 · Modified: Jun 3, 2025 by Pam

Smoked Chicken Thighs

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pin image for smoked chicken thighs.

The tenderest and most flavorful part of the chicken gets infused with smoke flavor. Here you'll find the full recipe for brining and smoking chicken thighs.

smoked chicken thighs on plate with fork.
Jump to:
  • Brine for Smoked Chicken
  • Ingredients and Substitutions
  • The steps for making it
  • What internal temperature is best for chicken thighs?
  • What sauce is good with smoked chicken?
  • Saving chicken thighs for later
  • 📖 Recipe
  • More dishes to cook on the smoker

For the most moist and tender chicken dishes, you want to choose skin-on, bone-in chicken. Chicken thighs are the part of the chicken with the most flavor.

Cajun Baked Chicken is a recipe that is specifically written for bone-in chicken and it calls for a variety of pieces. You could certainly substitute all thighs in that recipe, too.

Now we know that y'all love your boneless chicken breast. No doubt it's the leanest, most low fat option out there. Various recipes like Preacher Chicken and Grilled Blackened Chicken make it as flavorful as possible with marinades and seasonings.

But, for real melt-in-your-mouth chicken goodness, you can't beat thighs that have been brined and smoked. Read on for full instructions and the spice blend.

Brine for Smoked Chicken

Why should you brine chicken? The brine infuses flavor and tenderness throughout the meat - not just on the surface.

A friend of ours who is a well trained chef says that she absolutely always brines chicken before cooking. It's a good practice, though we admit to not always having the time.

That being said, if you're short of time you can make these smoked chicken thighs without the brining process and they'll still be outstanding. But, if you can, the brine will give a light taste of salt and an extra bit of tenderness to your meat.

Ingredients and Substitutions

  • Chicken thighs (skin on and bone in)
  • Salt (for the brine and the seasoning)
  • Water
  • Brown sugar for the brine - light or dark brown sugar is fine
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Smoked paprika
  • Black pepper - we recommend coarse ground, but any is fine
  • Cumin
  • Cayenne pepper (optional, but we always like to add it)

(see recipe card for quantities)

smoked chicken piled up on plate.

The steps for making it

  1. First you'll make the brine. Stir the salt and brown sugar into the water to dissolve. You can bring it to a boil and that will make the salt and sugar easier to dissolve, but if you do so you'll need to cool the brine before using it.
  2. Put the chicken in a container that you can completely cover it with the brine. If it floats up you can use a heavy plate on top to weigh it down. Refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
  3. Mix the remaining ingredients to make the seasoning blend.
  4. Pull the thighs out of the brine and pat them dry.
  5. Coat on all sides with the seasoning.
  6. Smoke in a Big Green Egg or other smoker for about 2 to 2 and a half hours. Use a flavorful wood for smoking. Our favorites are hickory and applewood, but choose whatever you like. Maintain the heat in your smoker as closely as possible to 225 degrees.

While these are cooking, you can use that time to make some smoked butter. It's so easy to make and goes great on steak, vegetables, and more!

close up of temperature gauge on smoker.

What internal temperature is best for chicken thighs?

They will be safe to eat at an internal temperature of 165 degrees. However, the dark meat of chicken thighs is actually the most succulent and tender if cooked until it reaches 175 to 185 degrees. This does not result in overcooked chicken.

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A thermometer is essential to properly cooking your chicken. Many people love to use instant read thermometers like this one.

We actually like the type of thermometer with multiple probes so you can have a probe inserted in smaller and larger pieces. They connect wirelessly to your phone with an app and you can monitor the progess of your meat from wherever you are.

This is especially helpful when slowly smoking a dish that will take hours. It can cut back on times running back and forth to the smoker. Also, each time you open the lid on the smoker, it takes time for the temperature to recover.

These probes stay in the meat with the lid down until ready to take it off the heat.

chicken thighs on grill with temperature probe

What sauce is good with smoked chicken?

The truth is that this chicken is perfectly delightful without a sauce at all. But, if you prefer to serve a sauce alongside we have two that we would recommend.

First is Georgia Mustard BBQ Sauce. It's a staple in our refrigerator so there's always a container of it around. We just set it out for a little while before serving so it's not ice cold. We also have an Alabama White Sauce that is phenomenal on all grilled poultry dishes.

A completely different option is this Yogurt Sauce for Chicken. It's going to give a tangy, but cool complementing flavor to your meat. Both are very easy to make.

Saving chicken thighs for later

As long as you cover them tightly, you can store your smoked chicken in the refrigerator for up to 5 or 6 days.

In fact, a day or two in the fridge will actually give a little more intensity to the smoke flavor and we see that as a good thing! We have not tested freezing this recipe.

For a quick and fun look at this recipe check out the Google Web Story.

📖 Recipe

close up of smoked chicken thighs.

Smoked Chicken Thighs

Pam
The tenderest and most flavorful part of the chicken gets infused with smoke flavor. Here you'll find the full recipe for brining and smoking chicken thighs.
5 from 9 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2½ pounds chicken thighs skin on and bone in
  • 6 cups water
  • 6 Tablespoons salt for the brine
  • 4 Tablespoons brown sugar light or dark brown
  • ½ teaspoon salt for the seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper recommend coarsley ground
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, but recommended

Instructions
 

  • Make the brine by dissolving the 6 Tablespoons salt and the brown sugar in water.
  • Submerge the chicken in the brine. If needed a heavy plate can be set on top of the chicken to keep it totally submerged.
  • Refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
  • Mix the remaining ingredients to make the seasoning blend.
  • When the chicken has brined removed it and pat dry. Coat on both sides with the seasoning blend.
  • Cook on a smoker for two to two and a half hours, maintaining the heat of the smoker to as close to 225 degrees as possible. Remove chicken when internal temperature is between 175 and 185 degrees. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • Fragrant wood such as apple or hickory should be used in smoker for optimal smoke flavor. 
  • This recipe will work for between 2 and 3 pounds of chicken thighs.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More dishes to cook on the smoker

bowl of smoked queso with cilantro on top.
Smoked Queso Dip without Velveeta
baked beans in skillet that have been cooked on a smoker.
Smoked Baked Beans
bowl of sweet potatoes in corner with peelings
Smoked Sweet Potatoes
smoked vegetables in grill basket
Smoked Vegetables
spoonful of smoked mac and cheese over skillet
Smoked Mac and Cheese
Complete instructions for smoking ham (non-spiral-sliced) on the Big Green Egg
Smoked Ham on the Big Green Egg

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tara says

    August 04, 2023 at 8:22 am

    5 stars
    Oh yum! I love all the tips to help make these smoked chicken thighs perfect. The flavors sound incredible.

    Reply
  2. Ned says

    August 04, 2023 at 8:36 am

    5 stars
    I heard smoked chicken thighs and I came runnin! These were delicious! I'm so glad I tried. Will be putting this on the regular rotation. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Pam says

      August 05, 2023 at 9:28 am

      Yay!!!

      Reply
  3. Tracy says

    August 04, 2023 at 9:01 am

    5 stars
    Oh I love chicken thighs and I feel like they don't get the love that they deserve! So good and will definitely be making again.

    Reply
    • Pam says

      August 05, 2023 at 9:28 am

      Thanks, Tracy.

      Reply
  4. Kushigalu says

    August 04, 2023 at 9:06 am

    5 stars
    Simple and easy recipe with chicken thighs. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Shadi Hasanzadenemati says

    August 04, 2023 at 9:19 am

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing this outstanding recipe; it has certainly become a staple in my BBQ repertoire. I can't wait to fire up the smoker again and indulge in these amazing smoked chicken thighs. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this flavor sensation!

    Reply
    • Pam says

      August 05, 2023 at 9:28 am

      Thanks for letting us know!

      Reply
  6. Hank Edwards says

    August 05, 2023 at 6:48 pm

    What if I don't have a smoker? Can I use the recipe in the oven

    Reply
    • Pam says

      August 05, 2023 at 9:54 pm

      You could Hank. It just wouldn't have the flavor of the smoke, but it would still be good.

      Reply
  7. Alex holets says

    June 17, 2025 at 8:14 pm

    5 stars
    The chicken was absolutely delicious! The rub was perfect I used my Traeger pellet grill. 225º for 2 hours and 15 minutes. The only negative was the skin was very tough. I cooked it skin side up. Any ideas why the skin was so tough?

    Reply
    • Pam says

      June 18, 2025 at 8:23 am

      Thank you for your kind words. No idea about the skin, but my suspicion is that it has more to do with the chicken itself than the cooking method.

      Reply
5 from 9 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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