Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Spicy Tender Smoked Chicken

Ingredients

1 (6 - 6 1/2 lb.) whole young chicken, innards removed, cavity rinsed

Seasonings:

Goya Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning (fairly heavy sprinkle)
course ground [i]and[/i] regular grind black pepper (medium sprinkle)
garlic powder (heavy sprinkle)
onion powder (light sprinkle)
chipotle powder (light to medium sprinkle for heat)

Baste (Afterwards):

2 - 3 Tbl. Minerva Dairy Garlic Herb Butter, melted

Instructions

Remove chicken from packaging. Remove "innards". Rinse cavity with cold water, drain. Turn chicken to back side up, and with kitchen scissors, cut along each side of backbone, removing the whole backbone. Turn over, lay flat, and press hard right in center on breast bone. You'll hear it crack. (This helps the chicken to lay flat.)

Turn chicken over and place onto the rack that goes with your smoker. Season nicely with the spices and herbs listed above. Turn chicken over to breast and skin side up. (Tuck wings under if desired.) Season top well. Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of breast meat. Clip smoker thermometer onto rack. Set meat thermometer to 165º and cooker/smoker temp to 275º per Grill Eye's directions.

When smoker is fully heated to 275º, place chicken inside smoker, and smoke until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165º.

Remove chicken from smoker, baste nicely with melted butter, tent with foil, and let rest at least 10 - 15 minutes. (*This will let the juices calm down and the meat temperature rise to a fully-cooked 170º.)

Carve, serve and enjoy!

Notes

*We used Apple wood chips in our smoker.
**Make sure to follow your smoker's directions for proper cooking and smoking. (Ours requires water added in a separate bin.)
***It takes anywhere from 2 - 4 hours to cook a butterflied chicken in a smoker, depending on what kind of smoker you're using and the size of your chicken. Smaller chickens will take less time.