Among the best Traeger chicken recipes is the one with the smoky rub, which will make your whole bird taste like it was marinated in the Caribbean. You can grill the chicken breasts on a regular grill instead of using the smoky one if you want to have a slightly different taste. You can use a recipe with less spice for a slightly different flavor. A great Traeger chicken recipe also makes the most of the smoky flavor. You can use your favorite flavor combinations and marinades to create a unique and delicious treat for your family.
You can try the best Traeger chicken recipes for chicken wings and thighs, and you can also make your recipe with the grill. Some of the most delicious and flavorful smoked chickens can be found at the grocery store or internet. A Tex-Mex seasoned Traeger chicken is a great way to impress your friends and family.
The Best Traeger Chicken Recipes
Here are some of the best Traeger chicken recipes
Traeger Whole Chicken
Take a plain, bland chicken and add some spice, and you’ll be surprised at how great it smokes! Traeger’s whole chicken recipe is one of the most straightforward methods to prepare dinner for your family. You don’t have time for the slow cooker, and roasting it in the oven heats the house too much. And the Instant Pot doesn’t quite deliver the smoky flavor you’re after.
Trager Smoked Chicken Breast
In a delightful 30 minute recipe, Traeger Smoked Chicken Breasts are an easy method to cook lean, juicy chicken with an extra smoky flavor! If you’re a fan of boneless chicken breasts like I am, you must try these juicy breasts seasoned and smoked to perfection on your Traeger pellet barbecue! They’re ideal for a simple peach summer salad or any other recipe that calls for roasted chicken!
Traeger Grilled Chicken Breast
Think again if you believe a Traeger barbecue can only accomplish one thing. This Traeger grilled chicken breast recipe will teach you how to cook tender, juicy chicken with the Traeger characteristic grill markings and flavor. It comes with a chipotle marinade in the Tex-Mex style, but you can easily swap out your preferred marinades or seasoning combinations. Let’s fire up the grill!
Traeger Chicken Thighs
Traeger Whole Smoked Chicken
Add a slight smokiness to your next poultry meal. This whole chicken is brined, then seasoned with our chicken rub, lemon, garlic, and fresh thyme before being mesquite-smoked for a smoky flavor. To make the brine, follow these steps: Combine the salt, sugar, and water in a big pot and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Fill the brine with the chicken, ensuring it is completely submerged and weighting it down if required. Refrigerate for at least one night.
How Do You Make Your Traeger Smoke More?
Because this was such a common topic, Traeger Grills responded by saying that while heavy smoke may not be visible, it is present, and you can see the smoke ring and taste the results.
Their advice was to cook for extended periods at lower temperatures. However, this works nicely if you give the smoke more time to impart its tastes. This isn’t the only way to increase the amount of smoke produced by your Traeger. Four Ways To Get More Smoke From A Traeger Or Pellet Grill:
Lower & Slower
Allowing the smoke more time to imprint its flavors on the meat by lowering the temperature by 25-50°F is one of the most efficient techniques to get more smoke from a Traeger or pellet grill. The smokey flavor is usually imparted to the meat during the first half of the smoke until the bark is appropriately developed and the smoke can’t penetrate further than the smoke ring it leaves. As a result, by lowering the temperature and increasing the cooking time, extending the smoke can impart flavor to the meat.
Try Different Wood Pellets
There’s no denying that there are high-quality wood pellets for smoking and those that are downright frightening. Some, like Traeger, are noted for their steady and reliable burn quality, while others, like BBQr’s Delight, are known for their authentic smoky flavor.
Now that you are ready to start, you’ll have to choose what to smoke. The good news is that there aren’t very many things out there that don’t come out great on a Traeger. You’ll find that the best meats to smoke on Traeger grills are what you enjoy eating the most.
- Pork: Pork butt roast is one of our favorite meats to smoke. It makes perfect pulled pork and the juiciest carnitas you’ll ever eat—Cook pork products to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees, and pulled pork should be around 200 degrees. You can smoke pork chops, tenderloin, ham, belly meat, and roasts. Traeger Hickory pellets are a favorite for classic barbecue smoke flavor.
- Beef: Like pork, there isn’t a part of a cow that you can’t smoke. Smoke ribeye steaks, roasts, neck bones, and ribs. Rare beef is around 120 degrees, medium-rare is 160, and well done is 170 degrees. Flavorful cuts like brisket can handle intense smoke flavors like hickory and mesquite, while ribs and steaks do well-using fruit and nut woods, including apple, cherry, and pecan.
- Poultry: Skin-on and bone-in chicken smokes easier than skinless and boneless, but both are possible. Poultry needs to hit an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees to be safe for consumption, and Maple wood is particularly delicious for smoking turkey legs.
- Fish: Smoking fish is a delicate operation that requires low temperatures, but Traeger makes it more accessible. You’ll be looking for an internal temp of 145 degrees for perfectly smoked fish. Lighter woods are best, and Alder is the classic go-to for salmon.
What is the Best Non-Meat to Cook on A Traeger?
Got a vegetarian in your family? They’ll love fresh smoked veggies and other treats that aren’t made of meat. Or, it’s possible that you’ve simply become tired of smoking heaps of meat and are want to switch things up a bit. You can use a Traeger grill to smoke some fun things.
- Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits like zucchini and pineapple are wonderfully smoked. Cauliflower and broccoli taste different, and smoked Brussels sprouts are delicious. You can even smoke potatoes. Keep your temperature between 175 and 225 for delicious veggies.
- Cheese: Cheese is a challenge because you have to keep temperatures very low. You’ll use an ice bath to prevent the cheese from melting when smoking in your Traeger. Cheese sets best around 90 degrees.
- Nuts and Seeds: Don’t forget that smoked nuts are a classic snack that is delicious and easy to make. Try smoking with a nut wood at around 185 to 200 degrees.
- Condiments: Okay, we aren’t suggesting that you sit down and eat a plate of ketchup, but after you smoke it, you might want to. Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and salt are all delicious when smoked. You will want to keep temperatures low by using an ice bath to prevent scorching.
Conclusion
To cook a chicken in the Traeger smoker, you can choose between two temperature settings: 225 degrees and 500 degrees. For a 165-degree internal temperature, you can select the smoke setting. If you want to make the chicken in the Traeger pan, you can use the 225oF cooking setting. It will take between 25 and 30 minutes for the breast to cook. If you prefer a slightly spicier chicken, you can use the smoker box on the 500-degree level.