BBQ Smoked Pulled Chicken (2024)

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The easiest BBQ Smoked Pulled Chicken recipe you will ever make! This juicy smoked chicken is perfect for making sandwiches, tacos, and more!

Instead of a traditional bun try out this Easy Naan Recipe that will take this pulled chicken up a notch!!

Looking for more delicious ways to enjoy chicken? Be sure to check out queso chicken, shredded buffalo chicken with celery slaw, buffalo chicken sloppy joes, and smoked parmesan chicken wings with vodka sauce.

Why This Pulled Chicken Recipe Is the Best

This recipe is hands down one of the best ways to enjoy smoked shredded chicken either as a sandwich on tacos or on its own.

Made with boneless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, barbecue sauce, and of course some smoky flavor, this pulled chicken recipe will become one of the family's favorite recipes in your house.

Smoked Pulled Chicken Ingredient List

• Chicken. For this recipe, I smoked 3lbsof boneless and skinless chicken breast and chicken thighs. I enjoy a mix of both in my sandwiches, but if your personal preference is one over the other, you can do all of the same cut of chicken.
• Seasoning. Spin your spice rack and grab 1tspof chicken bouillon powder and 2tbsp ofBBQ dry rub to season the chicken.
• Sauces. For that added bold and irresistible flavor, you are going to need ¾cupof BBQ sauce and ¼cup ofchicken broth which will be used to flavor the chicken halfway through the cook.
• Additional Ingredients. Grab 1tbsp ofavocado oil; this will be used for cooking.

How to Make BBQ Smoked Pulled Chicken

1. Prepare the chicken. Trim the chicken breasts and thighs removing any excess fat on bone fragments.
2. Season the chicken. Once the chicken has been trimmed, combine the bouillon powder and the bbq dry rub, then season the chicken on both sides.
3. Smoke the chicken. Heat the smoker to 275 degrees F. and place the chicken directly on the pellet grill (or any smoker/grill). Cook the chicken for about 90 minutes.
4. Transfer and continue smoking. Transfer the chicken to an aluminum foil pan, pour in bbq sauce and chicken broth, and continue to smoke uncovered for another hour until the thighs reach an internal temperature of about 185 degrees F.
5. Shred the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked use tongs, forks, or your hands with heat-protective gloves to shred the chicken and combine it with the sauce. You can also use a hand mixer to shred the chicken quickly.
6. Enjoy. Plate and serve with rolls, cole slaw, and extra sauce!

Recipe Tips, Tricks, and Variations

Extra juicy chicken. Looking for extra juicy chicken? Consider mixing apple cider and melted butter and inject it into the chicken.

Sweetness. If you are looking to add some sweetness to your chicken, consider using light or dark brown sugar.

Cooking Oil. If you don't have or don't enjoy avocado oil, you can substitute it with olive oil.

Different Flavor. If you are looking to season your chicken with other spices, consider fan favorites like garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Helpful Kitchen Tools. Great items to have handy include aluminum foil, an instant read thermometer or digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken at the thickest part of the breast or thigh, paper towel, and a cutting board.

Aluminum Cooking Pan. Use an aluminum pan to keep your pellet smoker clean, plus you can serve the smoked pulled chicken right in the pan

High Fat or Low Fat. If you want to reduce the fat, you can smoke just chicken breast. The final product will be a little less moist but still quite tasty. Inverse, if you want the moistest smoked pulled chicken, you can use all chicken thighs

What to Serve with Pulled Chicken

Make this a complete family meal and serve up your pulled chicken with coleslaw. You don't need a lot but the creamy crunchy cabbage adds texture to the sandwich.

Add delicious side dishes like Pellet Grill Smoked Baked Potatoes, Sheet Pan Green Beans Almondine with Bacon, Corn Casserole Recipe with Bacon and Smoked Gouda, and Smoked Mac and Cheese!

Why is my Skin Not Crispy?

Since this recipe uses skinless chicken, you won't have crispy skin with this chicken. However, if you are looking to have crispy chicken skin and then pull the chicken from the bone, you can smoke an entire chicken or make a spatchco*ck chicken, cook it, and then shred it.

Making Pulled Chicken In a Crockpot

I know not everyone has a smoker but rest assured you can still make pulled chicken.

Just season the chicken as you would and place it in your crockpot. pour in the chicken broth off to the side so you don't rinse off the seasoning.

Pour in the BBQ sauce of your choice and cook on high for about 4-6 hours. If you want to add that wood flavor, add 2 tsp of Liquid Smoke.

Once the chicken is tender, you can shred it and save it right in the crockpot for amazing almost smoked, pulled chicken bbq.

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