Level up your chicken dinner! Spatchcock-style smoked means a faster, more even cook, plus tips on how to get crispy skin on a pellet smoker. Grab my competition secret hot honey butter injection tips! It’s the secret to getting incredibly tender, juiciest, flavorful chickens you’ll ever eat!
Spatchcock Chicken Dinner Winner
Don’t get me wrong, folks. I love a traditional whole roasted turkey or chicken, but there’s something truly magical about a bird that’s been cooked spatchcock-style.
Check out the full video on how to spatchcock the bird first. Trust me, you can do this! It’s super easy! Once you do that, I’ll walk you through the steps and share some of my competition pit master secrets to making THE MOST AMAZING chicken you’ll ever eat!
Don’t have a smoker? No worries, bestie; I’ve got you covered! Below, I’ll share how to make this on the grill and in the oven.
TKW Family Love
Literally the best chicken recipe I’ve ever used and I can replicate this so easily just on our Pit Boss.
Watch How to Make Hot Honey Butter Chicken
The full-length video will walk you through how to make this! Remember to tag me on social media when you post your recreations of this!
Hot Honey Butter Whole Chicken Ingredients
Oh, my TKW Family, what I’m sharing with you today is something I truly love! This chicken is something I’ve been making for decades and easily ranks among my top three favorite chicken recipes ever!
- Whole Chicken: Spatchcocked
- Hot Honey Butter Injection: see below
- Binder: I prefer duck fat
- BBQ Seasoning: Use the same BBQ seasoning you used in your injection
You will need a Meat Injector. There’s no other way to do this properly/
Chef Lori’s #1 Tip for Spatchcocking Poultry
- You only need a few things – gloves, if you don’t like touching raw meat, a non-wood cutting board, and poultry shears. No, not kitchen shears, but actual poultry shears that are curved.
- Click the link below, as I have step-by-step instructions plus a full video!
How to Separate Chicken Skin From Flesh
By carefully separating the skin from the flesh, you can apply seasoning directly to the meat rather than hoping it will penetrate through the skin to the flesh.
- Find a spot on the bird that has a natural separation. If there isn’t one, there are typically thinner membrane spots that you can gently tear open.
- Insert one to two fingers between the skin and flesh. Gently slide your fingers under the skin, separating it from the meat. You’ll do this for the breasts, thighs, and legs.
Injecting Chicken for Flavor and Moisture
There is one IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW when you do this! You want to inject UNDER THE SKIN into the flesh. Do not pierce the skin. Piercing the skin can lead to the injection from seeping out..
- Fill your Meat Injector with the cooled Hot Honey Butter injection. Place your needle into the flesh of the chicken breast and push the mixture into the breast. You should see it plump up immediately. You may not use the whole syringe or need more, depending on the size.
- Repeat this for the other breast and then inject both of the thighs.
Rest Your Seasoned Chicken
- Coat it evenly, then pat the seasoning into the skin. Allow it to rest for about 30 minutes while you preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640. *Leave the bird uncovered and put it back into the fridge while it heats up.
Setting up a Yoder Smokers YS640
- Fill the Yoder Smokers YS640 hopper with pellets (and set the temperature to 250°F.
Chef Lori’s Tip About Pellets
POULTRY PELLETS: When I smoke poultry, I prefer lighter, fruitier wood like apple, peach, or cherry. Maple and pecan also work great. I want that kiss of smoke to enhance the flavor of the meat rather than overpower it, like mesquite does.
How to Smoke Spatchcock Chicken
Place the bird onto the smoker’s top rack with a drip pan underneath. Insert a MEATER thermometer into the breast and smoke until the internal temperature reads 140°F.
How to Get Crispy Skin on a Pellet Smoker
- FIRST SMOKE: Smoke the bird just until it reaches 140°F
- MOVE THE BIRD: Remove the bird from the smoker for the next step. I have, on occasion, just slid it over if I’ve only taken it to 130°F.
- CRANK THE HEAT: Remove the diffuser plate and crank the heat to 425°F.
- CRISPY SKIN: Place the bird back in, but ensure it’s not directly above the diffuser plate (watch the video).
- SMOKE: Finish smoking the chicken until it reaches 165°F, turning the chicken halfway through.
GBD Crispy Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
She’s sexy, right?! Y’all, this bird was almost too pretty to carve up. I try to avoid eating chicken often as it’s unhealthy, but this stuff just called my name! Thank the heavens Mr. Fantabulous doesn’t eat the skin at all, as I was not mad, I didn’t have to share!
Spatchcock Chicken FAQs
- Do I flip the chicken over while cooking it? No. Just leave it as-is; breast and skin-side up.
- Does a spatchcock chicken cook faster? Absolutely! Plus, it’ll cook more evenly!
- Do I have to brine it first? Nope. Brining will add moisture and flavor, but since we inject this, there’s no need to brine it.
What to Serve With Spatchcock Roasted Chicken
I love this recipe because it’s good all year long. It is perfect for summer cookouts, gamedays, and holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas!)
How to Reheat Cooked Chicken
How to reheat chicken in the oven
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the chicken in a baking dish (if you can put it on a small cooling rack, that’s even better).
- Add in 1/2-1 cup stock or water. Add the chicken, cover with foil, and bake for 15 minutes or until warmed through.*
- *If your chicken has skin, remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes to re-crisp the skin.
- MICROWAVE: I do not like this, as the chicken can quickly turn rubbery. If you must use it, add some liquid, cover it with a damp paper towel or plastic wrap, and microwave it in 30-second increments.
Other Ways to Make Spatchcock Chicken
Grill Instructions:
This requires you to set up your grill for Indirect cooking/ If you’re unsure how to do this, check out this post.
- Set up the grill for indirect cooking. Preheat the grill to 350°F. Place the chicken on the indirect heat side until the internal temperature reads 145°F.
- Carefully transfer the chicken to the direct-heat side and grill for 5-7 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 165°F. This should take ~50-75 minutes, but always rely on a MEATER Meat Thermometer. Remove from the grill and rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Oven-Baked :
Oven directions require using a large rimmed baking pan, such as a half-sheet pan.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the prepared chicken, breast-side facing up, in a rimmed half-sheet pan.
- Bake until the internal temperature reads 165°F. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving. This should take ~60-90 minutes, but always rely on a MEATER Meat Thermometer.
Here’s what I used:
Recommended Products
TKW Family Love
Made this twice since you posted it and making it again tomorrow. My local Kroger had whole birds on sale so I grabbed a bunch. Loading up the smoker so we can have a bunch of freezer meals.
That hot honey butter injection is the star for sure!
Smoked Hot Honey Butter Spatchcock Chicken Recipe
Level up your chicken dinner! Spatchcock-style smoked means a faster, more even cook, plus tips on how to get crispy skin on a pellet smoker. Grab my competition secret hot honey butter injection tips! It’s the secret to getting incredibly tender, juiciest, flavorful chickens you’ll ever eat!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2.5 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: ~4-6 servings
- Category: game day foods, grilling, holiday meals, hot honey butter chicken, roasted chicken, smoked poultry, smoking, summer bbq, sweet heat, turkey, whole chicken
- Method: grill, oven, smoker
- Cuisine: game day foods, grilling, holiday meals, hot honey butter chicken, roasted chicken, smoked poultry, smoking, summer bbq, sweet heat, turkey, whole chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 5-pound spatchcock chicken
- Hot Honey Butter Injection *see below
- 3 Tablespoons Duck fat or olive oil
- 1/4 –1/3 cup BBQ seasoning
Hot Honey Butter Injection Sauce
Instructions
Make the Injection Sauce
- Put all the ingredients (except the sea salt) in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Once melted, remove the pan from the heat and taste for seasoning/salt. If necessary, add a pinch of sea salt. Set aside to cool completely.
Spatchcock Chicken
- Fill the Yoder Smokers YS640 hopper with pellets (I went with a fruit blend) and set the temperature to 250°F.
- Carefully separate the skin from the flesh (but do not remove it). Fill your Meat Injector with the Hot Honey Butter and place the needle under the skin, but into the thickest part of the flesh. Push in the mixture. Repeat this for each breast and thigh/leg.
- Coat all sides of the chicken with the duck fat. With the chicken facing skin-side down, sprinkle on some of the BBQ seasoning and gently pat it in. Flip the bird over and add the rest of the seasoning to the skin. Pat or press the seasoning into it. Allow the bird to rest for 30 minutes for the seasoning to ‘melt’ into the skin and meat.
- Place the bird onto the smoker’s top rack with a drip pan underneath. Insert a MEATER thermometer into the breast and smoke until the internal temperature reads 140°F. Remove the bird from the smoker. Remove the diffuser plate and crank the heat to 425°F. Once at temp, add the bird back in so it’s not directly above the diffuser plate (watch the video). *I’ve also slid the bird over instead of taking it out when the bird was at 130°F.
- Cook the bird until the internal temperature reaches 165°F, turning the bird halfway through cooking.
- Remove the bird from the smoker and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
*Time does not include spatchcocking the chicken
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