How to Cook Chicken on a Pellet Grill?[ 7 Steps]

If you love boneless chicken breasts as much as I do, you’ve got to try these juicy breasts seasoned and smoked to perfection on your pellet grill! You will learn how to cook chicken on a pellet grill. They are perfect for an easy peach summer salad or any other recipe.

The reason I love chicken so much is that it is incredibly versatile. From wraps and salads to easy entrees, having pre-cooked chicken in the refrigerator makes for quick weeknight dinners or easy meal prep lunches.

Add some vegetables like sautéed garlic mushrooms or Air Fryer carrot fries for an incredibly healthy and easy meal. Pack up your smoked chicken breasts and vegetables in your favorite meal prep containers for easy meal prep.

How to Cook Chicken on a Pellet Grill?

Whether you are having dinner with guests or just want a classic, simple meal with your family, smoked chicken is a BBQ meat that will please just about everyone. Use your pellet grills and follow these tips for fall-off-the-bone.

Step 1: Pat your Chicken Dry

I will repeat it, pat dry! This will help to give you crisp, bite-through skin at the end of cooking. If you are going to make more than one chicken, try to buy them around the same size. Try these steps for incredible results.

Step 2: Keep Seasoning Simple

Rub the chicken with your favorite seasoning blend. A little garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil or butter may be all you need. The smoke flavor is the star of the dish here, so there is no need to over-season.

You put a quartered onion in the cavity along with more garlic. Tie the legs together to ensure a uniform shape and even cooking. You don’t want that smoked chicken wing to be done hours before the breast.

Step 3: Use a Mild Hardwood

Use cooking pellets Perfect Mix, which offers a premium blend of hickory, cherry, hard maple, and apple-No Fillers Ever – always 100 percent top hardwood! You want that smoky flavor without overpowering, so the suitable wood set is essential.

Step 4: Start your Smoker Temperature at 225 Degrees

The best smoker temperatures for chicken are around 225 degrees. Preheat your smoker for even cooking. We will start low and heat it later to crisp up that skin. It is an ideal temperature for cooking your chicken on a pellet grill.

Step 5: How Long to Cook Chicken on a Pellet Grill?

After preheating, put your chicken on the grill and leave it to smoke for an hour to 30 minutes. Don’t peek! There is no reason to open the lid. Just trust your thermometer.

You need to conserve the heat and precious smoke to maintain consistent smoker temperatures in the pellet grill. It will give you a slice of fine smoked meat. Thus there is no need for peaking chicken on a pellet grill.

Step 6: Last Blast your Chicken

To finish it off, give your smoked chicken a heat blast! When it is about ¾ done or 140 degrees, crank up the heat. Bringing up the heat. Bringing the heat to 325 degrees or so will crisp up the skin.

Chicken cooked low and slow is juicy and delicious, but the skin comes out tough and rubbery. If you want the best of both worlds, the heat blast at the end renders the fat from the skin while the chicken finishes cooking.

Step 7: Don’t Overcook

Pull the chicken out when a thermometer in the thickest part temps at about 160 degrees. Allow the smoked chicken to rest under a loose tent of aluminum foil; the temperature will rise the last few degrees to finish cooking and enjoy smoked chicken.

How to Cook Chicken Breast on Pellet Grill?

If you think smoking is the only thing a pellet grill can do, think again. This recipe for grilled chicken breast will show you how to make tender and juicy chicken with signature grill marks and flavor.

It includes a Tex-Mex style chipotle marinade, but you can easily plug and play your favorite marinades or seasoning combos. To make a good dish, follow the following steps for cooking chicken breast on a pellet grill.

1: Ingredients Notes and Substitution

Smoked chicken breasts are an easy recipe to make. The meat is tender and flavorful, perfect for sandwiches or salads. Only simple ingredients are required to make this recipe. I try these ingredients for cooking chicken breast.

         Chicken Breast: I used skinless chicken breast. You can use skin-on chicken breasts as well. You can also use bone-in chicken, but it will require extra cooking time.

         Olive Oil: The olive oil is used to help the spice rub stick to the chicken breasts.

         Spice Rub for Chicken: This seasoning blend contains 8 everyday pantry ingredients. This spice rub leaves a beautifully caramelized and crackly exterior.

         Feel free to add your favorite spices or seasonings to make this spice rub your own; onion powder would also be a great addition! Feel free to use your favorite spice rub instead!

2: Prepare the Grill

The first step to preparing your grill is to preheat the grill to 225 degrees F. The heat of the grill will help cook and sear your meat. It will also give it a nice crusty exterior. Also, make sure that the firebox is empty, and the wood pellets are topped up.

3: Prepare the Spice Rub and Chicken

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the homemade spice rub. Mix well to combine. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on a cutting board. Apply olive oil to the chicken breasts with a brush or your fingers.

Next, apply homemade spice rub or your favorite rub liberally on the chicken. You can either place a couple of teaspoons on a plate and roll the chicken breast in the rub or apply with a spoon. Ensure the rub covers all parts of the chicken breast.

4: Smoking the Chicken

Once the smoker comes up to temperature, place the seasoned chicken breasts directly on the preheated grill. Feel free to add a little more rub. Next, put your thermometer probes in, horizontally through each side into the thickest part of the meat.

Close the lid and smoke the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F when checked with an instant-read thermometer. I like to flip the chicken halfway through the cooking time to ensure an even smoke ring.

5: Rest the Chicken

Remove the smoked chicken breasts from the grill and place them on a serving tray. Cover with aluminum foil and rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to reincorporate into the meat. Serve along with your favorite side dishes.

How to Cook Chicken Wings on a Pellet Grill?

I’ve cooked wings that require a drying time in the fridge and others that are smoked and then flash fried. Both give me crispy skin, but the first method takes a bit of planning ahead, and deep frying can be pretty messy.

The smoked chicken wing recipe I’m showing you today is by far the easiest of the bunch in terms of prep time, and it requires the most minor steps. And the final result is fantastic: you get the perfect doneness inside and mega crispy skin outside.

Step 1: How to Smoke Chicken Wings?

Scroll below for my full, printable recipe card on how to smoke chicken wings, then check out these tips below to help you make the best crispy smoked chicken wings ever. You will quickly know how to cook chicken on a pellet grill.

         Pat down the chicken wings with paper towels to get all moisture off the skin. You want these nice and dry.

         Please note that you need to use baking powder, NOT baking soda. The baking powder helps remove all the moisture from the skin of the wings so they can crisp.

         You can really use any wood you like with wings. This step helps render the fat from under the skin, add loads of smoky flavor, and dry out the skin.

         If you’re using a pellet smoker, you can simply turn up the temperature. If your smoker can’t jump up in temp quickly, your best bet may be to move the wings to a preheated oven.

         Place the wings on an elevated cooking rack above a baking sheet to catch drippings if you’re finishing these in the oven.

         If you do decide on the sauce, simply toss the wings in a sauce that has been heated through to avoid cold sauce softening the crispy skin.

Step 2: Setting the Temperature

Smoke the chicken wings for 30 minutes at 250 degrees F. Next, increase the heat to 425 degrees F until the wings reach 175 degrees F internal temperature. Wings are best cooked to 175 degrees F instead of the usually recommended 165 degrees F for chicken.

Step 3: Selecting Best Sauce

I always recommend using flavors and sauces you like best, so when it comes to saucing up these wings, you can’t go wrong with anything you choose. This is all about cooking chicken wings on a pellet grill like a professional.

FAQs- How to Cook Chicken on a Pellet Grill?

Final Remarks

In the above article, I discuss all the steps on how to cook chicken on a pellet grill. I hope these recipes will be helpful for you in cooking chicken on a pellet grill. I discuss clearly how to smoke your chicken, and I also share steps about cooking chicken wings.