Learn how to make smoked chicken thighs in two hours or less! It’s as easy as setting and forgetting them in the smoker and they come out so juicy and flavorful.
When I was trying to figure out how to make the best smoked chicken thighs, I was surprised that it wasn’t even taking me two hours on the smoker to get the flavor and texture I was searching for.
For me, the perfect smoke time is right between 1 and a half to 2 hours, but I’ll explain why in a minute.
I have to stop and brag about these babies. The marinade! The juiciness! The smoke kissed exterior and juicy center! These really take the cake, my friends.
The only thing to note here is that you really really need to know that these only serve 4 people. Maybe 3. I could honestly eat the whole 2.5lb plate myself.
So…multiply the recipe according, folks. That’s all!
All about the best, smoked chicken thigh marinade
A lot of the success with this recipe has to do with the marinade. You could use this with grilled chicken thighs – try my hot honey ones, too! – roasted, pan-seared – whatever (a flip flop – where my Guy Fieri fans at?).
It’s a mixture of olive oil, balsamic, coconut aminos (or soy), OJ, hot sauce, garlic, coconut sugar – so good. Did I mention it’s paleo friendly?
I will tell you that the longer you let this go towards the 24 hour mark the better. More flavor, more better, no?
What kind of smoker do you use?
I use a Traeger Grill and I absolutely love it. I have the Pro 575 and the Pro 34! It’s a wood pellet grill so it acts as a grill and/or smoker but runs off of wood pellets. It creates an amazing flavor.
You can use a traditional smoker for this, but keep reading below to find out why I like using a wood pellet grill.
What temperature do you smoke chicken thighs at?
As I mentioned above, I use a Traeger wood pellet grill which allows me to preheat my “smoker” to 450F, get a sear on my chicken, and then drop the heat to 225F and let it get all smoky, tender and delicious. I don’t have to swap machines and I get that lovely little char + the smoke without hardly lifting a finger.
You can use a regular smoker and just smoke at 225F, or start by searing it on the grill real fast and then pop it on the smoker to finish. This lessens the cooking time a bit, making it quicker to get your chicken dinnahhh! The world is your oyster – or chicken thigh.
Love chicken thighs as much as I do? Check out my Hot Honey Chicken Thighs or my Roasted Bone-In! They’re fan faves!
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How to Smoke the Best Chicken Thighs in 2 Hours | Paleo Friendly
Learn how to make smoked chicken thighs in two hours or less! It’s as easy as setting them and forgetting in the smoker and they come out so juicy and flavorful.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes (24 hours marinating time)
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours + 10 minutes (24 hours marinating time)
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Smoker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 lbs. skinless chicken thighs*
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. coconut aminos
- 3 Tbsp. water
- 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper hot sauce (like Frank’s)
- 1 Tbsp. coconut sugar
- 1 orange, juiced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
- 2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a zip top bag or a bowl with a lid.
- Mix well to make sure the chicken is coated.
- Place in the fridge for 12-24 hours to marinate, the longer the better.
- When you’re ready to smoke, remove the chicken from the fridge and let it come to room temperature in the marinade while you preheat the smoker.
- If you’re using a Traeger or wood pellet smoker, preheat to 450F. I like to sear my chicken before I smoke it for 5 minutes, it gives more flavor. If you’re using a traditional smoker, you can skip this step, you just may need to smoke a bit longer*.
- Place the chicken on the smoker/grill directly from the marinade. DO NOT rise or pat dry. Sear the chicken at 450F for 4-5 minutes. Keep the lid closed during the searing. Flip the chicken, close the lid, and adjust the temperature to 225F.
- Let the chicken smoke for 1 and 1/2-2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F and the juices are running clear. I like to check my chicken at the 1 and 1/2 hour mark because it’s often done.
- Remove it from the smoker, cover with foil, and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- For this recipe I used boneless, but you can do bone in. I actually always use skinless for this recipe because I always have them on hand, so if you have skin on thighs, just remove it if you want. You may need to add 15 minutes or so to your cook time for bone-in thighs, but it may be even juicer!
- If you’re using a standard wood smoker and not a wood pellet grill like Traeger, you can either sear your chicken on the grill over medium-high heat for 5 minutes and then place in the smoker that’s preheated to 225F, or place them directly in the smoker heated to 225F and smoke for 15-30 minutes longer, or until they’re fully cooked.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 231
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 1266mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: chicken, chicken thigh, smoked
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thanks for the recipe. you are just on point as for the best part of the chicken i like most… the thighs!
with your detailed recipe, i am better now to make the best out of my chicken thighs grills
thanks for the post, you are on point.
★★★★★
thanks so much!
This looks so good I can taste it! The chicken looks so juicy and flavorful. I’m drooling while I type. LOL. More recipes like this please!
★★★★★
hope you get to try them out!!
How much garlic?
The description says garlic and the pictures show garlic, but the recipe doesn’t list it!
Thanks for the catch, John! It should have 3 cloves of garlic.
Leave it to a garlic lover like me from Gilroy CA no notice.
Looks like an excellent recipe, can’t wait to try it!
Hope you’ll be able to give it a try!
Yummy!! Thanks for posting. I have a friend I need to share this with.
★★★★★
Awesome! Hope they enjoy!
What pellet did you use?
My problem is that the Traeger takes forever to cool down to 225 ° even with the lid open and you won’t get any smoke until it drops way down?
Interesting! Ours always drops really quickly and we find that whatever temp we cook on, we still get a touch of smoke. You can smoke these for longer at a lower temp, but the point of these is to be under 2-3 hours so that you don’t have to spend all day. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks, Mine is an old Junior 20 and most likely they have improved.
Oh nice! Great product still!
I have a traditional electric smoker, so I just plan to smoke at 225. I have them marinating now 🙂 I am doing 12 boneless skinless thighs (a little under 4 lbs). Do you think 2.5 hours at 225 would be accurate? Needing to get the timing right; hosting a small family gathering for my husbands birthday. Any tips appreciated!
Just a note about pellet grills, if you normally run your smoker in the 250 range and have smoked pork butts and briskets mostly before trying this recipe I highly recommend searing the chicken first then smoking. I set my pellet grill at 450 and around 300 degrees it started making a ton of smoke I set my grill to shutdown and opened the lid and a second later the residual drippings burst into flames. Pretty scary but luckily I had a water mister nearby so disaster averted. I didn’t even think about this possibly happening and this may be a rookie mistake but thought I would share. Love the recipe thanks.
The fact that you use coconut aminos alone gets your recipe 4 stars!! I am new to the pellet smoker world of cooking, which is bow i found your recipe. I do a tandoori/masala style chicken thigh recipe, but it works perfectly with your direction!! Thanks so much for your perspective and taste! I am going to try your hot boney recipe next!!
★★★★★
oh wonderful!