This simple recipe for how to cook a whole chicken on a Traeger grill provides you with the best tasting chicken. Expect a juicy chicken, filled with a wonderful smoky flavor from this recipe.
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As you know, we raise our own meat chickens. Often, we sell our extra chickens to friends and family who are looking to add some homegrown meats to their homes. What I’ve come to find, though, is that there are so many people who avoid purchasing whole chickens simply because they’re unsure of what to do with them. We are so used to seeing chickens broken into different cuts that we’ve started to become unaware of how to cook a whole chicken in a way that the whole family will enjoy. I’m really hoping that this post will help to empower you to purchase the whole chicken (which is probably cheaper per pound anyway!) and delight in this wonderful dish.
I had always cooked our whole chickens in the crockpot, and it worked just fine, but I always struggled to keep the chicken juicy. We’d often just shred it and use it in other meals, but never really enjoyed eating it on its own without a gravy of some sort. Once we tried the chicken on the Traeger grill it was a complete game changer. The chicken was bursting with flavor and juicy, and was absolutely delicious right off the grill.
Table of Contents
- Seasonings
- How Long to Cook a Whole Chicken on a Traeger
- How to Cut a Whole Chicken
- What to Do with the Carcass
- Printable Recipe
- Grow Your Own Chickens
- Save this Post!
Seasonings
We have made this chicken using almost all of the seasonings from The Bearded Butchers. I love these seasonings because they’re made with simple, real ingredients- no extra stuff! Our favorite seasonings for the chicken are:
- Original: The Original seasoning is just an overall good versatile spice. It has a great flavor combination that reminds me a little of Seasoned Salt.
- Zesty: This Zesty spice has a bit of a citrus flavor to it, so I like to use it when we’re feeling a little more of a Mexican feel to dinner.
- Cajun: This Cajun spice is super good- a little spicy, though, so be careful if you have sensitivities to spice! It’s a traditional Cajun flavor- bold, spicy, and a little earthy.
How Long to Cook a Whole Chicken on a Traeger
You should plan to cook your 4-5 pound whole chicken at 350 degrees for about 2 hours on the Traeger grill (or until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees in the breast. We cook our chicken breast up on the grill, but breast down will work just fine too.
How to Cut a Whole Chicken
It can be a little intimidating to know how to cut up a whole chicken, but once you’ve gotten used to it you’ll see it’s not hard at all!
- The first thing you’ll want to do is start with a sharp knife. We use a 6″ Victorinox knife.
- Cut off the legs by working around the joints
- Take off the wings; they will also break off at the joint.
- Cut down the breast bone to remove the two breasts.
What to Do with the Carcass
Don’t throw the bones away! The bones can make a wonderful bone broth and another whole meal! You can learn all about how to make chicken bone broth from the carcass here.
Printable Recipe
Whole Chicken on a Traeger Grill
Cooking a whole chicken on a Traeger grill is a wonderful way to enjoy a flavorful, juicy chicken that will last for multiple meals.
Ingredients
- Seasonings of Your Choice (We prefer The Bearded Butcher Seasonings- see note above)
- 1 Whole Chicken (4-5 pounds)
Instructions
- Completely unthaw your chicken if it has been frozen.
- Pat your chicken dry using a paper towel.
- Rub the chicken with the seasoning of your choice, completely covering it.
- Smoke on the Traeger Grill at 350 degrees for 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees in the breast.
Grow Your Own Chickens
We raise Cornish Cross chickens here on our homestead. If you’ve been hesitant to begin raising animals for meat production, this is a great animal to start with. The Cornish Cross chicken is easy to raise and produces a nice and delicious product in just a matter of weeks. One of the things that I think make them a really great bird for the first time meat producer is the fact that they need to be slaughtered at 8-10 weeks or they will die on their own. Knowing that the bird can have a purpose and use by killing it humanely and harvesting the meat is a much more comforting thought than allowing the bird to die naturally of heart failure, broken legs, or another health problem just a couple of weeks later. This bird is truly bred and designed to feed families.
Learn more about raising Cornish Cross chickens for meat here.
Save this Post!
Be sure to save and share this post on Pinterest! If you tried this out, let me know in the comments!
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