How To Smoke The Best Chicken In Massachusetts
January 21, 2025
Cambridge, VA: I’m a 74 year old white man and I’ve never spent much time around black people.
After I retired, I decided to do more volunteer work. My favorite place to volunteer at is an after school program for inner city kids. Our backgrounds couldn’t be more different. I’m like a golf ball in bag of charcoal. I just stand out, man. But the kids have my heart and the staff is an absolute joy.
The staff recently invited me and my grandson to their church, and we took them up on their offer. This was my first time at an all-black church. I was a little nervous. I sat quietly, clapped my hands, and did my best not to draw attention to myself.
We were about to sing our last worship song before the pastor gave his message. They asked if anyone wanted to lead the song. There was an awkward silence, then out of nowhere, my grandson yelled, “I’d love to!” My heart dropped to my gut. My armpits got sweaty. Out of the corner of my mouth, I said, “Boy, what in the hell are you doing?” My grandson said, “Watch your mouth, Pops. We’re in church.” Then with his chin up and his shoulders back, he walked up to the stage.
One of the kids posted a video of what happened next. Check it out.
I knew my grandson could sing but I didn’t know he could do this. It gave me chills. Later on I learned that my grandson made some new friends in college. As a result, he ended up going to an all black church and eventually became one of the worship leaders.
There was a cookout after service and they told us we had no choice but to go. We sat around the pit, drank some beer, played some cards and made fun of each other. It was the most fun I’ve had in years, man.
A few of the guys there were competition smokers. This is a passion of mine as well so we hit it off big time. I showed them my medals. Most my big wins were in the chicken category. So they asked me to help with the chicken. I put on a clinic. I walked them through my exact process. The chicken was a hit. It was gone as soon as we put it out. One of the completion smokers gave me the best compliments I’ve ever received. With a mouth full of chicken so hot you could see the steam coming out his mouth. Then he said, “Boy, this chicken is so good, I want to slap the sh*t out of you.”
When we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave, I thanked them for the wonderful day. I then said “Well, this was very unexpected.” They said “What?” I said “An old white man from East Texas just came here and taught all you black folks how to make chicken.” There was a pause for a second, and then everyone busted out laughing.
Below is my award-winning smoked chicken recipe. I hope it brings as much joy to your family and friends as it has brought to mine.
Ingredients
The tips apply to whole chickens, legs, thighs, wings, etc. You will have to adjust the recommended amount of any ingredients based on how much chicken you are smoking.
- Buttermilk
- Baking Powder
- Bald Buck Seasoning
Instructions
I call this the 3B Method. It consists of Buttermilk, Baking Powder and Bald Buck Seasoning.
Brine: One of the most important yet overlooked steps to smoking chicken is brining. Brine your chicken in buttermilk for at least 4 hours and no more than 24 hours. Buttermilk is slightly acidic and helps tenderize the meat while adding moisture. The lactic acid in buttermilk breaks down the chicken’s protein. This makes it absorb and retain more moisture during cooking.
Baking Powder: Here is another tip most pitmasters dont know. No matter what rub you decide to use, add ¼ teaspoon of baking powder per pound of chicken. Baking powder breaks down proteins in chicken skin, making it crispier when cooked. This happens because baking powder is alkaline and changes the skin’s pH balance. Baking powder also absorbs moisture from the chicken’s surface. This helps the skin dry out and get crispy during smoking or grilling.
Bald Buck Seasoning: I won my last 4 competitions using this seasoning. The key is not to go heavy handed with this stuff. If you do, your chicken will be too salty. If you’ve never used this stuff, then start with about 2 tablespoons per pound of chicken. You can be more generous with this if you are smoking whole chicken. I use olive oil as my binder because of the color it gives my chicken. However, you can use mustard, mayo, butter, etc.
Smoking Temperature: Smoke: This part depends on the cut of the chicken.
- Whole chicken: Start smoking the chicken at a higher temperature (about 300°F) for the first 30 minutes to render the fat and crisp the skin. Then, lower the temperature to 225°F for the rest of the cooking time. This method helps you get juicy meat with crispy skin.
- Legs, Wings, Thighs, Quarters: Smoke at 225°F. The main goal here is to get smoke flavor in the chicken. We will pull it off early and grill it at a higher temperature. This will give us crispy skin.
If you are smoking whole chicken, then remove it at 165° and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If you are smoking legs, wings, thighs, quarters, etc., remove after about 2 hours on the smoker. You just want to make the chicken got enough smoke flavor. Heat your grill to medium-high. Finish the chicken on the grill. This will give you nice and crispy skin.
Pro Tips:
- Injecting with Broth and Butter: Injecting the chicken with a mixture of broth and melted butter keeps it moist and adds rich flavor from the inside out.
- Charcoal and Wood Chip Combo: Use a combination of lump charcoal and wood. The lump charcoal burns hotter and cleaner, while the wood will obviously add the flavor we all love.
- Bald Buck Seasoning: This seasoning is one of my best-kept secrets. It creates a flavor profile everyone loves but can’t quite put their finger on. There are a lot of YouTube reviews about