Smoked Buffalo Chicken

By Mary Jane

Ingredients

• Smoked Buffalo Chicken Sauce:
• 2 cups cayenne pepper seasoning
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of chopped onion
• 1 chopped garlic
• 1/3 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 stick butter
• 1 bottle Lousiana Hot Sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice or half the juice of a lemon
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• Smoked Buffalo Chicken Seasoning Rub:
• 2-3 tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, or olive)
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2 crushed garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Start by soaking your wood chips in water or beer for an hour to two.
The next step is to start preheating smoker to 250 degrees before you want to start cooking the buffalo chicken.

While your smoker is preheating, mix your seasoning ingredients together in a bowl. Take your seasoning rub and coat the chicken inside and outside with the buffalo seasoning.

Mix all of the buffalo sauce ingredients together in a medium-low heat in order to melt the stick of butter. Once your butter has melted and all of your sauce ingredients are incorporated, you can take your meat injector and start to inject the bird in the chicken breast, wings, legs, and thighs.

Place your seasoned and injected buffalo chicken on the smoker.

Check the buffalo chicken about once an hour to see if you are holding the right temperature. You can also baste the bird with the buffalo sauce each time you check the bird to add a deeper buffalo flavor and prevent the chicken from drying out.

Smoked Buffalo Chicken Cooking Time:

The average cooking time for buffalo smoked chicken will be about 3 hours depending on numerous factors. Every smoking experience is slightly different and you want to make sure you take the chicken off the smoker at just the right time to ensure maximum flavor and moisture. Check the chicken at the 3 hour mark and every hour after that with an instant-read meat thermometer. Stick it in the deepest part of the buffalo chicken breast and check for a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.