Saved by the Kale

Healthy living is Happy living

Navigation

Best Smoked Chicken

Smoked Chicken Recipe

Like most people, Jim and I eat lots of chicken. So much so that it tends to get really boring (there’s only so many times that you can sauté chicken before you go insane!). Smoked chicken is one of our favorite ways of getting around the mundaneness of it. It’s healthy, tender, and oh-so-tasty! Plus it’s super versatile. We like to smoke 2-3 chickens at a time and use them throughout the week. You can shred or slice it up and make the most amazing quesadillas, sandwiches, or just eat it as an entree itself. 

It’s really simple but it does take a little while to cook. The cooking time isn’t a big deal, you just need to make sure that you plan ahead. 

Smoked Chicken Recipe

Easy Smoked Chicken
Serves 6
Smoked chicken is a delicious and versatile ingredient. Use it to make the best sandwiches and quesadillas around.
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
4 hr
Total Time
4 hr 15 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
4 hr
Total Time
4 hr 15 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 large chickens
  2. 1 C bbq rub or seasoning
Instructions
  1. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees using your favorite wood (we used hickory for this recipe)
  2. Completely cover chicken with bbq rub and place in smoker
  3. Smoke for 4 hours, or until meat thermometer inserted into thigh reads 180 and breast reads at least 175.
Notes
  1. We used this rub (http://savedbythekale.com/sweet-smoky-bbq-rub-recipe/).
Saved by the Kale https://savedbythekale.com/

more

Our Favorite Homemade Barbecue Sauce

BBQ sauce is one of those things that people are really picky about. There are so many different styles that everyone typically has their favorite, and they tend to stick to it. Our goal when working on our own bbq sauce recipe was to come up with something that most, if not many, people would really like. This is our recipe for general purpose sauce that can go on anything and can be used any way you want. It’s good for pouring on food as well as cooking into food. It’s great for dipping and makes a wonderful condiment. 

homemade bbq sauce recipe

Our Favorite Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Yields 3
A delicious, all-purpose barbecue sauce that's sure to please.
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
25 min
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
25 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 C ketchup
  2. 1 C water
  3. 2/3 C white wine vinegar
  4. 4 Tbsp light brown sugar
  5. 1 Tbsp honey
  6. 1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
  7. 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
  8. 1 Tbsp ground mustard
  9. 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Notes
  1. Use your favorite vinegar in this recipe. White wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, and champagne vinegar all work well. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Saved by the Kale https://savedbythekale.com/
 What kind of sauce do you prefer? Tomato-based, vinegar-based, mayo-based? Tell us in the comments!

Root Beer Glazed Ribs

These are the best ribs we’ve ever made at home. Seriously, they are that delicious! We’ve made ribs hundreds of times, but none have been this amazing. 

Root beer glazed ribs

Root Beer Glaze

Let’s talk root beer for a minute. I’ve never been a huge fan. Jim loves root beer and tries to keep a few bottles in the fridge at all time. I recently tried some of the root beer that Jim got at Starbucks and really liked the spice it had, so when he suggested a root beer glaze / sauce for some barbecued ribs I was totally on board. The root beer glaze is totally different from any barbecue sauce that we’ve made before. It’s a bit sweeter, with some spice notes. It also has a touch of sriracha, so there’s a bit of heat too. 

The Ribs

Big racks of spare ribs are typically our go-to rib cut. However, we saw some beautiful St. Louis-style spareribs at the grocery store and decided to go with them this time. St. Louis-style ribs are just spareribs that have been trimmed a bit look more uniform. You don’t have as many of the small bones and cartilage as you see in traditional spareribs. These beauties cooked a little more quickly because of the size, which is always a good thing.

Barbecue Time

Jim cleaned up the ribs and removed the skin from the back. Then he coated them with his homemade rib rub and let them sit for about an hour before throwing them on the smoker. We use a mixture of oak (75%) and hickory (25%) for smoking, and try to keep the temp in the 250 to 300 degree range. Any lower than that and things get too smoky.  They cooked in about 3.5 hours.

Root beer glazed ribs recipe

 

Ribs on the smoker

Root Beer Glazed Ribs

Root Beer Glazed Ribs
Serves 6
Quite possibly the world's best barbecued ribs. The sweet and spicy root beer glaze offers a twist on the traditional bbq sauce.
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
3 hr 45 min
Total Time
4 hr 15 min
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
3 hr 45 min
Total Time
4 hr 15 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 racks of St. Louis-style ribs
  2. 1 C Sweet and Smoky BBQ Rub
  3. 1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
  4. 1 C Water
  5. 12 Oz Root Beer
  6. 1/8 C Turbinado Sugar
  7. 2 Tbsp Ketchup
  8. 1 Tsp Sriracha
  9. 1/2 Tsp Salt
  10. 1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
  1. Peel away the skin on the back of the ribs
  2. Season both sides of the ribs liberally with the rib rub (recipe below)
  3. Cook in smoker for 3.5 hours at 250-300 degrees F
  4. Combine water and apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and spray ribs every hour while cooking
  5. While ribs are cooking, combine root beer, turbinado sugar, ketchup, sriracha, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring frequently.
  6. Sauce the ribs about 30 minutes before cooking time is up.
  7. Slice ribs into 2 bone sections and serve.
Notes
  1. Sweet and Smoky BBQ Rub recipe is at http://savedbythekale.com/sweet-smoky-bbq-rub-recipe/
Saved by the Kale https://savedbythekale.com/

Your Turn

We love barbecue in the Lastinger household. What’s your favorite style of bbq? Have any amazing sauce or rub recipes you want to share? Jim is always available for barbecue questions, so feel free to ask in the comments.