Dill Pickle Smoked Chicken Thighs

Until recently, the most popular page on The Semiconservative Granola Girl Blog was Crock Pot Dill Pickle Chicken.  That has now been surpassed by Ten Foods to Smoke in Your Electric Smoker because apparently the people of the interwebs love their electric smoker as much as we do.  (Ours is a Masterbuilt.  In fact, we have two.  One at home and one at our seasonal cabin.)  So our love for dill pickles and our love for the electric smoker has come together in Dill Pickle Smoked Chicken Thighs.

Dill Pickle Smoked Chicken Thighs

Interestingly, we haven’t smoked a lot of chicken in our Masterbuilt electric smoker (<–affiliate link).  It seemed like it was time to return to chicken which was actually our very first smoke (for more on that you can read about it in Ten Foods to Smoke in Your Electric Smoker).  It is easy for chicken to get dried out in the smoker, so we always brine it.

When I create a new recipe, I always begin in my mind with the phrase, “I wonder how it would be if we….”  So I thought about our popular Crock Pot Dill Pickle Chicken recipe and I said to myself, I wonder how it would be if we smoked chicken that had been brined in dill pickle juice.  And, the answer is, it’s pretty darn great.

Begin with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.  We love chicken thighs because they are quicker and more flavorful than breasts.  Bone-in, skin-on also helps keep them from drying out in the smoker.

In a gallon sized zipper bag, add about a cup of dill pickle juice to 6-8 thighs.  Squeeze all the air out and put them in the refrigerator for at least six hours, but over night is better.  Periodically, flip them so that all the thighs are getting brined evenly.

If you don’t have any leftover “dill pickle juice,” you can make a batch of Dill Pickle Brine.  Just plan ahead.  You will need at least five hours for the brine to steep plus the time to actually brine the meat.

The Smoke

About an hour before you are ready to begin your smoke, remove the thighs from the brine.  Rinse them and pat them dry.  Then use a herb based dry rub like Weber Herb and Garlic. Let that sit about an hour so that the chicken starts to get almost a crust.  Add more rub as necessary.

A Note about our Rub Choice:  Because we have kid pallets that we are trying to please, we always stick to a mild flavor.  Even to my adult pallet, most commercial rubs are a little spicy for my liking.  We usually use something like Semiconservative Granola Girl Dry Rub or Everything Bagel Dry Rub.  With this recipe, we were also looking for something would complement and not overwhelm the dill pickle flavor.  That is why we chose the herb and garlic rub.

Preheat your smoker to 225°F.  Let your smoker fill with smoke.  Add chicken thigh directly to the racks.  Smoke for about 2 hours or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

You can eat these just as they are when they come out of the smoker.  Or, you can add Dill Pickle Barbecue Sauce.  (Shown in the picture above.) Oh yes, it just got even more dill pickle-y!  So dilly good!

This Weekend’s Best Smoked Chicken

If you are just itchin’ to smoke up some chicken this weekend, skip the tomato based barbecue sauce and go straight for some Dill Pickle Smoked Chicken Thighs.  It’s perfect with some smoked potatoes, maybe a green salad and some Dill Pickle Barbecue Sauce for dipping.  All these flavors just scream summer.  We hope that you enjoy and let us know what you think.

If your looking for even more ideas of what you can cook in your electric smoker, check out my posts on Ten Foods to Smoke in Your Electric Smoker and 10 MORE Foods to Smoke in Your Electric Smoker. Oh and this can easily be a Whole30 complaint meal, just make sure that your dill pickles are compliant.

PS. This post contains affiliate links. When you click the link and make a purchase through the link, we make a little money, this helps to keep The Semiconservative Granola Girl going. Thank you for your support.