These smoked bacon wrapped chicken thighs are rich, smoky, tender, and packed with flavor. They are the kind of barbecue chicken recipe you really have to taste to fully appreciate.
Chicken thighs are naturally juicy and flavorful, which makes them ideal for smoking. In this recipe, the boneless, skinless thighs are first soaked in buttermilk to help improve tenderness and add a mild tang. After that, they are dry brined with Jeff’s original rub, wrapped in bacon, and smoked until they reach the perfect internal temperature.
To add one more layer of flavor, the chicken is brushed with a simple orange barbecue glaze during the final part of the cook. The glaze helps keep the ends from drying out and gives the bacon wrapped chicken thighs a bright, sweet, smoky finish without overpowering the meat.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Buttermilk Soak: 4 hours
- Dry Brine: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Smoker Temp: 240°F
- Meat Finish Temp: 165°F
- Recommended Wood: Cherry
- 10-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ gallon buttermilk
- Jeff’s original rub
- 1 lb bacon, about 1 slice per thigh
- Jeff’s barbecue sauce
- ½ cup orange juice, medium pulp if preferred
Soaking chicken in buttermilk is a simple step that can make a noticeable difference in both flavor and texture. The buttermilk helps the chicken thighs stay tender and gives the meat a subtle richness before it ever reaches the smoker.
Remove the boneless chicken thighs from the package and trim away any loose or excessive fat with kitchen shears. Place the trimmed thighs into a medium-sized bowl or food-safe container.
If you forget to trim the fat before the soak, you can still do it afterward, but trimming first makes the process cleaner and easier.
Pour enough buttermilk over the chicken to fully cover the pieces. Cover the bowl with a lid or wrap and place it in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.
After the 4-hour soak, remove the bowl from the refrigerator. Take each chicken thigh out of the buttermilk, allowing the excess to drain off, and place the meat into a clean container.
Discard the used buttermilk. Do not reuse it.
You may wonder why the chicken is soaked in buttermilk and then dry brined instead of simply brining it in the buttermilk. The reason is flavor and texture. Dry brining allows the seasoning to work directly on the surface of the meat while helping the chicken retain moisture during the smoking process.
With a wet brine, salt is dissolved in water or another liquid and the meat soaks in that solution. With a dry brine, salt or a salt-based rub is applied directly to the outside of the meat. As it rests, the salt draws moisture to the surface, where it mixes with the seasoning and forms a concentrated brine. That seasoned moisture is then drawn back into the meat, helping the chicken become juicier and more flavorful.
This method works especially well with poultry, and chicken thighs are a great choice because they already have a rich flavor and enough natural moisture to handle low-and-slow cooking.
To dry brine the chicken thighs, place the drained meat into a clean container in a single layer. Sprinkle a generous layer of Jeff’s original rub over the chicken. Add another layer of chicken if needed, then season that layer as well. Continue until all of the chicken thighs are coated.
Cover the container and place the chicken back into the refrigerator for about 2 hours. During this time, the rub will begin to work into the meat and create a seasoned surface that is perfect for smoking.
After the dry brine, the chicken will look darker and more seasoned, with moisture visible on the surface.
When wrapping chicken with bacon, the goal is to add smoky, savory flavor and help protect the meat while it cooks. Bacon may not become fully crisp at standard smoking temperatures, but it still adds a lot to the finished dish.
Partially cooking the bacon before wrapping may sound helpful, but it can make the bacon harder to handle. It may tear when you try to wrap it tightly around the chicken. For this recipe, uncooked bacon works better.
One slice of bacon per chicken thigh is usually enough. Using two slices can make the wrap too thick and may slow down the cooking.
Recommended method:
Gently stretch one slice of bacon as long as you can without tearing it. Start at one end of the chicken thigh and wrap the bacon around the meat, finishing at the other end.
Note: Stretching the bacon before wrapping helps it tighten and firm up better in the low heat of the smoker.
Place the bacon wrapped chicken thighs on a cookie sheet or smoker rack so they are easy to carry out to the smoker.
Preheat your smoker before adding the chicken. A target cooking temperature of about 240°F works well for smoked bacon wrapped chicken thighs. If you are using a smoker that loses a lot of heat when the door is opened, preheating slightly higher can help the cooker recover faster once the meat is loaded.
You can use a charcoal, electric, gas, or wood smoker for this recipe. The most important things are maintaining a steady cooking temperature and cooking the chicken until the center of the meat reaches 165°F.
Note: In cold weather, allow extra time for the smoker to preheat. Keep the door or lid closed as much as possible, and avoid unnecessary opening so the smoker can maintain steady heat.
Place the bacon wrapped chicken thighs directly on the smoker grate, or leave them on a rack and set the rack on the grate. Arrange the thighs with a little space between each piece so smoke and heat can move around them.
Use cherry wood if available. Cherry smoke pairs nicely with chicken, bacon, and the orange barbecue glaze. Keep the smoke going throughout the cook if you are using a smoker that requires wood chips or chunks to be added manually.
Maintain the smoker at about 240°F and cook for approximately 2 hours, or until a digital meat thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken reads 165°F.
The Orange Barbecue Glaze
The glaze for these smoked chicken thighs is simple: barbecue sauce thinned with orange juice. The orange juice lightens the sauce, adds a mild citrus sweetness, and turns it into more of a glaze than a thick coating.
To make the glaze, combine:
- ½ cup Jeff’s barbecue sauce
- ½ cup orange juice
Brush the glaze onto the chicken twice during the final hour of smoking. This helps keep the meat moist on the edges while adding another layer of flavor. The goal is not to cover the chicken in heavy sauce, but to create a light, flavorful finish that complements the smoke, bacon, and seasoning.
Some things that affect the cook time:
Cooking time can vary from one smoker to another. Use the estimated time as a guide, but rely on internal temperature to determine when the chicken is done.
- Opening the smoker frequently allows heat to escape and can increase the total cook time. Open it only when needed for glazing or checking temperature.
- Cold chicken straight from the refrigerator will take longer to cook than chicken that has warmed slightly while you prepare the smoker.
- Smoker temperature matters. Chicken cooked at 250°F will finish faster than chicken cooked at 210°F.
- Different smokers cook differently. Airflow, heat source, and smoker design can all affect how quickly the meat reaches its finished temperature.
For best results, use a reliable digital meat thermometer. The chicken thighs are ready when the center of the meat reaches 165°F.
Once the chicken thighs reach 165°F, remove them from the smoker and serve them right away. The finished smoked bacon wrapped chicken thighs should be juicy inside, smoky on the outside, and full of savory bacon flavor with a light orange barbecue glaze.
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 10-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ gallon buttermilk
- Jeff’s original rub
- 1 lb bacon (1 slice per thigh)
- Jeff’s barbecue sauce
- ½ cup orange juice
Instructions
Buttermilk Soak
- Trim any loose excess fat from the chicken thighs.
- Place the chicken in a bowl and cover it with buttermilk.
- Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and let the excess drain off.
- Discard the used buttermilk.
Dry Brine
- Place the chicken thighs in a clean container in a single layer.
- Sprinkle a generous coating of rub over the meat.
- Add another layer of chicken if needed and season again.
- Repeat until all thighs are coated.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Bacon Wrap
- Gently stretch one slice of bacon without tearing it.
- Wrap the bacon around one chicken thigh from end to end.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken thighs.
- Place the wrapped thighs on a cookie sheet or smoker rack.
Smoking the Chicken Thighs
- Preheat the smoker to 240°F.
- Smoke the chicken with cherry wood for about 2 hours.
- Mix equal parts barbecue sauce and orange juice to make the glaze.
- Brush the glaze onto the chicken twice during the last hour of cooking.
- Cook until the center of each chicken thigh reaches 165°F.
- Serve immediately.