Step 1: Prep the Chicken

Clean the chicken thighs and trim off any loose fat or excess skin.

Once cleaned up, season both the backside and the skin side generously with your barbecue rub. Let the chicken sit on the cutting board while you fire up the smoker.

Step 2: Fire Up the Smoker

Get your pellet grill rolling with your favorite pellets.

Set the smoker to the smoke setting or anywhere under 200°F. The goal here is to get as much smoke flavor into the chicken as possible.

Once the smoker reaches temperature, place the chicken thighs directly on the middle rack.

Smoke the chicken for 1 hour.

Step 3: Crank Up the Heat

After the hour of smoke, remove the chicken thighs from the smoker and place them back on the board.

Now turn the grill all the way up. In my case, that’s 500°F.

As the grill comes up to temp, place the chicken thighs on the bottom rack and try to group them closer to the fire pot for maximum heat.

Start with the chicken skin side up.

Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.

Step 4: Flip & Baste

After 5 minutes, flip the chicken.

Now it’s time to start basting with your barbecue sauce.

Baste the skin side

Flip the thighs skin side down

Baste again

Close the lid and cook for another 5 minutes.

Flip again, continue basting, and keep flipping every few minutes while the sauce caramelizes and the skin crisps up.

Step 5: Cook to Temperature

Continue cooking with the lid closed until the chicken thighs reach an internal temperature of 185°F to 200°F.

That higher finishing temp helps break down the connective tissue and gives you that tender, old-school barbecue bite.

Step 6: Rest & Serve

Remove the chicken thighs from the grill and let them rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Dig in and enjoy that smoky, sticky, backyard barbecue flavor.