Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)

chicken thighs · verified system recipe · Pitmaster's weeknight friend

Pit temp
275°F
Pull at
175°F
Total time
~1.3 hr

Phase timeline

50m
25m
Smoke (skin-up)Crisp + glazetotal: 1h 15m

Step-by-step

  1. 1. Smoke (skin-up)

    → 160°F · ~50 min

    275°F pit, hickory or pecan. Skin-up so fat renders downward.

  2. 2. Crisp + glaze

    → 175°F · ~25 min

    Crank to 375°F or move direct to crisp the skin. Brush with BBQ sauce in the last 5 min. Pull at 175°F (dark meat is forgiving).

Rub
Salt + paprika + brown sugar + garlic
Wrap method
none
Rest method
tent_5min
Minimum rest
5 min

📐 Scale for guests

Target weight
2.4 lb
0.6 lb/guest
Cuts needed
1
~4 lb per cut
Cook time / cut
1h 15m
+ 5m rest

Each cut cooks at its own rate — even if you double up, plan the same hours. For very large crowds, run multiple cuts in parallel and stagger by 30 min.

🎯 Adjusted for your pit

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