Smoked Lemon-chipotle Chickens

Total Time: 49 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 4 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 small sweet onion, quartered
• 8 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 3 (4 1/2 lb) whole chickens
• kitchen string
• 2 1/2 cups hickory chips or 2 1/2 cups oak wood chips

Recipe

• 1 add the first 8 ingredients to a food processor along with ¾ teaspoon salt; process until smooth; set mixture aside.
• 2 remove excess skin from necks and cavities of chickens.
• 3 starting at large cavities, loosen skin from breast and legs by inserting fingers and gently pushing between skin and meat (do not completely detach skin).
• 4 place chickens in a large roasting pan; using a bulb baster, squeeze lemon-chipotle mixture evenly into chicken cavities and under skin on breasts and legs.
• 5 sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining salt; tuck wings under.
• 6 position the center of a 3-foot piece of kitchen string under back of 1 chicken near tail.
• 7 wrap string around legs and around body of chicken; tie securely at neck.
• 8 repeat with remaining chickens.
• 9 soak wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes; set aside.
• 10 prepare smoker according to manufacturer’s directions.
• 11 bring internal temperature to 225° to 250°, and maintain temperature for 15-20 minutes.
• 12 place chickens on upper cooking grate; cover with smoker lid.
• 13 cook chickens, maintaining the temperature inside the smoker between 225-250°, for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• 14 drain reserved wood chips, and place on coals.
• 15 cover with smoker lip; smoke chickens 2 to 2 ½ hours more until a meat thermometer inserted into thighs registers 175°.
• 16 remove chickens from smoker; cover loosely with foil and let stand 10 minutes or until thermometer reads 180° before slicing.