Smoked Chicken Chili Recipe
Infuse your smoked chicken chili recipe with incredible smoky flavor by placing a whole chicken directly above the simmering chili base, allowing the drippings to enhance the beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, and spices below. Once smoked to perfection, shred the chicken and stir it into the rich, smoky chili for a crowd-pleasing meal.
Servings 8 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 4 lb. Whole Chicken spatchcocked
- 1 Yellow Onion diced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Poblano Pepper diced
- 2 Jalapenos minced
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 28 oz. Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 14.5 oz. Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup Frozen Corn
- 4 cups Chicken Stock
- 8 oz. Softened Cream Cheese
- 1/4 cup Masa Harina (cornmeal)
- 1 Lime juiced
- 3 tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Cumin
- 1.5 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Mexican Oregano
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil for the chicken
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 250 F.
- In a frying pan, sauté the red pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno, onion, and garlic until tender and soft(about 6-8 minutes).
- Fold in the drained and rinsed black beans and the corn. Pour this mixture into a large aluminum foil pan.
- To the pan add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock, and softened cream cheese in cubes and mix to combine.
- Remove the chicken from the packaging and pat it dry. Use kitchen shears to remove the backbone and crack down the breastbone to lay the chicken flat. Lightly coat the whole chicken in olive oil and season with 4-6 tbsp of the dry rub on all sides and under the skin of the breast meat.
- Place the spatchcock chicken onto a wire rack and place the wire rack over the aluminum foil pan so it’s sitting on top of the smoker grates (if this isn’t stable you can place these each on the grill side by side instead. Smoked for 2.5- 3 hours, spray the chicken with chicken stock as needed until the internal temperature of the breast meat reaches 165 F.
- Remove both the chicken and the chili base mixture from the smoker and set the chicken aside to rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Use a whisk to mix the cream cheese cubes into the chili base. Stir in the lime juice and masa harina mix again and set aside tented in foil (you can also transfer this to a pot on the stove over low heat if desired).
- After the chicken has rested, shred all of the meat by hand and remove any bones, cartilage, and skin as needed.
- Add the shredded smoked chicken meat into the chili base and mix everything to combine.
- Serve with your favorite chilitoppings and enjoy!