I’ve tried nearly every imaginable way to make smoked pulled chicken on a pellet smoker, and this is my favorite method by far. It starts by smoking boneless skinless chicken thighs at 225ºF for a short window before tossing the chicken in a sauce and covering to finish. Using this method keeps the chicken juicy and tender for pulling while still picking up plenty of smoky flavor.
This recipe calls for a homemade chili crisp and honey sauce, but the recipe works with all kinds of seasoning and sauce combinations. Though I’ve included a pickle slaw in the recipe that goes great with the hot honey chicken and a bit of ranch on sandwiches or loaded fries.

You can find the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. And between here and there, I’ve included some more in depth notes about ingredients, substitutions, pellets, and other relevant information.
Part One: Smoked Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
My recipe makes a big batch of pulled chicken and calls for four pounds of boneless chicken thighs. You can obviously start smaller and cut the recipe in half. Or maybe go half and half with two pounds seasoned one way and half hot honey style.
For hot honey chicken, all you need for the dry rub is a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. This is a solid start for just about any sauce combination.

I used a Weber Searwood XL with Weber Grillmaster pellets, which is a blend of hickory, cherry, and maple. If you’re using a pellet smoker with an “extra smoke” setting, use it. My Traeger could use its Super Smoke setting up to 225ºF, but my Weber has a SmokeBoost feature that only works up to 200ºF. Love the Searwood, though!

This seems like a good time to mention you’re not looking for a specific cook on the chicken in the first half of the cook. You just want the chicken to pick up a bit of color and smoky flavor without drying out. Once it goes in the sauce, that will get the chicken up to temperature and render all the fat for succulent pulled smoked chicken.
Part Two: Saucing, Covering, and Braising
I’ve never had any luck making pulled chicken thighs on the smoker completely uncovered. Unlike skin-on smoked chicken thighs, the exterior dries out and becomes tough before the chicken is ready to be shredded. You can either cook them hot and fast (like this), or you can smoke low then finish by covering and braising, in my experience.
For the four pounds of chicken in this recipe, I used a 9×13 ceramic baking dish and covered it with foil. A Dutch oven or grill pan would both work fine. Anything that can fit all your smoked chicken and not react with an acidic sauce is a-okay.

The beauty of chicken thighs, especially when cooked in a moist environment like the covered pan here, is that it’s really difficult to overcook them.
My recipe calls for keeping the temperature steady at 225ºF for another 1.5-2 hours. You could increase the temperature to speed up the back half of the cook, but you will want to keep an eye on the sauce and add liquid if needed. Don’t burn the sugar in the honey! For an example, my smoked chicken sliders take chicken thighs and BBQ sauce to 350ºF for an hour just fine.
Whenever the chicken shreds easily with a fork, it’s good to go. If you’re looking for an internal temperature range for the chicken, 175ºF to 185ºF is usually a safe bet for pulled chicken thighs.

Just like smoked shredded beef, you can’t skip the final step of letting the pulled chicken hang out in the sauce and rendered fat. As little as 15-20 minutes should do the trick. If you want to add some fresh herbs, you can toss them in at this stage.
Pickle Slaw and Other Ways to Serve Smoked Pulled Chicken
And speaking of herbs, this hot honey chicken goes perfectly on sandwiches with herby ranch and pickle slaw. In Matty Matheson’s recent video about a New Year’s Eve feast, he made hot honey chicken sliders that inspired this recipe.
I’ve adapted the pickle slaw from the video here with chopped pickles, pepperoncini, jalapeño peppers, sliced white onion, lemon juice, olive oil, fresh herbs, and seasoning. It’s a perfect pairing for the sweetness from the honey in the smoked chicken.

Sandwiches are just the tip of the iceberg. You could warm some tortillas on the smoker and make hot honey chicken tacos (like these with peach salsa) or something like my BBQ chicken quesadillas.
Cheesy loaded fries with the pickle slaw and ranch and/or feta would be great. I made a spin on burger bowls with the smoked pulled chicken, pickle slaw, air fryer fries, and ranch over a bed of lettuce.

If you’re familiar with my style of cooking and recipes, you know rice bowls are always a strong recommendation. As well as leftovers fried rice. Thanks to the chili crisp, this chicken works great with other Asian-style ingredients. For a lower calorie affair, go with fried cauliflower rice.
I’d love to hear what you come up with and how you serve your pulled chicken. Let me know in the comments at the bottom of this post or in a recipe review. Those are always appreciated. You can also leave any questions you have about the recipe in the comments. I hope you enjoy this smoked chicken!

Hot Honey Smoked Pulled Chicken with Pickle Slaw
Smoked and pulled boneless skinless chicken thighs in a sweet and spicy chili crisp honey sauce with a chopped pickle slaw.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- 4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 4 teaspoons Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons Paprika
- 1/2 cup (168g) Honey
- 1/4 cup (60g) Chili Crisp or Chili Oil
- 1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Chicken Broth or Water
- Pinch of Dried or Ground Thyme
For the Pickle Slaw
- 1/2 White Onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup Pickles
- 2 Tablespoons Pepperoncini
- 2 Tablespoons Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1-2 handfuls Fresh Parsley, chopped
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
For Serving (optional)
- Toasted Buns
- Ranch
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 225ºF with the lid closed.
- Season the chicken thighs with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika on all sides.
- Once the smoker is up to temperature, add the chicken and cook for 90 minutes. (If your smoker has a Super Smoke or SmokeBoost function, use it in this step.)
- Mix the honey, chili crisp, vinegar, broth, and thyme together.
- Transfer the chicken to a baking dish or smoker safe dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to evenly coat. Cover the pan with foil or a lid and cook for 1.5-2 hours or until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Reduce the temperature on your smoker to its keep warm function or 180ºF to 200ºF. Pull the chicken and toss in the remaining juices. Cover and let the pulled chicken rest in the juices for 15-20 minutes before serving.
- While the chicken rests, prepare the pickle slaw by roughly chopping the pickles and pickled peppers and tossing with the sliced onion and remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the chicken on toasted buns with the slaw and ranch, if desired.
Notes
I smoked the chicken using Weber Grillmaster Blend pellets (maple, cherry, hickory) on a Weber Searwood XL pellet smoker.
The nutrition facts provided are for the chicken on its own.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: about 4 oz of chickenAmount Per Serving: Calories: 185Total Fat: 7gCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 22g