Campfire Smoked Rotisserie Chicken

Level up your camp cooking with smoky campfire chicken! Use a spit or DIY rotisserie to slow cook two flavorful chickens—perfect for camping trips or backyard gatherings with plenty to share.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Recipe Type BBQ, Camping, Chicken, Fall, Grilled, Kid-Friendly, Memorial Day, Served Hot, Summer

Skill Level Intermediate

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 4

Total Time 4 20

Servings Servings

Calories 276kcal

Author Angela G.

Equipment

Ingredients

2 whole chickens
1 cup sugar
1 cup salt
1 gallon tap water
2 cups apple cider vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 cups water or use beer for extra flavor
Barbecue sauce to taste for serving

Instructions

Brine chicken. Place two chickens in large stock pot. Add salt and sugar then fill pot with water to cover chickens. Let chicken sit in brine for at least 4 hours or overnight. (Refrigerate if letting sit overnight).
Heat your campfire to a point where there are plenty of hot coals in the pit.
Truss your chickens (see video for how-to) then skewer chickens firmly onto the rotisserie spit over your campfire.
Combine apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, white pepper and water or beer in a squirt bottle. Douse chicken with this mixture.
Rotate spit every 20-30 mins (10-15 if your fire is roaring). Add wood to the fire as needed to keep fire nice and hot but don't let flames touch the meat. Douse chicken once an hour with brown sugar and vinegar mixture.
Cook chicken for 4-8 hours depending on how hot your fire is.
Chicken is done when thickest part of the bird is 165˚F. Let chicken rest covered with foil for 10-15 minutes before carving.
Rub with barbecue sauce and serve.

Notes

Cook time can vary greatly due to the difficulty in keeping an open fire a consistent temperature. Please use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
Chicken should be about 30" above your hot fire. Smoke is good and heat is good, flames are bad! Don't let the flames touch your chicken.
Do not leave your slow-cooking chicken unattended.

Nutrition