For some ideas for Z Grills recipes chicken and poultry dinners, read on. Whether you are looking to smoke duck, chicken, turkey etc on your Z Grill pellet smoker you will find some great suggestions here.

Some of the recipes come from Z Grills themselves and some are our own, but they are all delicious and fun things to smoke.

Z Grills Recipes Chicken & Other Poultry Ideas

Z Grill Chicken Wings – Crispy and Smoky

The secret to getting your Z Grills chicken wings nice and crispy is tossing them in a bag with 2 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt before smoking them.

It also helps to smoke them in 2 stages – first at at lower heat of 250F or 121C for 30 minutes and then at a higher heat of 425F or 218C for a final 45 minutes or so.

You can serve them with your favourite BBQ after you’ve made sure they are nice and crispy first.

Z Grills Recipes Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are sometimes an underrated cut, but they contain plenty of meat which is much more moist than chicken breast.

You smoke them at 250F or 121C for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat registers an internal temperature of 175F or 79C in the thickest part of the dark meat (away from the bone).

You can dust them with your favourite BBQ dry rub or you could try the homemade one below:

• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder

For a stronger smoke flavour use hickory and for a milder sweeter smoke flavour cherry or apple work well. You can also do a mix of hickory and a fruit wood too.

Z Grill Spatchcock Chicken

Although you don’t have to spatchcock a whole chicken to smoke it, it makes sense to do so because it allows for even cooking, and for the whole surface of the chicken to take on smoke flavour. It can also help you get a nice crispy skin on the chicken because the heat and smoke ar eevenly distributed around it.

There’s definitely a bit of a knack to spatchcocking chicken, but once you get the hang of it it’s straightforward enough. The Youtube video below shows you how to remove the backbone with a pair of sharp scissors and smoked your spatchcocked chicken on the Z Grills 700D4E.

Z Grill Beer Can Chicken

You have to try smoked chicken on a beer can at least once, just for the sheer fun of it.

Simply place a chicken on top of a half full beer can, dust it with your favourite BBQ rub and smoke it at 225F or 107C in your Z Grills pellet smoker for 2-3 hours, or until the internal temperature has reached 74C or 165F in the the thickest part of the chicken meat.

Wrapping the chicken in bacon is optional, but it does help to keep the chicken moist in the smoker.

You can watch the process of smoking a whole chicken on a beer can on our Instagram video below.

Although this was done in our portable Weber, it will work just as well or better in your Z Grills smoker.

Z Grill Recipes – Whole Duck

This recipe for spatchcock whole duck is absolutely delicious and a little bit out of the ordinary for a special occasion.

You can either butterfly or spatchcock the duck first, then rub it all over with a teaspoon of salt.

Make the glaze by combining the following ingredients together in a bowl:

• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

The butterflied or spatchcocked duck is smoked at 250F or 121C for around 3 hours until the internal temperature is 170F or 77C. You brush the bird with the balsamic glaze every hour for flavour and juiciness.

Smoked Turkey Wings on the Z Grill Pellet Smoker

You’ll need 8 turkey wings for this recipe, preferably all a similar size to make sure they cook at the same time.

Dust the turkey wings all over with the BBQ rub and smoke in your Z Grills smoker for 2 hours at 250F or 121C. While the turkey wings are smoking you can make your sauce by combining the ingredients in a medium hot pan.

During the last 5 minutes or so of cooking you brush the turkey wings with the sauce and cook with the lid down for a few minutes. The internal temperature of the turkey wings should be at least 165F when you brush with them with the sauce.

Dry Rub Ingredients

• 2 tbsps dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 tsps cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp rubbed sage

Mix throughy to combine in a bowl.

Turkey Wings Sauce

• 1/2 cup of ketchup
• 2 1/2 tbsps dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsps water
• 1 1/2 tbsps apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 1/2 tsps yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 minced garlic cloves

Bring the ingredients to a gentle boil in a pan and then simmer for 7-8 minutes or so until thickened.

If you enjoyed this article you might also enjoy our Z Grills recipes ribs ideas, or our article on Z Grills chicken thighs recipe with Al Pastor marinade.

If you tried out any of the Z Grills recipes chicken ideas here let us know in the comments below or tag us on Instagram @bbqgrillshub.