The Best Smoked Chicken BBQ In Miami, According To A Local

Miami suffers from a bad BBQ reputation that is fairly unwarranted. Sure, we can't (yet) compete with BBQ hot spots like Kansas City, Memphis, or Austin, but we can hold our own. We are, after all, a Southern city and we have a large population of meat-loving Caribbeans whose black and indigenous ancestors actually inspired many of the United States' BBQ traditions. We also have our own nascent but growing signature BBQ style that deserves more recognition for its inventive use of tropical flavors and Latin American-inspired side dishes. Cafecito-rubbed pulled pork with a side of Mexican corn of the cob? Sign me up any day.

The problem is that outsiders typically keep to the city's main tourist centers like South Beach, Wynwood, and Little Havana. Though these areas have some great food, our best BBQ spots are in the more local neighborhoods that few tourists know about — and even fewer visit. As a BBQ lover who grew up in the city (and who has traveled to many other states just to eat BBQ), it irks me when people who've never left the beach try to claim that Miamians can't smoke meat. 

Meat lovers willing to venture out of the tourist hubs will find plenty of quality BBQ joints. But for those specifically looking for Miami's best smoked chicken, there is no better place than Shiver's BBQ. This legacy restaurant has been filling up bellies since 1960. And while everything on the menu is delicious, its charred smoked chicken is simply unbeatable.

To get to Shiver's, you'll have to drive to Homestead, an hour south from Downtown Miami. The drive is definitely worth it but it keeps this laid-back, family-owned joint a beloved local secret for committed BBQ lovers. Within the log cabin-style restaurant, you sit at long, communal picnic tables that transport you into a cozy family gathering. Once the food arrives, you feel even more at home as you bite into dishes clearly made with love.

Like with all its meats, Shiver's slow cooks its chicken until the skin has a crispy char and the meat is deeply smokey yet tender. More importantly, the flavor and the texture stay consistent, something many other BBQ joints often fail to do right. You won't get tenderness in one bite and dryness in the next. Instead, each piece is cooked to perfection.

The chicken (and other entrées) comes with two sides and you really can't go wrong with any of the options. Get the tangy but not bitter collard greens or the fluffy mashed potatoes with creamy gravy. Whatever you do, don't skip the life-changing, deep-fried mac and cheese cubes.

Shiver's only faults are its out-of-the-way location, its underwhelming beer selection, and the fact that the mains don't come with pickles, a classic pairing that helps balance meats. That said, none of these really detract from the overall experience. I'll happily do a long drive and drink Stella Artois for a darn good smoked chicken.

If your heart is set on eating smoked chicken but you don't want to deal with a long drive, there are other visit-worthy BBQ options closer to Downtown Miami. Lil Green House Grill, for instance, is one of Miami's best-value restaurants and serves a mouthwatering, slow smoked chicken glazed with the chef's signature (and secret) BBQ sauce blend. Alternatively, you can get Hometown BBQ Miami's Oaxacan chicken with pickled red onions and salsa verde. The dish is explosively flavorful and seriously spicy, but its texture isn't always consistent so I'd mainly recommend it for people who want heat over juiciness. Hometown also offers a killer selection of draft beers and wines that pair perfectly with BBQ dishes.

On days when you're looking for other meats, Apocalypse BBQ is, in my opinion, the best BBQ spot in the city. Serving Miami-style smoked meats, this Kendall joint always has a line of hardcore fans willing to stand in line for hours just for a bite of its unbelievably tender brisket or its pineapple-braised pork belly. Sadly, Apocalypse doesn't have smoked chicken (though it does serve wings rubbed in Cuban coffee), which is why it lost out to Shiver's in this specific category.

Shiver's is also the top choice for a more traditional American BBQ experience. The legacy restaurant thrives by keeping true to what it's always done best: serving great Southern BBQ at good prices in a welcoming setting. That's simply hard to beat.