smoked chicken drumsticks

These Smoked Chicken Legs are perfect for summer! The chicken is coated with a homemade dry rub on the outside then cooked in flavorful smoke until you have juicy, tender chicken on the inside.  The crispy, crackly skin is full of amazing flavor that will have everyone coming back for seconds.

Smoked Chicken Legs

chicken legs

olive oil

Dry Rub for Chicken

Preheat the smoker to 250°F. Make sure it is topped up with wood pellets.

Drizzle the chicken legs on all sides with the olive oil.

Apply the dry rub over the chicken legs and ensure it covers all parts; top, bottom, and sides.

Once the smoker comes up to temperature, place the chicken legs directly on the preheated grill and put your thermometer probe in, horizontally through each side, into the thickest part of the meat without touching the bone.

Close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature of the chicken legs is 175°F.  This will take about 2 hours.

If you like BBQ sauce, apply your favorite sauce the last few minutes of cooking time.

Remove the smoked chicken legs from the grill and place them on a serving tray.  Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to reincorporate into the meat.

Enjoy!

Our Pit Boss Smoked Chicken Legs are first dry brined and seasoned overnight to get the most flavor and crispiest skin possible.Then we smoke these chicken drumsticks at medium indirect heat on the Pit Boss pellet grill and finish them with our favorite bbq sauce glaze for chicken.

Pit Boss Smoked Chicken Legs

Chicken Drumsticks

Salt

Tbsp Course Ground Black Pepper

¼ Cup Blues Hog Original BBQ Sauce

¼ Cup Blues Hog Tennessee Red BBQ Sauce

Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

Tbsp Paprika

½ Tbsp Course Ground Black Pepper

½ Tbsp Chili Powder

½ Tbsp Garlic Powder

Tsp Onion Powder

¼ Tsp Cayenne Pepper optional

Remove

Remove the chicken drumsticks from their packaging and rinse under cold running water. Pay dry with paper towels.

Place

Place the chicken legs on a wire rack placed on top of a baking sheet.

Brine

Mix together the 4 Tbsp Kosher salt and 1 Tbsp pepper, or use your favorite BBQ rub, and sprinkle generously over all sides of each chicken drumstick. DO NOT use cooking oil to adhere or skin will not get crispy.

Refrigerate

Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4-6 hours.

Dry Brine Overnight

Wipe

Take the chicken legs out of the refrigerator and wipe off any excess salt still remaining on the outside with a damp paper towel.

Mix the &quot;In a Pinch&quot; BBQ rub ingredients together and apply some to all sides of the chicken thighs. Or use some more of your favorite BBQ rub for chicken.

Remove the Next Day

Remove the fire pot from the bottom of the Pit Boss and clean out any ashes left over from the last cook. Replace it and make sure it is secured in place with the clips on either side. Also, wrap the drip tray in aluminum foil to limit cleanup needed later.

Pellets

Add your chosen pellets to the hopper, start the Pit Boss pellet grill and put it on the "Smoke" setting.

Prime

If there are no pellets in the auger, hold the "Prime" button until you hear pellets begin falling in the fire pot. This will speed up the auger to prime it full of pellets before you start preheating.

White Smoke

Once the Pit boss begins to produce thick white smoke, let it run for about 5-7 minutes until the smoke turns more of a clearish blue color. This means the fire rod has fully heated up to burn the pellets more cleanly.

Preheat

Next, set the temperature to preheat the Pit Boss pellet grill to 350°F. We will drop this temperature before we start cooking.

Liner

Place a disposable bucket liner in the grease bucket as well if you want to limit cleanup later.

Once the Pit Boss has come up to 350°F, drop the temperature on the control panel to 300° and clean the grill grates with a good grill brush and close the lid.

Start the Pit Boss Pellet Grill

Smoke

Place the chicken legs on the Pit Boss. You can flip and rotate for even cooking as needed. You can even leave them on the wire rack if you wish.

Sauce

Mix the two types of Blues Hog BBQ sauce together in a small bowl, and set aside

Temperature

Continue smoking the chicken legs, until the internal temperature reaches about  160°F internally. This may take 1 to 1.5 hours.

Baste

Once the skin on the chicken legs is crispy, gently baste the sauce on with a basting brush. Close the lid and continue cooking.

Once the internal temperature of the smoked chicken drumsticks reaches 175°F, remove them from the Pit Boss and place on a serving tray

Serve

Serve immediately with extra sauce if desired.

Smoking the Chicken Drumsticks on the Pit Boss Pellet Grill

Tender, juicy smoked chicken legs with a homemade seasoning that are basted with BBQ Sauce for a sweet and sticky finish.

Tbsp BBQ Chicken Rub (or your favorite seasoning/rub)

BBQ sauce

Preheat your smoker to 275 degree Fahrenheit according to manufacture&#39;s directions.

Drizzle the chicken legs with olive oil and then sprinkle BBQ Chicken rub on top. Work the rub into the chicken legs so they are completely covered.

Place drumsticks on preheated smoker, close lid and smoke for 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature of the chicken legs is 175 degrees. This will really vary depending on how big your drumstick is and how much meat is on it.

Then baste chicken legs with BBQ sauce. Close lid and smoke an additional ten minutes. You can skip the BBQ sauce if you&#39;d like. We like our chicken legs about 180-190 degrees F. This will prevent you from having any bloody meat around the bone.

Remove from smoker, let rest 5-10 minute and then enjoy!

Grab a hold of these Smoked Chicken Drumsticks with crispy skin, juicy meat, and classic barbecue flavors. These are simple to prepare, easily customizable, and incredibly affordable – it’s no wonder they are a huge hit for the crowd!

Smoked Chicken Drumsticks

chicken drumsticks

neutral-flavored oil

Signature Sweet & Smoky Rub

Smoky Sweet Heat Sauce,

Pat the drumsticks dry, and rub in the oil to coat the surface. Sprinkle a generous amount of seasoning on each. Place them on a wire rack with a baking sheet in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat the smoker to 275°F. Remove the drumsticks from the fridge and allow them to come to room temp while the smoker warms up.

Place them in the smoker when preheated, allowing them to cook for about 80-90 minutes undisturbed. Check on them after an hour, the target temperature we&#8217;re looking for is just about 165°F or slightly higher.

Glaze the drumsticks with your choice of BBQ sauce and get ready to crisp them up. Pellet Grill – Turn the heat up to 400°F and cook the drumsticks, flipping as needed to crisp up both sides.Charcoal Grill – Make sure the coals are warm, but not blazing hot. Spread them out a little if needed or the skin will burn quickly. Sear the chicken on each side for a couple of minutes, flipping as needed.

Remove the drumsticks when they reach about 180-185°F. They tend to be a little more crispy, falling off the bone, and easier to eat at this higher temperature.

Allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes and serve.

I only had time to let them sit for maybe 90 minutes in the fridge and went straight to the smoker. Still turned out soo good. My husband and two year old daughter were both smacking their lips and licking their fingers! Definitely a keeper!

Dude these were easy and awesome! 5 teenage college kids rated 10/10. I pretty much followed everything you said except I put the dry rub on for only 30 minutes. Still flavor was great. Thank you for your service!!

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Top 4 smoked chicken drumsticks recipes from across the web

The most viewed smoked chicken drumsticks recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Smoked Chicken Legs

Pit Boss Smoked Chicken Legs

Smoked Chicken Legs

Smoked Chicken Drumsticks

The most viewed smoked chicken drumsticks recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine