smoked 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!

Smoked Chicken Legs are easy to make, tender, and delicious! Full of flavor and some of the moistest, fall off the bone chicken you will ever have!

brown sugar

salt

Cups Water*

garlic powder

chipotle powder

paprika

onion powder

tsp pepper

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

lbs chicken legs

Dissolve

Combine brown sugar, salt, and 6 cups water in a bowl. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved

Cover

In a large resealable bag (or several) or a large bowl (or several), add your raw chicken legs and then divide the brine between the containers. Add additional water to the bowls or bags until the chicken is mostly covered by water.

Brine

Allow the chicken to sit in the brine for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

Brine the chicken

Combine all the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl.

Prepare the dry rub

Once the chicken has sat in the brine for 2 hours, remove it from the liquid and pat dry.

Pour the olive oil over the chicken and then rub with your dry rub mixture. I like to separate the skin from the meat just a little and get oil and seasoning in-between the two, as well as over every side.

Preheat

Get your smoker started smoking/heating up. I tend to use dry hickory wood chips, but you use whatever wood chips you like.

Smoke

Once your smoker is hot, place the chicken legs on the racks and allow them to cook for 2-3 hours.

Crisp

The chicken legs need to get to an internal temperature of 165°F to be safe to eat. Once the chicken reaches 155°F I will usually remove them from the smoker and put them in a preheated 400°F oven for 5-10 minutes- or until it reaches 165-170°F. This allows the chicken skin to crisp up nicely wile reaching the final temperature.

Enjoy

Prepare the chicken and your smoker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gcPqtyUhSs

Full recipe: https://www.atablefullofjoy.com/smoked-chicken-legs/

Smoked Chicken Legs are easy to make, tender, and delicious! Full of flavor and some of the moistest, fall off the bone chicken you will ever have!

#campchef #smokedchicken #chicken

Smoky Chipotle Grilled Chicken with Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce

Chicken drumsticks (quantity as needed)

chili powder

cayenne pepper

black pepper

smoked paprika

Hickory wood chunks (for smoking)

Mayo

Sour cream

Buttermilk

Lemon (juiced)

tsp Fresh chopped dill

tsp Fresh chopped chives

tsp Fresh chopped parsley

Onion powder

Garlic powder

chipotle pepper (from a can, finely diced or blended)

In a mixing bowl, combine kosher salt, chipotle powder, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, black pepper, smoked paprika, and brown sugar to create the dry rub.

Butterfly the chicken drumsticks by making a lengthwise cut along the side of the bone without cutting all the way through. Open the drumstick up to expose the bone.

Generously coat each butterflied drumstick with the dry rub and let them marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce. In a separate bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk.

Add the juice from half a lemon to the sauce mixture.

Mix in the freshly chopped dill, chives, and parsley.

Season the sauce with onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt.

Incorporate the finely diced or blended chipotle pepper into the sauce and stir until well combined. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to serve.

Prepare the grill for direct grilling. Once hot, sear both sides of the marinated chicken drumsticks for 90-120 seconds each.

Adjust the grill for indirect grilling at approximately 325°F (163°C) and add hickory wood chunks for smoking.

Transfer the seared chicken to the indirect heat side of the grill and smoke until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the grill and serve with the Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce.

It’s not surprising that smoked chicken legs are a fan-favorite comfort food for smoking enthusiasts almost everywhere. Today, I’ll show you a super easy way to prepare your favorite poultry part without the messy splatters. The juicy meats and the crispy skin simply spell out deliciousness with aroma you simply couldn’t resist.

Chicken Legs

Italian Seasoning

white pepper

bouillon powder ((you may replace with salt))

Prepare the chicken legs: Remove chicken legs from packaging and place on a rack, in a single layer, over baking sheet.

Refrigerate:  Let them sit in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours or preferable overnight. Do not cover them; let the air-dry them out. You can omit this part and proceed with the spices, if in a rush.

Preheat: When ready to Smoke, preheat smoker to 250 Degrees F, using wood of choice

Season the chicken legs: Place the chicken in a large bowl, with all the spices, and then drizzle with oil.

Placement: You can place chicken legs directly on the smoker crates or on a wing chicken rack.

Cover and cook: Cover the smoker and Smoke the chicken legs for about 90 minutes and then move the chicken around for even cooking. Part of the smoker is hotter than other parts. Use your best judgement.

Check the temperature: Smoke until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), not touching the bone, about 30 more minutes.

Remove and Baste: When the chicken is done, remove from the smoker and immediately baste it with desired barbecue sauce.

Haven’t tried it yet but it sounds awesome. I love the various seasonings, for they truly can be enhancing to any meat!

Top 4 smoked drumsticks recipes from across the web

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Smoked Chicken Legs

Smoked Chicken Legs

Smoky Chipotle Grilled Chicken with...

Smoked Chicken Legs

Top 4 smoked drumsticks recipes from across the web

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

Top Tags

Smoked Chicken Legs

Smoked Chicken Legs

Smoky Chipotle Grilled Chicken with...

Smoked Chicken Legs

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