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!
I love my smoked chicken- a while ago I shared my smoked chicken quarters and homemade shake and bake chicken and today, I am bringing you this smoked chicken leg recipe. It should be no surprise that they are very similar.
Why I love this recipe:
- Smoking them is easy and you can smoke a bunch at once!
- They can be bought in 5-10lbs bags which means you can feed a crowd!
- Smoking them is easy and you can smoke a bunch at once!
It’s my favorite way to smoke chicken and I just can’t wait to share it with you!
What you need for smoked drumsticks:
Brine
- Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Water
Rub
- Garlic Powder
- Chipotle Powder
- Paprika
- Onion Powder
- Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
Chicken Legs
Olive Oil
Smoker- I used my Camp Chef Vault with wood chips but you can also use your favorite pellet smoker!
Smoker Thermometer- Highly recommend a Thermoworks!
How to prep your smoker?
Preheat your smoker to 225°F. I like to get my smoker really hot so it get the wood chips smoking really nice- which is in the 300°F, then I turn down the heat when I put the chicken on.
Also, when you open the smoker it will drop the temperature really fast so you don’t need to worry about it being at 300°F.
If you are using a pellet smoker just get it smoking really nicely and set it to 225°F.
What type of chips or pellets?
I used hickory chips because that’s what I had on hand, but a competition blend or an apple or pecan would be delicious.
How to brine the chicken legs?
In a medium sized pot heat water, brown sugar and salt until dissolved. Then allow that mixture to cool.
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Once cool pour over chicken and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but overnight is preferred.
How to make the spice rub?
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. That easy!
How to smoke chicken legs?
- Remove chicken legs from brine and pat dry.
- Brush both sides with olive oil then sprinkle with dry rub.
- Place chicken legs in smoker and smoke until you reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
- How can I get a crispier skin?
- Remove your chicken drumsticks from the smoker at 155°. Place in a preheated oven ( at 400°F) until your chicken reaches 165°F.
How much chicken does this recipe make?
This recipe is for 5lbs of chicken drumsticks. If I have leftover chicken I will typically use if for tacos or enchiladas (my husband’s favorite!)
Can you freeze leftover smoked chicken drumsticks?
Yep! I like to remove the chicken form the bone then stick in a freezer Ziploc baggie. I do try to eat it within a few months but that is never hard!
Serve these up with some tasty smoked deviled eggs, broccoli slaw, and fresh limeade! It's a party waiting to happen! And if you like this recipe, check out my easy chicken tortilla soup recipe!
Video
Smoked Chicken Legs
Equipment
- Wood Chips/Pellets
Ingredients
Brine
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 6 Cups Water*
Dry Rub
- 1 tbs garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Additional Ingredients
- 5 lbs chicken legs
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
Brine the chicken
- Combine brown sugar, salt, and 6 cups water in a bowl. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup kosher salt, 6 Cups Water*
- 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.5 lbs chicken legs
- Allow the chicken to sit in the brine for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.
Prepare the dry rub
- Combine all the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl.1 tbs garlic powder, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Prepare the chicken and your smoker
- 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.½ cup olive oil
- Get your smoker started smoking/heating up. I tend to use dry hickory wood chips, but you use whatever wood chips you like.
- Once your smoker is hot, place the chicken legs on the racks and allow them to cook for 2-3 hours.
- 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!
Notes
- *The nutrition info doesn't include calories for the brine since I am not sure how much that changes the chicken's nutrition info.
- Leftovers- If you have a bunch of leftovers either use them in tacos or enchiladas, or freeze them.
- Freeze- I like to remove the chicken from the bone then place in a freezer safe Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to a few months!
Fred says
You should tell folks to use Kosher salt, I wouldn't use table salt for a brine, its to fine and a cup of table salt would be like 3 cups of kosher salt, in my opinion.
Lisa says
Good point! I will update that!
APatz5 says
This brine is WAAAAYYYYYYYY too salty. I cooked just under 5# of organic chicken legs and had to throw them all out. I made the brine at night and smoked them the next morning so I didn't let them brine too long. On a positive note, the dry rub was really tasty. We just felt like we were eating sticks of salt. I was so excited about the brine bc of the tenderness and flavor it would provide. Maybe cutting the salt in half or only using 1/4 C would be effective??
Lisa says
Hmm that's weird they are never too salty when I make them. What type of salt were you using.... maybe that affected them? Glad you liked the rub though!