• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

A Table Full Of Joy

Delicious food for everyone!

  • Favorite Chicken Recipes
  • Spring Recipes
  • All Recipes
  • About & Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Favorite Chicken Recipes
  • Spring Recipes
  • All Recipes
  • About & Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Hearthstone

    Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    Smoked chicken leg quarters are easy to make and extra tasty! It is full of flavor, both from the seasoning and the smoking, it’s cooked to juicy perfection, and it has a nice crisp skin!

    Pin Now and Save For Later!

    Smoked Chicken close up
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    The best smoked chicken quarters ever!

    There are few things that smell as good as a smoker cooking away some delicious meat! If you’ve never had smoked meat before, find your nearest buddy who has a smoker and make this smoked chicken recipe right away!

    This recipe is great for any part of the chicken you want to smoke- legs, thighs, quarters (like I did!) or even a whole chicken!

     

    My smoker was passed on to me when my dad got a new smoker. I am so glad we got it! It has been so much fun learning how to use it and the results have been delicious!

    Check out my latest recipe on how to cook burgers! Including this tasty green chile burger and this apple chutney bacon burger!

    Piece of smoked chicken on fork with smoke ring

    Moist meat and a beautiful smoke ring!

    How to smoke chicken quarters:

    • Mix the salt, sugar, and water over medium heat until dissolved. Refrigerate brine until cool then submerge your chicken pieces in the brine. Let it stay in this solution for at least 2 hours. Add more water to dilute the brine and cover all the chicken as necessary.
    • Make the dry rub by mixing all the spices.
    • Remove chicken from brine and pat dry.
    • Rub chicken with olive oil and then the dry rub.
    • Smoke the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F or pop it in a 400°F oven when the chicken is at 155°F to bring it up to the final temperature while crisping the skin. Some smokers will crisp the skin nicely so you may not even need to put them in the oven.
    • Enjoy!

    My smoked chicken quarters brine is really simple and really helps the meat stay moist!

    steps for making smoked chicken- brining, dry, oil, season, smoke

    Brine Chicken, Pat Dry, Rub with Olive Oil, Dry Rub, then Smoke until done!

    How long to smoke a whole chicken? What about thighs or wings?

    I love all types of smoked chicken pieces.

    A whole chicken will probably take between 2-5 hours depending on how hot your smoker is and wings and thighs probably no more than 2 hours.

    The internal temperature of the chicken needs to be at 165°F, so smoke your chicken (pieces or whole) as long as it takes to reach that.

    How long to smoke chicken leg quarters?

    To smoke leg quarters, it usually takes me between 2.5 and 3.5 hours. I keep my smoker temperature between 210°F and 245°F and once the chicken reaches 155°F I put the chicken pieces in the oven to crisp up the skin and raise the chicken to its final temperature of 165

    How to get crispy skin on chicken?

    Some smokers will crisp the skin, but many don’t.  To crisp the skin, when the chicken reaches and internal temperature of 155°F, remove from smoker, place on baking sheets, and cook in a 400°F oven for about 5-10 minutes.

    The oven will crisp the skin while the internal temperature finishes reaching 165°F.

    Chicken on plate

    Crispy skin every time!

    What type of thermometer do I recommend?

    I’ve used cheap amazon smoking thermometers and they got the job done for a month or two before breaking. However, I recently decided to get a good smoking thermometer from Thermoworks and I love it. (And yes that's an affiliate link so if you use it I earn a little bit at no extra cost to you 🙂 )

    Regardless of what brand, I definitely recommend a wireless meat thermometer that has two probes so you can keep track of the chicken temperature and the ambient temperature of inside the smoker. And I really like a wireless because then I can be inside the house getting other stuff done and check the temperature of what I am smoking easily.

    How much chicken does this recipe make?

    This recipe is for 10lbs of smoked chicken leg quarters. The 10lb bags of raw chicken quarters are cheap to buy at the grocery store and that’s what I typically go for. You can easily cut all the ingredients in half too.

    When I am not cooking for a crowd, I typically have leftovers which I turn into chicken tacos, shredded chicken enchiladas, or a tasty chicken sandwich with secret sauce or my copycat Chick-Fil-A sauce. Super delicious!

    Can you freeze leftover smoked chicken quarters?

    Yep! I like to remove the chicken from the bone and the freeze in a freezer safe Ziploc baggie. Keeps well for a few months.

    What type of wood chips do I use for smoking chicken? What about pellet smokers?

    I tend to use hickory wood chips, apple chips, or mesquite, but a competition blend would be tasty too. I will tell you right now I am not super picky on what flavor of chips I use. They all give a delicious flavor.

    For a pellet smoker I would go with similar flavors.

    Chicken in the smoker

    Smoking Chicken is easy and delicious!

    Should a smoker produce smoke the entire time it’s cooking the meat?

    Nope.

    My smoker tends to smoke the most when I am heating up my smoker, and then when I reduce the heat to keep the temperature stable the huge amounts of smoke go away.

    Keep in mind that just because you don’t see the smoke doesn’t mean it’s not there. Your food will still get plenty of smoky flavor!

    Let me know what you think of this recipe and if you have any questions! Smoking chicken leg quarters is super easy and I can’t wait for you to try it!

    Smoked Chicken Pinterest Pin

    Don't forget to pin this recipe!

    Make sure to check out these other tasty recipes:

    • Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Tenders
    • Cucumber Avocado Salad
    • Fried Rice
    • Oven Baked Crispy Fries
    • Maple Bacon Brussel Sprouts
    • Double Chocolate Pudding Cookies
    • S’mores Brownies
    • Lemon Cake
    • Homemade Chocolate Cake

     

    Watch how to make this recipe!

    Want more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

    Smoked Chicken Featured Image

    Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

    Author: Lisa
    Smoked chicken leg quarters are easy to make and extra tasty! It is full of flavor, both from the seasoning and the smoking, it’s cooked to juicy perfection, and it has a nice crisp skin!
    4.34 from 15 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 2 hrs 10 mins
    Cook Time 3 hrs 30 mins
    Total Time 5 hrs 40 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 people

    Ingredients
      

    Brine

    • 1 cup brown sugar
    • 1 cup salt
    • Water- enough to cover the chicken

    Dry Rub

    • 3 tbs garlic powder
    • 1 tbs chipotle powder
    • 1 tbs paprika
    • 1 tbs onion powder
    • 1 tbs pepper
    • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

    Additional Ingredients

    • 10 lbs chicken quarters*
    • 1 cup olive oil

    Instructions
     

    Brine the chicken

    • Combine sugar, salt, and 4 cups water in small saucepan, stir over medium heat until sugar and salt are dissolved. Once dissolved refrigerate until cool.
    • In a large resealable bag (or several) or a large bowl (or several), add your raw chicken quarters and then divide the brine between the containers. Add additional water to the bowls or bags until the chicken is mostly covered by water.
      Chicken in brine
    • Allow the chicken to sit in the brine for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

    Prepare the dry rub

    • Mix together all the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl.
      Seasoning for the rub

    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.
      Chicken being patted 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.
      Chicken with seasoning on it
    • Get your smoker started smoking/heating up.
    • Once your smoker is hot (~250°F), place the chicken on the racks and allow them to cook for 3-4 hours. I like to stabilize my smoker temperature between 225°F and 265°F
    • The chicken needs to get to an internal temperature of 165°F to be safe to eat. Once the chicken reaches 155°F I usually will 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.
      Chicken in the smoker
    • Enjoy!
      Smoked Chicken on plate with rice

    Notes

    Tips and Tricks
    You can use this on any type of chicken not just leg quarters!
    Cooking time might vary depending on the size of the chicken pieces (i.e. smoking a whole chicken vs a drumstick), just make sure the chicken gets to the correct internal temperature.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 878kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 53gFat: 72gSaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 315mgSodium: 264mgPotassium: 730mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 785IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 36mgIron: 3mg
    Keyword Smoked Chicken, smoked chicken leg quarters, smoked chicken quarters
    Did you make this recipe?Tag me on Instagram at @atablefullofjoy

    Post updated on 7/16/2020

    More Hearthstone

    • Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe
    • Best Breakfast Tacos Recipe
    • No Knead Bread Without Dutch Oven
    • Rice Krispies Treats Recipe

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Jyothi(Jo)

      June 11, 2018 at 5:56 am

      5 stars
      You had me at smoked. I can imagine the flavors here and that makes me drool. Looks delicious!

      Reply
      • Lisa

        June 11, 2018 at 10:08 pm

        Yay! Thank you!

        Reply
    2. Nayna Kanabar

      June 11, 2018 at 6:03 am

      5 stars
      I love the flavour smoking imparts to foods giving the fish a lovely outdoor taste.This is a lovely recipe.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        June 11, 2018 at 10:08 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    3. Mayuri Patel

      June 11, 2018 at 3:44 pm

      Oh dear the poor angry chicken 😉 Its such a sense of satisfaction when your favorite dish turns out perfect.

      Reply
    4. Stephanie

      June 12, 2018 at 9:40 am

      5 stars
      This chicken sure looks yummy! I love a good, easy chicken dinner!

      Reply
    5. Casey

      June 12, 2018 at 4:53 pm

      5 stars
      Anything that has been smoked is absolutely delicious! I don't eat meat anymore but I could definitely see myself making this for my friends!

      Reply
    6. Jay

      September 07, 2020 at 8:05 pm

      This was amazing thank you so much. You have restored my chicken on the grill preference.
      Cuisinart Woodcreek 3.5 hrs

      Reply
      • Lisa

        September 09, 2020 at 12:09 am

        Yay!! So glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Here you will find easy and delicious recipes and helpful posts!

    Trending This Month

    • How to tell if potatoes are bad?
    • Rice Krispies Treats Recipe
    • Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • How to tell if brussel sprouts are bad?

    Valentine's Treats

    • Valentines Day Cake
    • Valentine’s Day Cake Pops
    • Valentines Chocolate Covered Strawberries
    • Red Velvet Cake Balls

    Featured On

    AS seen on Parade, Hearthstone, Yummly, Sam's Club, Congra, Red Tricycle, Chefling App. Foodgawker, Karo

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Information

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates- coming soon!

    Contact

    • About Me and Contact Info

    As an Amazon Associate, ThermoWorks Affiliate, and a Berkey Water Filtration Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020 A Table Full of Joy

    Copyright © 2023 ·ATableFullofJoy.com ·

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT