Smoked chicken thighs

This is the best Smoked chicken thighs Recipe. Smoking chicken drumsticks leaves crispy skins and juicy meat. Smoked chicken drumsticks, like smoked chicken wings and smoked whole chicken, require only 10 minutes of prep time.

Serve with smoked potatoes or smoked asparagus for a complete meal with smoked recipes.

Smoked Chicken Legs

Chicken drumsticks are coated in olive oil, a flavorful BBQ rub and barbecue sauce, then cooked slow and slow smoked to create a perfectly crispy skin and a juicy interior that’s infused with light smoke.

We’re always looking for easy BBQ recipes and this Smoked Chicken Thighs recipe is for you. Smoking chicken thighs requires only 4 ingredients and two hours of cooking time.

mop sauce

We highly recommend using a quick and easy BBQ mop sauce when making this smoked chicken thighs recipe. It only requires a few extra ingredients and 2 minutes to mix.

This mop sauce recipe adds a ton of extra flavor and helps keep the chicken extra juicy. However, it is 100% optional.

How to smoke chicken thighs

Coat ’em up, cook ’em up, sauce ’em up and eat! That’s it in a nutshell.

Smoked drumsticks can be prepared on any pellet, charcoal or wood grill. We provide instructions for all methods. Just make sure you have the supplies listed below.

• charcoal – Preheat the coals until just overflowing. Pour into the center of your grill and open the vents 25%. Create smoke by placing pieces of wood directly on the preheated coals.
• Pellet/Electric Smoker (Traeger Chicken Legs) – Preheat your grill to 275°F. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for consistent smoke when cooking chicken thighs on the pellet grill.
• gas grill – Due to the long cooking time, we do not recommend using a gas grill.

temperature

The goal is to keep the ambient temperature of the smoked chicken as close to 275°F as possible. If you decide to use a manual smoker, try to keep it between 250 and 275°F.

How long to smoke chicken thighs

It takes about 2 hours to smoke chicken thighs to 165°F. The prep work takes less than 10 minutes, so you should plan a total of about 2.5 hours from start to finish (including the 10-minute rest time).

deliveries

• energy source – Make sure you stock up on your chosen energy source: charcoal, pellets, propane, gas, etc.
• smoking wood – Chunks, chips or pellets.
• clinical thermometer – Always use a thermometer. Our favorite digital thermometer is the Thermaworks Dot.

Best wood for smoking chicken

The best wood for smoked chicken is a fruitwood as it adds a slight sweetness to the meat and doesn’t overpower the delicate flavor: cherry wood, apple woodPecan wood and maple wood.

We do not recommend using hickory due to its intense flavor. But if you’re into strong smoke and like hickory, you’ve got it!

variations

There are a ton of different ways to customize smoked chicken thighs; Here are some of our favourites:

Spicy – Add cayenne pepper to BBQ rub or sauce.
Dry – Omit the BBQ sauce. You still get the BBQ flavor from the rub.
Cute – Add additional brown sugar to the BBQ rub.
Less sweet – Omit or reduce the brown sugar from the BBQ rub.

Recipe tips:

• Don’t skimp on olive oil. It makes the skin crispy when cooked.
• For longer cooking, place a small bowl of water in the smoker to retain moisture in the meat.
• Be sure to spray the grill before heating to ensure the chicken doesn’t stick.
• As with all chicken recipes, do not leave at room temperature for more than two hours. If you have any leftover, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• To reheat leftovers, preheat oven to 350°F and bake until heated through, 10-12 minutes.
• Use and prepare leftover bones and/or meat Instant Pot Bone Broth.

How much chicken per person

On average, chicken thighs yield about 1.5 ounces of meat per leg. So plan to serve two chicken thighs per person if you have a nice selection of sides. If your side dishes are lean, plan on serving three legs per person.

Grilled Chicken Side Ideas

Here are our favorite side dishes for grilled chicken.

Smoked Mac and Cheese
Dill Cucumber Pasta Salad
Ensalata de papa
Ensalada de Coditos