Smoked chicken quarters (without rubbery skin)

vaszeit

I haven't seen anyone do it so I thought I'd share my favorite method to smoke chicken quarters, legs or thighs. Basically, I apply my favorite dry rub, then sear them in oil until golden brown and slightly crispy, about 3-4 minutes per side, then smoke until good color and 185F internal. I like how the skin is never rubbery and tough, instead, it's tender and breaks easily. I use the same method to make oven-roasted chicken, it's always a hit. In the oven, I bake at 400F, so the skin comes out very crispy. In the smoker, it's more soft than crispy due to lower cooking temperature, but it's never rubbery or tough. Here are some pics for you guys.

You can see more pics and full recipe on my blog if needed.

EggNorth

Very nice looking chicken, will need to try this.   What kind of smoke did you use?  

pgprescott

The pic of the quarter on the grill grid is over the top. Bravo! That’s as good as I’ve ever seen. 

StillH2OEgger

That looks delicious!

KiterTodd

vaszeit said:

I haven't seen anyone do it so I thought I'd share my favorite method to smoke chicken quarters, legs or thighs. Basically, I apply my favorite dry rub, then sear them in oil until golden brown and slightly crispy, about 3-4 minutes per side, then smoke until good color and 185F internal. I like how the skin is never rubbery and tough, instead, it's tender and breaks easily. I use the same method to make oven-roasted chicken, it's always a hit. In the oven, I bake at 400F, so the skin comes out very crispy. In the smoker, it's more soft than crispy due to lower cooking temperature, but it's never rubbery or tough. Here are some pics for you guys.

That's great.  Thanks for sharing this.  I have slow smoked chicken and am usually turned off by the skin, so I usually crisp it up on the back end.  Your method looks solid though.

Question, how much smoke flavor do you get?  I forget the science behind it, but I thought the flesh only absorbed smoke in the early stages of the cook while the outside is still uncooked. If you sear it 3-4 minutes per side, aren't you also locking out the smoke flavor from being able to penetrate?

johnnyp

great looking chicken

BGEinMaine

KiterTodd said:

vaszeit said:

I haven't seen anyone do it so I thought I'd share my favorite method to smoke chicken quarters, legs or thighs. Basically, I apply my favorite dry rub, then sear them in oil until golden brown and slightly crispy, about 3-4 minutes per side, then smoke until good color and 185F internal. I like how the skin is never rubbery and tough, instead, it's tender and breaks easily. I use the same method to make oven-roasted chicken, it's always a hit. In the oven, I bake at 400F, so the skin comes out very crispy. In the smoker, it's more soft than crispy due to lower cooking temperature, but it's never rubbery or tough. Here are some pics for you guys.

That's great.  Thanks for sharing this.  I have slow smoked chicken and am usually turned off by the skin, so I usually crisp it up on the back end.  Your method looks solid though.

Question, how much smoke flavor do you get?  I forget the science behind it, but I thought the flesh only absorbed smoke in the early stages of the cook while the outside is still uncooked. If you sear it 3-4 minutes per side, aren't you also locking out the smoke flavor from being able to penetrate?

I had the same questions about getting smoke penetration/flavor.  Interested to hear how it works out.

Carolina Q

Protein will take on smoke as long as there IS smoke, regardless of temp. The smoke RING is what stops being formed at 140°.

northGAcock

Man that last picture......yum

Canugghead

northGAcock said:

Man that last picture......yum

Food porn at its best

1voyager

Perfect!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

This post is 10 months old by a blogger with no replies...

I do not anticipate her risking chipping those Perfectly photographed, well-manicured nails on a keyboard responding to any comments 😂

KiterTodd

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

This post is 10 months old by a blogger with no replies...

I do not anticipate her risking chipping those Perfectly photographed, well-manicured nails on a keyboard responding to any comments 😂

This is true!

However, northcock's reply to this old post did serve to remind me of a great tip I never acted on! So it served some purpose, but no, I don't think the original poster will be replying.