Description
Our easy Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters are a delicious way to cook the most juicy and tender chicken for dinner!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 4 chicken leg quarters
- light olive oil
Instructions
- Prep Smoker: Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F and ensure the grill grates are clean.
- Mix Dry Rub: Add kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, dried oregano leaves, ground black pepper, ground ginger, cumin and ground coriander to a small bowl; mix to combine.
- Prep Chicken: Place the chicken leg quarters on a large plate or baking sheet, pat dry with paper towels and then drizzle with olive oil; rub to coat. Sprinkle with the seasoning mixture and rub to coat.
- Smoke Chicken: Carefully set the seasoned chicken quarters directly on the grill grates of the smoker and let the chicken smoke for approx. 1 hour and 30 minutes or until their internal temperature at the thickest part of the meat reaches 158-160 degrees F (use a meat thermometer). Total smoke time will depend up on how thick your chicken quarters are and other variables – keep an eye on that internal temp.
- Sear: To get a crispy outside, bring a gas grill to a medium-high heat and sear the chicken quarters with the skin-side down for about 2-3 minutes or until char marks form.
- Rest + Serve: Remove from grill and let the meat rest for about 5-10 minutes and serve any way you want! We love using smoked shredded chicken to make our Smoked Chicken Salad!
Notes
- Smoker: we used our Traeger Pellet Grill to smoke these chicken quarters.
- Dry Rub: love the simple dry rub included in this recipe card is great! We also have a basic chicken dry rub and a smoked chicken dry rub. A store-bought option would work too!
- Searing: You do not have to do Step 5 and sear the chicken BUT if you don’t then leave your chicken on the smoker a bit longer until it reaches an internal temp. of 163 degrees F. The internal temp will continue to rise as it rests and will reach 165 degrees F.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 198
- Sugar: 0.3 g
- Sodium: 1081.7 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.6 g
- Protein: 25.9 g
- Cholesterol: 115.7 mg