Chicken Legs Cooking Time

[Dave Schwartz]

I've got about 6 lbs of Chicken Legs. How long would you smoke and at what temp. Thanks

 

[Chet Johnson]

When you say "chicken legs", do you mean drumsticks, thighs, or both together?

 

[Dave Schwartz]

Chet, just the drumstick.

 

[Chet Johnson]

For my money, I would just grill them. You can add some smoke wood to the fire to contribute to the flavor, but low and slow wouldn't be my choice of techniques. It's tough enough to smoke a whole chicken.

I suppose you could put them in the smoker at 300-350 for about a little bit to impart some smoky flavor, but you will want to finish them at a much higher heat to crisp up the skin and make them ready for eating.

Personally, I like to lightly dredge them in flour (salt and pepper to taste) and fry them in peanut oil. Once that is done, transfer them to a wok, dump in a bottle or two of tabasco sauce, and stir continuously to reduce all the excess liquid.

Serve with Vodka/Jell-O shots, step back, and watch your friends start to fall down.

The recipe works just as well with wings. It's a lot of fun.

 

[Paul G.]

Dave

Most would probably recommend a higher temp cook of around 325 with an empty foiled lined pan. Completiton time should probably be based on internal temp of around 175 which will rise to 180, rather than a specific cook time.

I've never low/slow cooked pieces but it could certainly be done with a lid temp of 250 and water or sand in the pan. Cook to internal temp of 175 which I would guess to be a couple of hours ? Might be interesting to try a variation of the thigh recipe which has them spending some time in a pan with sauce? You could find that under the section on poultry recipes.

The higher heat will give you a fairly crisp skin, but you'll get more of a smoke flavor with the lower heat. My experience has been that most people probably choose to eat the skin on the drumsticks so that might guide you toward the higher heat.

Good luck

Paul

 

[Dave Schwartz]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Serve with Vodka/Jell-O shots, step back, and watch your friends start to fall down.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Chet,

Thanks for the recipe. What the heck, let's skip the chicken and go with your Jell-O shots!

 

[Dave Schwartz]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Paul G.:
Most would probably recommend a higher temp cook of around 325 with an empty foiled lined pan. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the feedback. It's probably easier and preferable to just grill them but I'm in smoker mode since I got the WSM. I'll post how they came out.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Matthew Appler]

What do you cook just breasts to? I too will often use my WSM to cook up some chicken parts, particularly if I have a fire going already. I've usually cooked thighs/legs to 175 and breasts to 165/170, but I'm not sure if that is correct.

Thanks,
-Matt

 

[John L]

I also would do it at higher temps with empty foil-lined pan until leg temp reached 165. The downside of using the WSM for chicken is that the skin still won't get crispy. You could achieve a better smoked chicken part with crispier skin (legs, thighs, etc) by smoking (offset-grilling) in a Weber kettle.

 

[Paul G.]

Mathew

Generally 160 is recommended for the breast. If you've brined, they say it can take a little higher temp without drying. I try to take them off a little under 160 and let the meat temp rise. At that temp they are safe and very moist.

Paul