How to Cook Delicious Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs

Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs. Entire chicken leg quarters contain the drumstick, thigh, and a portion of back meat. Chicken drumstick includes the thigh bone and thigh meat. Boneless chicken thigh meat is removed from the bone, tender and ready for kitchen preparation.

Mix all dry rub seasoning ingredients together in a mixing bowl and rub olive oil all over the chicken legs to fully coat the drumsticks. Rub the seasoning mix to fully coat the outside of the legs. All it takes is a simple brine and a little bit of knife work to create the best smoked legs your guests have ever tried. You can cook Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs using 15 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs

1. It's of whole chickens 3-5 lbs each.
2. You need of turkey legs.
3. Prepare of orange.
4. You need of lemon.
5. Prepare of rosemary.
6. It's of tarragon.
7. You need of sugar.
8. Prepare of kosher salt.
9. You need of chili powder.
10. You need of onion powder.
11. You need of garlic powder.
12. It's of cayenne pepper.
13. Prepare of dried bay leaves.
14. It's of chopped dehydrated onion.
15. It's of water.

Using a brine on these drumsticks has two benefits. The chicken will be even juicier and you can cook it to a higher internal temperature without it drying out. Meanwhile, mix together the chicken stock, honey. To measure the temperature of a whole chicken, insert a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.

Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs step by step

1. Combine 3 cups of kosher salt, 4.5 cups sugar, 6 bay leaves, 1 tbsp chopped dehydrated onions and 3 gallons water to make the brine. Soak the chickens and turkey legs in the brine and refrigerate over night or minimum 4 hours..
2. Make the rub. I used Myron Mixon's 'The only other barbecue rub you need' recipe. Combine 2/3 cup chili powder, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup onion powder, 1/4 garlic powder and 1 tsp cayenne pepper.
3. Soak your choice of wood chunks in water (I used mesquite). Light the charcoal in the smoker. Slice up the orange and lemon into approximately 12 pieces each..
4. Rinse the chicken and turkey in cold water and pat dry..
5. Stuff each chicken with half an orange, half a lemon, 1 sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs of tarragon..
6. Cover the chickens and turkey legs on all sides with the rub..
7. Put the chicken breast side up and the turkey legs on the smoker. Smoke at 275° for 3.5 hours or until the white meat hits 160 and the dark reaches 180. Check the temp periodically and add more charcoal and wood chunks as needed..

How to brine a chicken before smoking. You can brine a whole chicken or pieces of chicken. Our most recent smoking episode had us brining the breasts, legs, and thighs from four large chickens. Whole smoked chicken is so much better than chicken roasted in the oven or rotisserie. It's tender, incredibly juicy, and full of flavor.