Smoked Chicken Quarters

Smoked chicken quarters are extremely tasty but have a very bad tendency to dry out during smoking due to the lack of fat marbling within the meat. With my tips and a little luck, you will be able to turn out chicken quarters that are not only tasty but also juicy and tender.

I really like chicken quarters for smoking, not only are they inexpensive, they are relatively easy to prepare and smoke.

Start out by rinsing the chicken off and placing it in a pan. You can brine the chicken if you like using the direction here or if you prefer to skip that step, just sprinkle on some “Lemon Pepper with Seasoning Salt” as well as a good dusting of Cajun seasoning.

Prepare your smoker to maintain a 225 degree fire using your favorite smoking wood. Once the smoker is putting out smoke, place the chicken quarters in the smoker making sure to leave a little room between them to allow the smoke to get to all of it.

Let the chicken quarters smoke for about an hour then baste the pieces with a little melted butter or your choice of olive oil, apple juice, beer, etc..

Baste the chicken quarters every hour to keep the skin moist.

Monitor the temperature of the chicken quarters and when they reach 165 degrees they are ready to pull out of the smoker.

The next step is crucial to making sure they are moist, tender and tasty so follow it to the letter for best results.

Immediately after removing the chicken from the smoker, place it in a 9 x 13 pan and tent foil over the top.

Leave the chicken in this configuration, in a 170 degree oven for 1 hour then remove the foil and serve immediately.

You must know that smoked chicken skin is not always edible.. it has a tendency to be chewy, and can even be too smoky for some.

I have been successful at crisping the skin a little by smoking the chicken at above average temperatures (300-325 degrees) or alternatively you may be able to place the smoked chicken quarters on a very hot grill for a few minutes when it is done smoking.