This recipe takes the classic BBQ chicken legs and elevates it to a whole new level with a smoky flavor and an irresistibly juicy texture. The chicken is cut and prepared to resemble a lollipop, making it perfect for a fun family dinner or to impress guess at your next barbecue. With a few simple ingredients and a little bit of patience, you can create a unique stand out dish that have everyone asking for seconds. So fire up your pellet grill and get ready to impress with this delicious smoked lollipop chicken recipe!
Smoking chicken legs on a pellet smoker produces tender, juicy meat with incredible flavor and perfect crackly skin.
Why you will love this recipe
Unique – Its a safe bet that you or your guests have never seen a chicken lollipop. This dish is definitely a head turner, but it is also delicious and an easier way to eat chicken drumsticks. Since the tendons and small bone is removed each bite consists of delicious smoked chicken and nothing else.
Economical – Chicken legs are inexpensive! They are by far the least expensive cut of meat at the butcher. You can feed your whole family or the whole baseball team for a small amount of money.
Delicious – Chicken drumsticks are all dark meat, which is much more flavorful than white meat. Cooking them to perfection is a piece of cake too.
What is a Smoked Chicken Lollipop?
A chicken lollipop is a frenched chicken leg (aka chicken drumstick). Frenched is a fancy chef term for removing the meat and skin from the bone. This is typically how rack of lamb is served, but it is also a great technique for chicken legs. With a chicken leg the cartilage and tendons are removed and the chicken is pushed down to one end of the bone to create the lollipop.
How to make smoked chicken lollipops on a pellet grill
You only need a few simple ingredients to make these delicious pellet grill smoked chicken legs!
Ingredients
1 pack chicken legs (about 6 legs)
- 1.5 sticks butter
4 Tablespoons dry rub (I like to use 2 tbsp of Lowrys Garlic Salt and 2 tbsp Tony Chacheres Original Creole Seasoning)
Prepare the Chicken Lollipops
Remove chicken legs from the packaging and pat dry with a paper towel. Trim any excess skin
To transform regular chicken drumsticks into chicken lollipops you will need a sharp knife, a pair of kitchen shears or scissors, and some paper towels. The paper towels will help you hold the chicken and keep it from slipping when you are working.
- Use your knife to make a cut about an inch down from the top of the drumstick knuckle. You want to cut completely around the leg (through the skin and tendons).
- Push all the meat down to the large end of the bone.
- Use a paper towel to pull the small amount of skin and cartilage off of the knuckle. You can use your scissors to cut the tendons free to help make it easier. A dry paper towel really helps give you extra grip for this part.
- After you push the meat down you will notice there is a small thin bone right against the drumstick bone that needs to be removed. You can pull it away from the bone and it will come free.
- Trim away the tendons sticking out the top of the meat.
- You can clean up all extra bits of cartilage and skin to make the lollipop as neat as you like.
Preheat your grill
Preheat the pellet grill to 300 degrees F. I like to use fruitwood pellet to smoke chicken legs like apple or cherry wood. The chicken is very mild and can absorbs a lot of smoke flavor quickly. Hardwoods like oak or mesquite may overpower the chicken legs.
Season the chicken legs
Melt the butter in a small bowl. Use a basting brush to brush the chicken legs with melted butter so they are well coated.
Place the drumsticks on a baking sheet with a wire rack. Lightly coat the chicken legs with with some Lowrys Garlic Salt and then follow it with some Tony Chacheres Creole seasoning. Dont be shy, make sure the rub has coated each chicken leg on all sides. The combination of of Garlic Salt and Tony Chacheres is a total flavor bomb. Let them sit uncovered as the grill heats up for at least 10 minutes. This helps the dry rub set on the chicken skin.
Smoke
Place the seasoned chicken legs into a tin foil pan and add one stick of butter. Wrap the bone ends with a small piece of tin foil, this keeps the bone a white color when it cooks. If you don’t wrap it the exposed bone will turn black which does not look as appealing. Place the pan with drumsticks directly onto the grates of your pellet grill.
Smoke the lollipop chicken legs for about one hour. After one hour, open the pellet grill and check on the color of legs. At this point the chicken legs will start to develop a nice dark color but they will need to cook for about another 30 minutes.
After an hour and a half of smoking, use your digital thermometer to read the thickest part of the meat. Once the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170-180 degrees the chicken is cooked. I like to pull mine at 180 to make sure the dark meat is completely cooked.
Apply the Sauce
Before applying the barbecue sauce I like to heat it in a small pot on my pellet grill during the last ten minutes of cooking. For this recipe I used up two cups of bbq sauce and added 1/4 cup of apple juice to thin it down a bit. This help give the sauce a nice even coating when applied. I like to dip the legs in the warmed sauce and place them back on the grill for five minutes until the sauce is set.
Serve and enjoy immediately!
Pro Tips
Storage: To store any leftover smoked chicken legs that you have place them in an airtight container like a pyrex bowl or ziploc bag. These smoked chicken legs will keep in your refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Reheat: The best method is to use t an oven set to 350 Degrees F and cook for about 15 minutes until warm.
Variations: You can also change the flavor profile by changing the dry rub and sauce. Experiment and use your favorite spice rub.
Kitchen Tools and Equipment needed
Wood Pellets – Use your favorite type of wood pellets. One of the greatest things about a pellet grill is the ability to quickly and easily change the flavor of smoke you are cooking with. I like to you use fruit wood pellets when smoking poultry like chicken and turkey, but there is no right way. You can experiment with other woods to produce different smoke flavors. Don’t be afraid to try mesquite or oak pellets too.
Pellet Grill – You can use any pellet grill for this recipe from a large premium model to a small portable tabletop.
Silicone Basting Brush – If you plan to add an extra layer of flavor to your smoked chicken legs with your favorite BBQ sauce, then a nice basting brush will come in handy
Meat Thermometer –When smoking or grilling meat, the internal temperature is very important and will tell you when you should take your food off the grill. I recommend buying a good digital instant thermometer.
Tongs – A solid pair of stainless steel tongs are the perfect tool when it is time to turn your smoked chicken drumsticks and when it is time to take them off the pellet grill.
Go All Out!
You can make it a meal with a few delicious sides:
- Salted baked potatoes smoked on a pellet grill cant be beat. These Smoked Baked Potatoes are an easy smoked side dish recipe is full of flavor, yet quick and easy! Add some butter or sour cream to make these a declicous treat
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
300 degrees is the best temperature to smoke chicken legs for the best flavor and crispiest skin. 300 degrees is the ideal temperature to render the fat under the chicken skin to ensure that the skin will be perfectly crispy. Also if you use a lower temperature, like 225 or 250 the chicken will take much longer to cook and will often absorb too much smoke.
No, you don’t need to sauce these chicken legs. My kids like them just as much “naked” or with the dry rub only. The advantage is you do not get sticky barbecue sauce on your hands.
I like to cook all dark meat chicken and turkey to 185 degrees F. It comes out more tender, and because of the higher fat content, it will stay juicy.
The total cooking time will vary depending on how big the chicken legs are. Typically you can expect chicken legs to be done cooking between 1.5 and 2 hours at 300 degrees F.
I would recommend using a fruitwood like apple wood pellets. This will add a light smoke flavor that compliments the chicken perfectly. However, if you prefer a heavier, intense smoke flavor you can use mesquite or oak.
Smoked Chex Mix
Equipment
- 1 Pellet Grill
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Rice Chex
- 3 Cups Corn Chex
- 3 Cups Wheat Chex
- 2 Cups Roasted Peanuts
- 1 Cup Pecan halves
- 2 Cups Pretzels
- 2 Cups Cheez-Its
- 1 stick butter
- 3 Tblsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tblsp Lowrys Seasoned Salt
Instructions
- Preheat grill to 250 degrees over indirect heat using hickory wood. Melt one stick of butter (1/2 Cup) separately. Mix in Worcestershire sauce and Seasoned Salt into small bowl with melted butter.
- In a large bowl or aluminum pan, mix all the dry ingredients – Rice, Corn, and Wheat Chex, mixed nuts, roasted peanuts, pecans, Cheeze-its, and pretzels together.
- Pour melted butter and Worcestershire sauce mix into large bowl and carefully mix altogether.
- Place the pan of seasoned Chex Mix directly on the pellet grill for one hour.
- Remove and serve immediately.