Smoked Some Leg Quarters Yesterday (Photo & Recipe)

Yeah, I use an electric smoker which I'm sure is going to open me up to some criticism from the BBQ purists. For just easy, good food, my Masterbuilt just can't be beat.


This was probably the best chicken I've ever made. I don't know if all of these steps are necessary but here's what I did.

I started out by putting them in a brine. They were probably in the brine for about 10 hours. I then rinsed the brine off and then dried them off as best I could with paper towels. The brine I used is something I stumbled across a few years ago called the Slaughterhouse Poultry Brine.

1 ½ Gal Water
½ C Salt - Kosher
½ C Dark Brown Sugar
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Cajun Spice (Louisiana Cajun Seasoning)
2 tsp Celery Seed

Next I took a sheet pan and put some baking racks on it. Put the chicken on the baking racks to elevate them off of the sheet pan and put them back into the fridge overnight. Woke up yesterday morning and a good bit of liquid had accumulated in the sheet pan.

Next I hit them with a dry rub I made.

1/2 cup of coarse pepper
1/4 cup of kosher salt
2 Tbsp of garlic powder
2 Tbsp of onion powder
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp paprika (mostly did this for color)
2 Tbsp mustard powder
1 Tbsp chili powder

Rub generously on the outside and lift the skin up to get some on the meat.

Fired up the Masterbuilt to 275. Used hickory and cherry wood chips. Smoked for about 2.5 hours. No water pan! Then I brushed them pretty lightly with a Texas style bbq sauce I picked up from Kroger. I often make my own sauce but I highly recommend this store bought sauce. Anyway, lightly brushed and then back in the smoker for another 30 minutes.

As you can see in the picture, it turned out delicious!



Plated up with some beans and potato salad: