Traeger Smoked Butterflied Chicken Legs Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Here’s a great party twist to smoking chicken legs! In this perfect recipe for smoked butterflied chicken legs / drumsticks, you’ll learn how to prepare, smoke, and sear chicken legs so you get the crispest, juiciest legs alive. Let’s fire up the smoker! | sipbitego.com
8pieceschicken drumsticksaka chicken legs, bone-in with skin on or off (about 1 ½ LBs chicken drums)
2tbspBBQ dry rubany chicken bbq seasoning will work, too, as much as you’d like
½cupBBQ sauce
1tspcilantrofresh chopped (optional, for serving)
Instructions
How to butterfly chicken legs for smoking
First, find the bone of the chicken drumstick and get a pairing knife ready.
Make a cut. Gently make one parallel cut down the leg, in the center, touching the bone. This first cut will help open up the chicken leg meat for the next step.
Make two more cuts. One on each side of the chicken leg bone. You’ll want to use one hand to pull back the leg meat while the other hand makes the cuts.. Don’t cut all the way through the meat, that would defeat the purpose. At the end of your cuts, you should clearly see the chicken bone with chicken meat flaps on each side. On the other side, you’ll find the skin side. Smoosh the meat flat to butterfly it.
How to smoke butterflied chicken drumsticks
Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F.
Season butterflied chicken drumsticks. Sprinkle dry rub seasoning all over the chicken and rub it in with your hands.
Smoke butterflied chicken legs / drumsticks with bone side (cut side) facing down, directly on the Traeger pellet grill grates.
Brush BBQ sauce on butterflied smoker chicken legs. Smoke for 45 minutes then brush on BBQ sauce. (at this point of the Sip Bite Go smoked recipe demonstration, the chicken legs measured 140 degrees F internally - it doesn’t matter THAT much, but I’m just sharing incase you want to check how cooked your chicken legs are at this 45 minute mark, compared to the ones in the video).
Smoke butterflied chicken legs for an additional 30 minutes at 250 degrees F. (Check temperature to make sure they’re not “done” yet, which would be 165 degrees - 175 degrees F.)
Flip over chicken (so the meaty side is facing DOWN). Brush the skin side with more BBQ sauce if desired.
Sear smoked butterflied chicken to finish them. To do this, crank smoker up to a temperature of 500 degrees F to finish smoking butterflied chicken legs with a sear until done. They’re ready to remove from the smoker when they reach ~175 degrees F as measured with an internal read thermometer.
Finish smoked chicken drumsticks with a sprinkle of fresh chopped cilantro and enjoy.