On Tuesday, here on the East Coast, we experienced an earthquake that hit 5.8 on the Richter scale. Also on Tuesday I smoked some chicken legs that came out better than expected. Coincidence… maybe?
Early in the morning I put the chicken legs into Ziploc bags to marinade in a bath of Carolina Treet. Just after mid-day the earthquake hit! Our house rattled, pictures on the walls got crooked, stuff fell off of shelves, and that chicken got a little extra vibrating while marinating. During the day we had several smaller aftershocks too. Talk about Shake and Bake!
About 2 hours before dinner I took the chicken out of the marinade and generously dusted the legs with Plowboys Yardbird Rub. Yardbird is a rub I use for a lot of different cooks. slovenia . It is excellent on poultry and just as good on pork.
I fired up the smoker and used a mix of hickory and cherry wood. Once the smoker reached 275 degrees in went the chicken legs. They cooked for about 1.5 hours and had reached about 165 degrees.
To wrap this cook up I very lightly glazed the chicken legs in a mixture of Pork Barrel BBQ Sauce Sweet and Head Country BBQ Sauce. Then back into the smoker at 325 degrees for the final 15 minutes.
These chicken legs turned out delicious! Multi-layers of flavor hit you with each bite. The tang from the Carolina Treet, the zip from the Plowboys rub, and sweet spice from the sauce.
These smoked chickens legs will definitely shake-up your next meal!