Off on an adventure to be the chicken leg king, recipes and techniques requested.

[_John_]

There is a local chicken processor here that sells chicken off their line very cheaply, and have gone even further for everyone to stock up for the fall. 40 pounds of chicken leg quarters for $10, that's 25 cents a pound! Each box has about 50 pieces, and I will get a few boxes, so I will be testing and perfecting my recipe on a few hundred pieces.

So, please share with me your chicken leg and or thigh recipe, technique, rub or sauce so I can master this chicken. I would like input on 2 preparations, I want to be able to smoke them and I also want to be able to toss them on and grill them. I eagerly anticipate your advice, and look forward to bombarding you all with chicken thigh pics.

[CurlingDog]

i hope to be doing the same thing very soon with chicken thighs. This was the brain child of a friend of mine and i, impacted upon by Miller/Coors and Sprecher Beer. We wont' have the benefit of extra cheap trial material, but the thought process is the same... multiple variable testing will be utilized to find the best combination. We will be smoking and grilling with Pellet, charcoal and log. We'll also be considering a finish fry in hot oil to help set the skin. I have a feeling more beers will be incorporated into this adventure, used in the varied sauces as well as saucing the chefs. Good luck _John_ i look forward to your results. I promise to log and report our efforts as well.

[_John_]

Awesome! I have cooked about 30 pork butts since June, it's about time to try something else for a while.

[mackdaddy]

Wow. _John_ and CurlingDog you guys are going to have some fun. Anticipating the outcomes and pics in the near future. Sorry I have no recipes or advise. Hope you don't get sick of chicken.

[Danjohnston949]

For Wings, Legs, Thighs so I Assume 1/4's would be the same:
Marinade for +- 6lbs; 1-cup each olive oil, canola oil; 1/2 Cup Taragon Vineger; 1/4+ cup Lime juice; 2-TBS Garlic juice; 2-TSP each Course Grd Black pepper, Paprika, Poultry season; 1-TSP each Cayenne pepper, Mustard powder, Ginger powder, Cummin powder. Mix the dry ingredients, add the liquid and mix, sea salt to taste. Split the chicken
into 2 - 3 lb zip lock food grade bags, 1/2 of the marinade over each. Refrigerate for 6 hrs up to overnight, Turn the Bags over every hour or so.
Grill in baskets, over direct coals with wood chips, 15 Minutes per side, place the chicken on a grate in a Crock Pot with Chicken Broth for 2-3 hrs. Enjoy Dan

[Willy]

I strongly recommend a rotisserie for chickens thighs and legs. If this sounds interesting to you, I'll post some details--there really aren't many of them. I have a huli-huli recipe I can post, too.

[Willy]

Get one--NOW!!!!!!! Whole chickens, Cornish hens, small turkeys, pork tenderloins, chicken pieces, rib roasts.... Do buy a basket attachment for things like tenderloins and chicken pieces. No need to pierce 'em, just toss 'em in the basket and spin away.

[_John_]

Willy Link to one please?

[Willy]

@John: http://www.wholesalepatiostore.com/F...1zgaAtFp8P8HAQ

If the link doesn't work, just Google "rotisserie basket". The spit rod fits in slots (with tightening screws) in the basket ends.

[Stevehtn]

I'd love to give you a recipe or advice for chicken legs, _John_ , but I've been searching in vain for years on how to make chicken tasty, so hoping your experiment can help me 😁 (I hate chicken)

[Huskee]

John this is my go-to chicken leg recipe, FWIW. Last time I made them I got a few "oh my god"s because they're so good and stupid simple.

My usual chicken wet brine:
1 Gal water
1 C table salt
1 C white sugar
Soak 1 hr (no more, for risk of being too salty)
Can be halved/doubled, whatever's necessary but keep time at 1 hr.

Trim the legs well, including those little dangly things that look like ear lobes ( Jerod Broussard what are those anyway?) Whether you choose to leave the skin on or take it off is up to you. For legs I have much better luck just taking it off, but either way trim them nicely.

Pat them dry, WELL, after the brine.
Light spritz of PAM
Add fresh pepper. Optional- add a light dusting of garlic powder.

Then, cook as per the usual chicken recipe. 325 indirectly*, until the few that you have probes in reach 170-180. I tend to go on the higher side of final temp because no one likes slimy chicken legs, and at "just done" they are too slimy for me & mine. Legs can handle a hotter temp, so if they hit 180 I am 100% fine with that.
*You can do them at 225 too, or 250, or 275, it really doesn't matter if they're skinless. Lower temp = longer cook = more smoke flavor.

I like a good sized chunk of wood while doing this too, especially for a hotter quicker 325 cook. My fav for chicken is apple wood, but I also have used grapevine, ash, apricot, and peach with great results. I don't care for hickory, pecan or oak on chicken....at least by comparison.

These best eaten nekkid, not sauced. The sugar in the brine really takes these up a few notches. if you are in the mood to sauce, skip the sugar in the brine.

Edit: I use the same brine for whole chickens too, just brine them 2-3 hrs. Really pat the skin dry well after wet brining when doing skin-on.

[Danjohnston949]

I am going to have to try your recipe looks good. I like apple wood too! Dan

[_John_]

I will try this, never done a wet brine (seems germy) and never tried cooking without skin.

[Hardwarehank]

Those little dangly things you mention, if we're thinking of the same thing, are tendon I'm pretty sure. I like that part of the leg but I clean chicken bones like a starving dog.

[Jerod Broussard]

Huskee if those dangly things are white they must tendons. I look at intact chickens.

[_John_]

Hardwarehank My wife didn't grow up poor like me, so she doesn't eat meat off the bone. Poor people eat anything, and I never met one that was allergic to anything. My daughter has kids in her class that are allergic to everything but air...a couple have asthma so maybe they're allergic to everything!

[smarkley]

John... here is one to add to your list (if you like it) -- I always wanted to try this recipe

Diva Q's Sweet and Spicey Chicken Lollipops

[_John_]

Saw that just the other day. That will def be on the list.

[Breadhead]

I'm going to make these for the opening day of the regular season of football.

Go Arizona Cardinals!

[fuzzydaddy]

_John_, I actually have never cooked chicken legs, though I've been told I have chicken legs! When I do cook them, I'm going with the @Huskee's wet brine...and yes, I know to keep the brine time short.

[Huskee]

It's funny how one time a long time ago I shared this recipe on the main site I believe, or on another forum maybe, and stressed to brine pieces only an hour. The individual said they usually brine overnight and would do that. Then I got feedback that my brine was too salty. Smh... I know what Meathead goes though....

I do the same brine with thick pork loin chops, except no sugar since it adds little to pork chops IMO. Thick 1''> chops can go 90 mins, otherwise 1" or < still 60.

[_John_]

Huskee I hate reading on recipe sites where people give fewer stars but didn't follow the recipe. To prove a point I google meatballs and went to the first page and read the comments. The first non 4/4 is long but at a glance: Doubled the tomatoes and onions, not the butter, didn't use any red pepper, no pork added only had beef, added panko and got too dry (panko was not in the recipe), baked in the oven for 20 minutes first instead of the entire time in the sauce.

It boggles my mind how people give subpar reviews for their hacks, omitting a pinch of salt is one thing, but not even using the right protein is ridiculous.

[Huskee]

_John_ I hear you, that drives me up a wall. I'd be tempted to reply to them! When people do that to Meathead he calls them out on it. 'So, you added 4 things, didn't use the right meat, and cooked it hotter than I say to...essentially you did not follow my recipe at ALL!' Lol. On a non-recipe front, Amazon will have reviews on random products in which customers rate products bad because they cut the package open with a knife and cut their tent, or FedEx lost their package, so that's the product's/manufacturer's problem?...people. What do you do...

[Medusa]

Do a search for "Mahogany Chicken" on this site. I have a few posts / pics / recipe, but I didn't add it to this thread as this is done on the cook top / oven.

If you can adapt this recipe to use with your cookers, then I think you've got another winner. The sauce is good enough to drink straight.

Personally, I think it could be done!

Good luck! --Ed

[Breadhead]

Here is a fantastic marinade. I marinade the chicken overnight. I grill it at 275° and I baste it a few times with the marinade while it is cooking. I've been using this marinade for a few years and everyone I've made it for loves it.

Mongolian chicken.... Marinade

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce... Any type I use Sriracha
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

[Danjohnston949]

Looks very good, all these ideas, and bird flu has the chickens? Dan

[Huskee]

Here is a fantastic marinade. I marinade the chicken overnight. I grill it at 275° and I baste it a few times with the marinade while it is cooking. I've been using this marinade for a few years and everyone I've made it for loves it.

Mongolian chicken.... Marinade

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce... Any type I use Sriracha
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

I really need to get the ingredients and try this. I have seen you post this a few times, and I think once you even replied this recipe directly to me.

I too love Pit Boss Dave's family recipe, "Parrinade" I call it. Half Moore's marinade and half Zesty Italian salad dressing (the oil/vinegar/herbs kind). I haven't done it on legs, but on nice plump chicken breasts it's great.

[Breadhead]

Huskee

That's my all time favorite chicken dish! I usually use it on chicken thighs.

Chicken breast I cook indoors. I make a paste out of butter, Dijon mustard and add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Then I mix equal quantities of Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I dredge the breasts in the paste and then dip it into the bread crumbs and cheese. I bake them in the oven @350° for about 35 minutes. That's a good option for when you can't BBQ.

[CandySueQ]

Chicken legs -- brine or marinate. Spicy rub, smoke, glaze with sweet sauce.

[Breadhead]

What's your favorite spicy rub for chicken Ms Candy?