Name: Smoked Chicken Legs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 140 min
Ingredients: 2-2.5 lb chicken legs; 1 olive oil; 2-3 tbsp bbq rub ((store bought or homemade)); 1 cup barbecue sauce ((store bought or homemade)); ¼ cup apple cider vinegar; ¼ cup water; 2 tbsp bbq rub ((store bought or homemade)); 2 tbsp barbecue sauce ((store bought or homemade))

This is the BEST Smoked Chicken Legs recipe. It’s classic American BBQ. Smoked chicken drumsticks only requires 10 minutes prep time.

Smoked Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken legs are coated in olive oil, a flavorful BBQ rub (or Smoke Rub For Chicken) and barbecue sauce, then cooked smoked low and slow, to create perfectly crispy skin and a juicy interior, infused with light smoke.

We’re always looking for easy smoked recipes and BBQ recipes and this smoked chicken legs recipe fits the bill. Smoking chicken legs requires only 4 ingredients and two hours of cook time.

Mop Sauce

We highly recommend using a quick and easy bbq mop sauce when making this smoked chicken legs recipe. It only requires a few extra ingredients and 2 minutes to mix up.

This mop sauce recipe infuses a ton of extra flavor and helps keep the chicken extra juicy. It’s 100% optional, however.

A silicone brush with mop sauce brushing poultry.

How To Make Smoked Chicken Legs

Coat ’em up, cook ’em up, sauce ’em up and eat! That’s it in a nutshell.

Smoked drumsticks can be made on any pellet, charcoal or wood grill. We provide instructions for all methods. Just make sure you have the supplies called out below.

More Chicken Recipes: Smoked Chicken Thighs, Smoked Chicken Wings and Smoked Whole Chicken

Temperature

The goal is to keep the ambient smoked chicken temp as close to 275°F as possible. If you’re opting to use a manual smoker aim to keep it between 250 – 275°F.

Smoked chicken drumsticks coated in BBQ seasoning.

Timing

It takes about 2 hours to smoke chicken legs to 165°F. The prep work takes under 10 minutes, so you’re looking at approximately 2.5 hours total from start to finish (including the 10 minute rest period).

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Wood Recommendations

The best wood to smoked chicken is a fruit wood as it adds a light sweetness to the meat and doesn’t overwhelm the delicate flavor: Cherry wood, apple wood, pecan wood and maple wood.

For more options, check the list of “Best Wood For Smoking Chicken“.

Close up of a chicken leg seasoning with BBQ rub.

Variations

There are a ton of different ways to customize Smoked Chicken Legs; here are a few of our favorites:

Spicy – Add cayenne pepper to the bbq rub or sauce.
Dry – Omit the bbq sauce. You’ll still get the bbq flavor from the rub.
Sweet – Add extra brown sugar to the bbq rub.
Less Sweet – Omit or reduce the brown sugar from the bbq rub.

Recipe Tips:

Don’t skimp on the olive oil. It’s what crisps up the skin when cooking.
Place a small bowl of water in the smoker when cooking for long periods to help keep moisture in the meat.
Make sure to spray the grill prior to heating to ensure the chicken doesn’t stick.
As with all chicken recipes, do not leave out at room temperature for more than two hours. If you have leftover store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To re-heat leftovers, pre-heat the oven to 350°F and cook for 10-12 minutes, until heated throughout.

Raw chicken poultry on a cutting board with pickles.

How Much Chicken Per Person

On average, chicken legs yield about 1.5 oz of meat per leg so plan on serving two chicken legs per person if you’re having a nice selection of side dishes. If your side dishes are slim plan on serving three legs per person.

These same measurements apply to Beer Can Chicken.

BBQ Chicken Side Dish Ideas

In addition to serving a huge helping of Macho Peas and slices of Peach Pound Cake for dessert (hello, PEFECT BBQ dessert) here’s are our favorite side dishes to serve with barbecue chicken.

Click to see our list of 50 Best Things To Smoke In A Smoker.