Smoked Barbecue Chicken Lollipops
In today’s economy, food prices are on the rise. Inflation is hitting our wallets, especially mine at the grocery store. Not everyone can smoke a brisket every weekend, or experiment with exotic sauces and specialty ingredients. Now that summer is in full swing and cookouts/barbecues are actively happening, I’m going to give you a little secret on how to impress your friends while staying within your grocery budget; smoked barbecue chicken lollipops.
Smoked barbecue chicken lollipops are chicken drumsticks cut down down to expose the bone. You get rid of some fat, skin, tendons, and create a nice side meal to bring to the party. Personally, I love smoked chicken for many reasons. Chicken does not take as long as other types of meat to cook (Chicken cooks at a higher temperature as it does not have as much fat to render down). I believe it to be versatile in what you can make out of it. Pulled chicken nachos and pulled chicken sandwiches are delicious (These recipes will be for another day).
Check out the recipe below to try these smoked barbecue chicken lollipops out for yourselves.
Smoked BBQ Chicken Lollipops
Equipment
- 1 Deep bowl or container for brining
- 1 Gallon Ziploc bag
- 1 Stove/Smoker
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
- 4 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Cup Black Pepper
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- Bay Leaves
- 2 Lbs Chicken Drumsticks
- BBQ Chicken Rub
Instructions
Prep
- Create a Brine consisting of 4 parts water water, 1 part salt, 1 part brown sugar, and 1 part black pepper
- Place your chicken drumsticks into a deep container where they will be able to be submerged in the brine
- Pour your brine over the chicken drumsticks
- Cover the container, and refrigerate overnight
- Take chicken drumsticks out and dry off with a paper towel
- Use a knife to cut all around the knuckle of the drumstick down to the bone
- Season the drumsticks with your preferred BBQ rub. I prefer a sweeter one for chicken
- Place the chicken in a gallon Ziplock bag and refrigerate for two hours in order to let the rub set in
- Wrap the exposed bone knuckle in aluminum foil (To prevent the bone from getting discolored due to smoke)
Cook
- Heat your smoker up between 275-300 degrees.
- Place your chicken lollipops on the smoker
- Once the chicken gets to 165 degrees (This should take 1.5-2 hours) dunk each drumstick in your preferred bbq sauce and place back on the smoker for 30 minutes to an hour
- Remove lollipops, and let them rest for 3-5 minutes
- Enjoy!
If you want to make the skin even crispier on the chicken, you can place these under a broiler. Make sure to keep an eye on the chicken lollipops if you decide to do this, as you could end up over cooking the meat and ruining all the hard work that was just put in!
Give this recipe a try and let us know what you think! Check out the rest of our side dish/appetizer recipes here!