Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

If you’re after an affordable and flavorful option for weeknight dinners or meal prep, smoked chicken leg quarters are hard to beat.

This recipe delivers juicy dark meat with crispy skin and rich smoky flavor, everything you love about smoked chicken, using the most flavorful cut on the bird.

Why I love smoking chicken leg quarters

For a long time, spatchcock chicken was the go-to method for smoking poultry. It’s still a great method, but once I started smoking leg quarters, I realized how much flavor and convenience this cut brings to the table:

• Value for money – Leg quarters are one of the least expensive cuts. A pack of five costs less than $5, which gives you a serving of meat for less than $1 per person.
• Few ingredients – Just a handful of pantry staples and you’re ready to fire up the smoker.
• Hands-free – Once it’s on the smoker, there’s no babysitting required. Just let the smoke do the work for the next two hours.
• Versatile – Use your favorite rub or whatever you’ve got in the pantry; this cut takes on flavor beautifully.
• Meal prep – Makes plenty of juicy, flavorful meat that stores well for easy lunches and dinners all week.

Ingredients you’ll need 

• Chicken leg quarters – A leg quarter is another name for the bottom half of a quartered chicken, the section that contains the leg and thigh. They typically come skin-on.
• Poultry seasoning – This recipe is very versatile in the sense that you can use just about any seasoning blend you like. I used our homemade poultry rub, but store-bought or your favorite homemade blend will work great. I’ve also had good results with flavors like SPG (salt, pepper, garlic) and lemon pepper. 
• BBQ sauce – This is optional, but if you like your chicken saucy, you’ll need BBQ sauce to finish it off. You can also use other sauce options like teriyaki for an Asian twist or hot sauce for a Mexican vibe.

When to sauce

With sweeter sauces like BBQ sauce, you’ll want to sauce your chicken about 15-20 minutes before it’s done cooking. I recommend adding sauce when the chicken hits around 170°F internal, which should be around the 1-½ hour mark. 

Once sauced, leave the chicken on the smoker until it finishes cooking to allow the sauce time to tack up. Typically, 15-20 minutes is plenty of time. 

How to store and reheat chicken leg quarters for meal prep

If you use this recipe to prep meals for the week, you can store the fully cooked chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. You can leave it whole or shred it before storage. 

You can use the microwave or oven, or pop them back on the smoker at 300°F until the internal temperature reaches 165°F again. I don’t recommend reheating the chicken more than once, as it can start to dry out. 

How to make smoked chicken leg quarters

I would argue that chicken leg quarters are one of the most underrated cuts of chicken, not just for barbecue but in general. They consist of the chicken thigh and the leg, which are both dark meat portions of chicken. The most flavorful and juicy parts of the bird. 

1. Prep

Generally, leg quarters come trimmed, but if they have any loose skin flaps that hang over the edge, trim them off. They can trap moisture and prevent the skin from crisping up. Leave just enough to help self-baste the meat as it cooks.

2. Season

I kept the seasoning simple with our homemade poultry rub, but I’ve had great results with store-bought options.

If you are prepping this chicken for meal prep, I recommend using a simple salt, pepper, and garlic blend, which pairs well with many types of food. 

Give the quarters a good covering of seasoning on both sides.

Once seasoned, you can leave the chicken at room temperature while you fire up the smoker. 

3. Fire up the smoker 

For this recipe, I used my Grilla Grills OG pellet smoker. I love using this grill for smoking meats like poultry and pork because the fire pot is located directly beneath the grates. It’s great for getting nice, crispy skin. The smaller chamber also provides a significant amount of smoke, so the smoke flavor really pulls through. 

You want to set your smoker to 275°F.

I’ve smoked a lot of chicken in my life (and I mean, A LOT of chicken), and I’ve tried so many different temperatures, but 275°F seems to really be the sweet spot. It allows the chicken to soak up plenty of smoke flavor while still getting decently crispy skin that doesn’t burn from being on the smoker for too long. 

Once your smoker is preheated, it’s time to start cooking! 

4. Smoke your quarters

Place the leg quarters directly on the grates of your smoker, skin-side up. This will help air circulate around the skin and help it crisp up during the cooking process. 

Once your chicken is on the smoker, the rest of the cooking process is pretty hands-off. You don’t need to spritz, as that creates rubbery skin, and you don’t need to move the chicken around at all during cooking. 

They’ll take between 1-½ to 2 hours to cook, depending on the size.

While smoked chicken is safe to eat when it reaches 165°F internal, I prefer to pull it around 180-185°F internal for the best texture. I’ve found that dark meat can have an odd texture when it’s at 165°F, so I almost always take it a bit higher.

The best way to tell when they’re done is by checking the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. 

Smoked chicken leg quarters are proof that great barbecue doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. With just a few ingredients, some patience, and the right smoker setup, you’ll get tender, flavorful meat with crispy skin every time.

If you try these smoked chicken quarters, let us know what you think in the comments below and leave a five-star review. It will help others find the best recipes.