Crispy Pellet-Smoked Leg Quarters

john — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:30:26 +0000

Clean, Crispy Pellet‑Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

If you’ve got chicken leg quarters and a pellet grill, congratulations — you’re already halfway to greatness. This recipe is basically “set it to 400°F and let science do the heavy lifting.” Start bone‑side down, flip when it looks like it’s questioning its life choices, and keep going until the skin is crisp enough to shatter like your willpower at a BBQ buffet. Whether you’re going low‑cal, full‑carnivore, or chasing maximum crisp, this method turns humble chicken quarters into smoky, juicy, crispy show‑offs. No fancy tricks. No oil baths. Just heat, seasoning, and a grill that does what it’s told.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Chicken, Smoked

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 1

Servings 2 Quarters

Equipment

1 Smoker, Pellet I use a GMG Daniel Boone (2015), and my general pellets are Kirkland brand.

Ingredients

2 Leg Quarters
1 tbsp Rub of choice I like Gunnars Gunpowder, Hey grill hey's Sweet Rub, etc…
1/2 tsp Baking Powder Optional for crispier skin

Instructions

Prep the Chicken

Pat quarters very dry with paper towels. If you want ultra‑crispy skin, dust lightly with baking powder (⅛ tsp per quarter).

I like to pull the skin back to expose the meat and sprinkle a little rub inside.

Season

Liberally season both sides. Let it sit for 15-45 min… prep the rest of the meal.
1 tbsp Rub of choice

The Cook

Start cold, place quarters on the cold grill, bone‑side down. Set pellet grill to 400°F.
2 Leg Quarters
Cook 25–30 minutes without opening the lid. This renders fat under the skin and firms it up.
Flip meat‑side down and cook another 25–30 minutes until skin is crispy and internal temp hits 185–195°F (dark meat sweet spot).

For that burnt‑ish skin you like, leave meat‑side down for an extra 3–5 minutes.

Rest 5 minutes to keep juices in the meat.

Smoked Wings

john — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 05:24:18 +0000

Sunday Funday, Gameday… What’s better than some wings and family. Dress them how you like.

Smoked Wings

Crispy smoked wings

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Chicken, gameday, party, Smoked

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 30

Rest 5

Total Time 2 20

Servings 3 People

Equipment

1 Smoker Grill Pellet, stick, or gasp gas if you have to.

Ingredients

18 pcs Wing Bits Kirkland wings are awesome for this.
2 Tbsp Baking Powder To crisp the skin
1.5 Tbsp Rub of choice
3 Oz Sauce of Choice Buffalo, BBQ, Asian Etc…

Instructions

Prepare the wings

Pat and dry the wings, I place them on a rack in the fridge for a couple of hours to ready for the rub. Mix the seasoning and baking powder in a 1 Gal bag, place the wings in the bag and shake them up to coat.

Preheat the Smoker

Fire up the smoker and set to 250.

Smoke those wings

Smoke the wings for at least 30 minutes or more to infuse the smoky goodness.

Increase the heat

Set the smoker to 425 degrees and continue to cook until the internal temperature of the wing reads 175 degrees F. You can rotate or flip the wings as needed to maintain even cooking and avoid any hot spots on the grill.
Remove the wings from the grill and serve. You can serve plain, toss in your favorite BBQ seasoning, or hot sauce.
Depending on sauce type being used, when the wings reach 165, this would be a good time to sauce and let them rise to 175 internal temp. This will help set the sauce and make it tacky.

Recipe – TrainerFamily

Crispy Pellet-Smoked Leg Quarters

Clean, Crispy Pellet‑Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Prep the Chicken

Season

The Cook

Smoked Wings

Smoked Wings

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare the wings

Preheat the Smoker

Smoke those wings

Increase the heat