This smoked honey chipotle glazed chicken leg quarter recipe, is delicious.
A chicken leg quarter is the combination of the drumstick, thigh, and a portion of the backbone, and it is more tender than other pieces of chicken because of its higher fat content.
A chipotle chili in adobo sauce is a dried, rehydrated jalapeno added to a puree of tomato, onion, vinegar, garlic, paprika, sugar, and oil.
The blending of chili and the adobo creates a smokey, piquant, spicy, and rich combination. So, with our three main ingredients of chicken leg quarters, chipotle chili in adobo sauce, and honey to make a glaze, you will create an incredible and unforgettable smoked chicken dish.
WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS HONEY CHIPOTLE GLAZED CHICKEN
- The best reason to try this smoked glazed chicken is – The robust essence of the chicken leg quarter is the flavor base, and the flavor of the chicken is so improved and enhanced with the addition of honey and chipotle.
- Very economical – These chicken leg quarters will run you about $1.85 per pound, and each leg quarter weighs, on average, about 1.25 pounds, so that’s $2.31 per serving.
- Easy to prep – Just mix up the 7 ingredients that make up the glaze and brush it on the chicken.
- Easy to smoke – Throw it on the grill and smoke away. No moving or flipping. And in two hours, it’s ready to eat. Easy Peezy!
INGREDIENTS FOR OFFSET SMOKER HONEY CHIPOTLE GLAZED CHICKEN
- One chicken leg quarter
Honey Chipotle Glaze
- 1 large Chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped very fine
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce (or soy sauce if Hoisin is not available)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING OFFSET SMOKER HONEY CHIPOTLE GLAZED CHICKEN
1. Bring your offset smoker to temperature – You will want to maintain a temperature of roughly 250 degrees throughout the entire smoking process.
2. Prepare the chicken leg quarter – Bring the chicken to room temperature. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, and remove any excess skin. You will find that there is often quite a bit of extra skin to remove from a chicken leg quarter.
3. Prepare the glaze – In a medium-size bowl, thoroughly mix the honey chipotle glaze ingredients with a whisk. Optionally, you can place all the ingredients in a blender.
4. Brush the chicken – With a kitchen brush, liberally brush the glaze over the front side of the chicken. Do this a few times to ensure that the entire chicken is covered with the glaze.
5. Place the chicken onto the offset smoker – Place chicken on the 8” x 10” wire oven rack and place it into your offset smoker grill grate. Smoke until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees, about 2 hours. As a chicken leg quarter is usually larger and thicker than a regular thigh or breast, the smoking time will be longer.
6. Remove the chicken from the offset smoker – Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. Cut the chicken between the drumstick and the thigh. This should serve one person.
VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS FOR OFFSET SMOKER HONEY CHIPOTLE GLAZED CHICKEN
Try another piece of the chicken – Although this recipe calls for using the chicken leg quarters, chicken thighs or breasts will do nicely too. Just remember to adjust your smoking time for each different type of chicken piece, always reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Experiment with the honey and chipotle – This recipe produces a fairly neutral balance between the sweet honey and the hot chipotle chili. However, you can adjust the sweetness by adding more chipotle or adjust the heat by adding more honey.
Use another type of glaze – A glaze is a glossy, sticky coating that is cooked on the chicken so that the sugars caramelize when smoking, giving the chicken an incredible, robust and remarkable flavor. There are many types of glazes for chicken. Try a Thai peanut glaze, a teriyaki or hoisin sauce glaze, or a maple syrup and balsamic vinegar glaze.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR OFFSET SMOKER HONEY CHIPOTLE GLAZED CHICKEN
Place the glaze in the refrigerator – By placing the glaze in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, not only are you allowing the ingredients to mix together for a while, but the honey will become just a tad thicker so it will stick to the chicken better when applied.
Brush the chicken often with the glaze – As the chicken is smoking and imparting it’s wonderful robust flavors, be sure to brush the glaze on the chicken about every 30 minutes. This way you are building up layers of bold honey chipotle and smoke flavors. Incredible!
Using an 8” x 10” wire oven rack and a drip pan – Placing your chicken leg quarter on the wire oven rack ensures that the chicken will not sag into and between the grill grates, and it’s much easier to move the chicken around and on and off the smoker. Placing an aluminum drip pan on the ash tray under the chicken to catch the drippings will help when it comes to cleanup. Just toss it away!
Smoked Honey Glazed Chipotle Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Offset smoker
- 1 8”x 10” Wire Oven Rack
- 1 Aluminum Drip Pan
- 1 Basting Brush
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken Leg Quarter
Honey Chipotle Glaze
- 1 large Chipotle chili with in adobo sauce, chopped very fine
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce, or soy sauce if Hoisin is not available
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Bring your offset smoker to temperature – You will want to maintain a temperature of roughly 250 degrees throughout the entire smoking process.
- Prepare the chicken leg quarter – Bring the chicken to room temperature. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, and remove any excess skin. You will find that there is often quite a bit of extra skin to remove from a chicken leg quarter.
- Prepare the glaze – In a medium size bowl, thoroughly mix the honey chipotle glaze ingredients with a whisk. Optionally, you can place all the ingredients in a blender.
- Brush the chicken – With a kitchen brush, liberally brush the glaze over the front side of the chicken. Do this a few times to ensure that the entire chicken is covered with the glaze.
- Place the chicken onto the offset smoker – Place chicken on the 8” x 10” wire oven rack and place it into your offset smoker grill grate. Smoke until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees, about 2 hours. As a chicken leg quarter is usually larger and thicker than a regular thigh or breast, the smoking time will be longer.
- Remove the chicken from the offset smoker – Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. Cut the chicken between the drumstick and the thigh. This should serve one person.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
