SMOKED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH BBQ SAUCE

Smoked Chicken Thighs with BBQ Sauce image

Chicken thighs are the easiest part of the chicken to cook! Taking the time to create your own sauce will provide a unique flavor that most backyard cooks will not bring to the table when serving smoked chicken.

Provided by Craig Carlson

Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Chicken Chicken Thigh Recipes

Time 10h10m

Yield 30

Number Of Ingredients 17

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Ingredients

2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
3 lemons, juiced
12 cloves garlic, minced
3 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
30 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup Sriracha sauce
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
½ tablespoon onion powder
1 pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steps:

Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and jalapeno peppers in a bowl for a marinade. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour.
Place the chicken thighs in a large, shallow container and cover with the marinade. Chill and marinate for at least 6 hours, or up to overnight.
Combine ketchup, water, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, Sriracha, brown sugar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, and onion powder in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 25 minutes.
Remove the skin from each chicken thigh, one at a time. Trim excess fat from the edges of each thigh; if there are any veins on the bottom of the thigh, trim away as well. Scrape the fat off from the bottom side of the chicken's skin using a sharp knife until the skin is essentially transparent.
Re-wrap the trimmed thighs with the skin. Liberally coat with sea salt and pepper.
Place chicken thighs, unstacked, onto wire racks. Place the racks into the smoker. Add pecan wood chips according to manufacturer's directions and heat to 265 to 285 degrees F (129 to 140 degrees C).
Smoke until chicken thighs are no longer pink in the centers, about 2 hours. During the final 45 minutes of cooking, liberally apply the BBQ sauce 2 to 3 times. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone of a thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

Nutrition Facts : Calories 355.6 calories, Carbohydrate 8.6 g, Cholesterol 71 mg, Fat 26.9 g, Fiber 0.8 g, Protein 19.7 g, SaturatedFat 5.4 g, Sodium 356.9 mg, Sugar 6.1 g