Smoked Chicken Legs with Maple-Sriracha Glaze
In today’s video we’re making Maple-Sriracha Glazed Chicken Legs (a.k.a. chicken drumsticks) in the Pit Barrel Cooker. This easy chicken recipe starts with a brine, then we season the chicken and smoke it. The last step is applying the Maple-Sriracha glaze.
Brine Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- ½ cup Kosher salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 12 whole cloves
- 3-4 bay leaves
Protein Ingredients
- 12-14 chicken drumsticks
- Sucklebusters Clucker Duster Chicken BBQ Rub (as needed)
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 7 tablespoons Sriracha
Recipe inspired from barbecuebible.com
Recipe Instructions
- In a large pot, make the brine and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Add the chicken legs to the brine, cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours.
- Remove the chicken legs from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
- Season the chicken with the Clucker Duster Chicken Rub and place on a pre-heated Pit Barrel Cooker. My cooker was at 250 degrees F.
- Cook the chicken for about 30 minutes, then start the glaze by melting the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the maple syrup and Sriracha. Bring to a simmer and stir for about 5 minutes.
- In approximately 1 hour 15 minutes (or when the chicken reaches 160 degrees F), apply the first layer of Maple-Sriracha sauce.
- Cook the chicken for an additional 15 minutes, then turn over and glaze again.
- Allow the chicken to cook until it reaches 175 -180 degrees F (15 to 30 more minutes). Total cook time was just under 2 hours.
- Remove the chicken legs from the smoker, garnish as desired and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Serve!
See our Smoked Chicken Leg video for the detailed recipe instructions.
