Smoked brined leg quarters

[Smokin3d]

Brined 15 Quarters for 14 hours then patted dry then seasoned with garlic - pepper - Weber chicken' rib seasoning and Weber kick'n ckicken seasoning.
Smoking at 250 degrees for 2 hours with hickory - cherry and jack Daniels whiskey barrel wood.
Then there going on hot Grill to crisp up skin then some of them going swimming in BBQ sauce and back in smoker for 30 mins.

 

[Smokin3d]

5 of them off the grill no sauce. Skin crisped up good 650 degrees!

 

[Smokin3d]

Another 10 more before the swim in head country BBQ sauce.

 

[Smokin3d]

Looks like I'm by my self on here tonight! ;D
Last 10 out of smoker with sauce.
The flavor of the first 5 with no sauce is full of flavor from the brine.

 

[drains]

That's some tasty looking bird! Brining really makes a big difference. Good job John.

 

[DivotMaker]

Way to go, John!  You're never "by yourself" for long, around here!

 

[Smokin3d]

Lol thanks guys just back from neighbors had to take them some. It's a little cold tonight on gator with shorts on at 57 degrees out!
The ole lady rated the Chicken a 9 out of 10 so it looks like I still have some work to do!
Here they are on grill to crisp up cause the ole lady likes the skin.

 

[DivotMaker]

I'll take a "9" any day of the week, and twice on Sunday!   Nice job!

 

[curegeorg]

I've got to cook some quarters and I am reading up since this will be the first chicken smoke.  About what internal temp do you think they should be taken out to put on the grill to crisp the skin?

I was thinking of doing DM's brine and some rub (haven't looked at what I have), probably no sauce, pecan wood.  Do I just want to set it to 250 and let it cook?  I've only done cooks with the auber controlling everything, this seems a little more watch and check, but I don't want to miss something and end up with crap!  Lol.

 

[SuperDave]

Coolio, if you are more comfortable with the Auber, you can simply use the Auber on time setting or the analog just set to 250.  170 IT is usually considered done for the dark meat but can handle a little more with no loss.  Maybe take out at 165 to crisp. 

 

[curegeorg]

Cool.  I was thinking along those lines.  These days I'm easily distracted and a lot on the old brain which is why I got this smoker and controller.  My wife wants me to smoke them instead of grill for some reason.  Which puts it on me instead of her, lol.  That is probably the reason....

 

[DivotMaker]

Coolio, I'd brine and smoke at 250 until 165...just can't go wrong, with that, for poultry.  Shouldn't take long to crisp skin over a hot BBQ.  Beware, though...it's hard to probe parts, or any other small items.

 

[SconnieQ]

Fortunately, leg quarters are very forgiving, and can go to 175 or higher without drying out. In fact, I kind of like them at 175. They are a little more fall-off-the-bone. So if you take them out at 165, then put on the grill to crisp, they should be good. Breasts on the other hand should not go past 165 for their final temp or they will dry out. If you were doing breasts and wanted to crisp the skin on the grill, you'd want to take those out of the smoker no higher than 155-160. I love chicken skin, but I never bother to crisp the skin on smoked chicken. There is so little fat left in the skin by the time it is done smoking, it's difficult to get the kind of crispy skin you want. I feed it to the dog. Everybody's happy. The meat is so darn good you won't miss the skin. Give it a try though and see what you think. Some people have had acceptable results crisping the skin.