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BBQ Chicken Lollipops

by Jason Janes

These tasty appetizers are always a crowd pleaser, regardless of the age. We like to season them so they are a little sweet and a little spicy.

Food Safety 

When handling food you want to avoid any forms of contamination throughout the process. Make sure you throughly wash your hands with warm soap and water and be sure to use heat protective gloves when handling cooked food. Meat should be properly thawed in the refrigerator, avoiding cross contamination with other meats. And always make sure you are cooking on clean grill grates.

Ingredients

Meat Prep

There is a little prep work required but it's not overly complicated. First you're going to need a cutting board, a sharp knife, and kitchen shears.
 
Step 1: Remove the skin at the knuckle of the chicken leg. Cut around the narrowest part of the leg about an inch below the knuckle using a sharp knife. You'll then need to use your kitchen shears to cut the tendons.
 
 
 
 
Step 2: Pull the loose skin up over the knuckle and cut it away using the kitchen shears. Try to cut away any little bits sticking to the bone.
 
 
Step 3: You're going to remove the tiny sharp bone that's connected to the side of the leg. You can pull it off from the narrowest part of the leg and slide your finger between the tiny bone and the leg bone. When you get to the base of the tiny bone, snap it off and pull it out.
 
 
Step 4: Push the meat down so that the meaty part forms a thick ball. Be sure to cut away any visible tendons. It should look something like this.
 
 
 
 
Step 5: Seasoning is meant to be fun. We like to add a nice coating of Meat Church The Gospel All-Purpose Rub. This rub is delicious on any meat. Then we like to layer on a coating of Meat Church Holy VooDoo. This adds the sweet and touch of heat. Don't be shy with seasoning your meat.
 
 
 

Smoker Prep

We tend to rely on our Big Green Egg for these types of cooks but you can use any type of barbecue or grill you like. You just need to make sure you're using indirect heat. We have a couple of blog posts on indirect heat and smoking on a gas grill that may be of interest.

First you're going to want to make sure your grill grates are clean. Using your favorite wood BBQ scraper - we prefer the Juniper BBQ Scraper - scrape the grates clean of any debris from the previous cook. Next you'll want to get the heat regulated at 275 to 300 and add a few wood chunks (hickory or apple) for flavour. Once the smoker reaches temp, add the wood chunks and set the grates for indirect heat.

Place the chicken legs on the grate and let them do their thing for 35 to 40  minutes. You're looking for an internal temperature of about 165.

Serve it up

These are tasty all by themselves but we do like to toss them in BBQ sauce like Jack Daniels and offer our guests a dipping option like the Smoke Show Jalapeno Aioli.
 

Instructions

  1. Prepare smoker or grill for indirect cooking. Temperature should be between 275-300⁰.
  2. Prepare chicken legs, trimming as per description above. Pat dry.
  3. Season the ribs first with Meat Church The Gospel and then Meat Church Holy VooDoo.
  4. Place the chicken legs on the cooking rack and hold the cooking temp steady @ 275-300⁰.
  5. Cook until internal temperature hits 165⁰.
  6. Remove, coat in BBQ sauce and serve hot.
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