Hello everybody, I hope you’re having an incredible day today. Today, I will show you a way to make a special dish, smoked whole chicken and turkey legs. It is one of my favorites. For mine, I am going to make it a bit tasty. This will be really delicious.

Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs is one of the most well liked of recent trending meals on earth. It’s appreciated by millions daily. It is easy, it is quick, it tastes delicious. They’re nice and they look wonderful. Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs is something that I have loved my entire life.

How to brine a chicken before smoking. You can brine a whole chicken or pieces of chicken. Our most recent smoking episode had us brining the breasts, legs, and thighs from four large chickens.

To begin with this recipe, we have to first prepare a few components. You can cook smoked whole chicken and turkey legs using 15 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you cook that.

The ingredients needed to make Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs:

1. Make ready 2 whole chickens 3-5 lbs each
2. Get 1 package turkey legs
3. Take 1 orange
4. Prepare 1 lemon
5. Take 2 sprigs rosemary
6. Take 4 sprigs tarragon
7. Get 5 cups sugar
8. Make ready 3 1/4 cups kosher salt
9. Get 2/3 cup chili powder
10. Make ready 1/4 cup onion powder
11. Prepare 1/4 cup garlic powder
12. Prepare 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
13. Take 6 dried bay leaves
14. Take 1 tablespoon chopped dehydrated onion
15. Take 3 gallons water

Smoke the turkey legs slow on low. Turkey drumsticks have a lot of connective tissue and the low heat is key to liquefying the collagen. Conceptually it is just like grilling chicken drumsticks over indirect heat but with the smoking element included. Whole smoked chicken is so much better than chicken roasted in the oven or rotisserie.

Steps to make Smoked whole chicken and turkey legs:

1. Combine 3 cups of kosher salt, 4.5 cups sugar, 6 bay leaves, 1 tbsp chopped dehydrated onions and 3 gallons water to make the brine. Soak the chickens and turkey legs in the brine and refrigerate over night or minimum 4 hours.
2. Make the rub. I used Myron Mixon's 'The only other barbecue rub you need' recipe. Combine 2/3 cup chili powder, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup onion powder, 1/4 garlic powder and 1 tsp cayenne pepper
3. Soak your choice of wood chunks in water (I used mesquite). Light the charcoal in the smoker. Slice up the orange and lemon into approximately 12 pieces each.
4. Rinse the chicken and turkey in cold water and pat dry.
5. Stuff each chicken with half an orange, half a lemon, 1 sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs of tarragon.
6. Cover the chickens and turkey legs on all sides with the rub.
7. Put the chicken breast side up and the turkey legs on the smoker. Smoke at 275° for 3.5 hours or until the white meat hits 160 and the dark reaches 180. Check the temp periodically and add more charcoal and wood chunks as needed.

It's tender, incredibly juicy, and full of flavor. Take a few hours to brine the chicken for the best results, stuff it with some onion, garlic, and lemon, and finally, rub it with delicious chicken dry rub. Mix all dry rub seasoning ingredients together in a mixing bowl and rub olive oil all over the chicken legs to fully coat the drumsticks. Rub the seasoning mix to fully coat the outside of the legs. To measure the temperature of a whole chicken, insert a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.

So that is going to wrap this up for this exceptional food smoked whole chicken and turkey legs recipe. Thanks so much for your time. I am confident that you will make this at home. There is gonna be more interesting food in home recipes coming up. Don’t forget to bookmark this page in your browser, and share it to your loved ones, friends and colleague. Thanks again for reading. Go on get cooking!