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Delicious easy recipe for smoked chicken quarters in your electric smoker. I use Masterbuilt smoker but any charcoal smoker will work too. Flavorful rub and orange glaze make this dinner meal absolutely fantastic.
Chicken is very easy to smoke, much easier then ribs or brisket. Its comes very handy when lets say you have gy=uests coming in couple hours and you want to impress them with some flavorful smoked food.
This chicken quarters are done in about 1 hour to an hour and a half. I use a thermometer to make sure my chicken is cooked through.
All you will need is to insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken (don’t touch the bone though because the bone heats up much quicker). My smoker didnt come with the thermometer so i ordered one on amazon. It helps a lot with understanding the cooking time, especially in a large cuts of meat.
How to smoke chicken quarters in electric smoker.
First you will need to use your favorite wood chips. I like Mesquite and apple wood chips , i think it pairs well with chicken. But of course you can use whatever chips you like.
Make the RUB:
Would you like to save this?
- paprika (you can use smoked)
- chili powder
- thyme
- salt
- garlic powder
- pepper
- cumin (optional)
You can prepare a large batch of this rub and store until needed. Great on chicken, pork or beef!
For the orange marmalade you can simply use a store bought one. Mixed with hot sauce it adds some spicy but delicate flavor to the meat.
You can try to make this recipe with lemon preserves too. Let me know it the comments if you tried it!
Electric smoker smoked chicken : temperature
The chicken cooks at 275 degrees. When the cooking time is over, make sure to check the inner temperature, it should be 160 degrees. After you let it sit for 10 minutes (you can wrap it in foil), the temperature should rise to 165. The chicken is still coking after you take it out of the smoker.
If you twist the bone, it should move easily break the chicken quarter in to two pieces. This is the best sign that the chicken is done and cooked perfectly.
More Electric Smoker recipes to try!
- Smoked beef ribs
- Perfectly smoked brisket-juicy and tender!
- Easy smoked whole chicken
- Smoked cajun chicken quarters
- Smoked baby back ribs-with video!
Well, now here is the recipe below, enjoy your cooking!
Smoker orange marmalade chicken
Equipment
- Electric smoker
Ingredients
- 2 chicken quarters
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
For the rub
- 4 tspn paprika
- 1 tbspn chili powder
- 2 tspn thyme
- 2 tspn salt
- 2 tspn garlic powder
- 1 tspn pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your electric smoker to 275 degrees.
- Wash chicken and dry with paper towels.
- Mix all the rub ingredients. Cover chicken quarters with the rub. Brush with orange marmalade mixed with hot sauce ( under the skin too!).
- Place chicken in the smoker for 1 and half hours. Once cooked, take out and let rest for 10 minutes.
John Powers
Tuesday 13th of April 2021
Just made this using Frank's red hot sauce, and drumsticks instead of quarters. Came out awesome. Will be doing this again, next time I'll try to remember to add the optional cumin. How much should I add? Oh and I used cherry wood.
Tatiana Shifruk
Friday 16th of April 2021
I am so glad you liked it! 2 teaspoon of cumin will be enough
Rick
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
What kind of hot sauce do you use? Sounds really good.
Tim Schobert
Sunday 8th of March 2020
Hi folks I’m on a restricted sodium diet. The recipe doesn’t appear to have a lot of sodium in it , so question is what can be done to reduce the sodium? Could or would you please shoot an email I’ll please and thank you. Tim
Brittney
Tuesday 20th of August 2019
For those of us who arent "seasoned" smokers or grillers can you add a little more to the instructions about how to cut the chicken into quarters and how to rub the seasoning on (under the skin? On top?)
Colleen
Sunday 14th of July 2019
I can't wait to make this! The marmalade glaze looks and sounds delicious.