Smoked Butterflied Hen Drumsticks – Study to Smoke Meat with Jeff Phillips

September 24, 2022

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Smoked butterflied hen drumsticks opens them as much as extra smoke and extra taste and it solely takes just a few further minutes to knock out a dozen of them. You’ll need to resolve if it’s price your time however they’re off the charts within the taste division!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Brine Time: 2 hours
Cook dinner Time: 1 hour quarter-hour
Smoker Temp: 225°F (107°C)
Meat End Temp: 175°F (79°C)
Really helpful Wooden: Maple, hickory, cherry combine

Camp Chef Woodwind

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Pit Boss Competitors Mix Pellets

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Thermapen One

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Effectively, first, butterflying them opens up the meat for extra smoke taste and that’s solely an excellent factor. One other nice profit is extra floor space for including Jeff’s authentic rub which simply means much more taste!

A further profit that I actually didn’t take into consideration till we began writing up the directions for that is the extra char on the meat. We find yourself giving these some excessive warmth on the finish which supplies us just a little of that good charred end and with extra floor space, comes extra charred floor space child!

Find out how to Make Smoked Butterflied Hen Drumsticks

I selected to dry brine these however you would additionally moist brine them in the event you favor.

The overall prescription is ½ teaspoon of coarse kosher salt per pound of meat. Since drumsticks include about 1.5 ounces of meat every (not counting the bone), I simply figured on 1 teaspoon of salt for each 5-6 hen legs.

I are likely to dry brine just a little heavier than most individuals advocate.. I’ve been doing it some time which supplies me confidence that I’m not going to over-salt them. ½ teaspoon per pound of meat may be very conservative but it surely’s an incredible beginning place till you see what you and your loved ones like.

I additionally selected to dry brine these BEFORE I butterflied them however this might simple have been completed within the reverse and it would even have been a greater possibility.

As soon as the hen legs are salted, place the pan of hen within the fridge for a few hours. Throughout this time, the salt will draw a few of the moisture out of the meat, the moisture dissolves the salt then that naturally-created brine will take up again into the meat.

It’s magical and it amazes me each single time.

By the best way: if you wish to learn just a little extra on brining, right here’s an article I wrote some time again.

That is fairly simple to do.. take a look at the legs and you’ll discover that one aspect of the legs have much less pores and skin than the opposite.

On the aspect with much less pores and skin, make a reduce alongside either side of the bone however don’t reduce during the meat.

Reduce it simply sufficient so you may lay the meat open just a little and name it completed.

You would possibly suppose that as a result of we salted the hen, that it’s now seasoned however alas, no it’s not.

Be sure you use a low-salt rub.. I exploit Jeff’s authentic rub on these as a result of it’s actually, actually good AND as a result of it’s very low in sodium however you should utilize what you want.

Step 4: Get the Smoker Able to Go

You should use ANY smoker for these smoked butterflied hen drumsticks. Simply observe the identical temperature suggestions and use your grill and even the oven broiler to get just a little char on the pores and skin for that good end.

Arrange your smoker for cooking at 225°F (107°C) and in case your smoker makes use of a water pan, depart it dry if doable. The additional humidity this imparts doesn’t do the hen pores and skin any favors.

Within the Woodwind, I used Pit Boss Competitors Mix Pellets however you should utilize any taste of wooden that you simply like or have readily available.

As soon as the smoker is able to prepare dinner, transfer to the subsequent step.

Place the butterflied hen drumsticks straight on the smoker grate and allow them to prepare dinner for about an hour. Hen legs have loads of fats so that you don’t have to fret an excessive amount of about them overcooking.

Test the interior temperature of the meat utilizing an instantaneous learn meat thermometer such because the Thermapen ONE. When the hen reaches round 160°F (71°C), it’s time to begin searing them with some fireplace or very excessive warmth.

Brush on just a little of my barbecue sauce simply earlier than they end up.

As a result of I wanted some fireplace motion to crisp the pores and skin just a little, I had opted to make use of the Camp Chef Woodwind.

The Woodwind has this nifty pull bar on the aspect that permits you to slide the warmth barrier out of the best way mid-cook. Once you do that, the flames will leap up via the notches within the grease pan and provides an excellent searing to something in its path.

Give the legs some tremendous excessive warmth till they get as charred as you want them and name them completed. Mine took only a few minutes on either side to get a few of that good char that I wished.

When the Smoked butterflied hen drumsticks are completed cooking, serve them up instantly. We simply stood round consuming them like a bunch of barbarians however you may serve some sides with these in the event you so select.

Get pleasure from!

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