Honey Chipotle Chicken Recipe

This recipe is all about Honey Chipotle Chicken on the grill… Chicken leg quarters are excellent on the grill and are a great choice for feeding a lot of people on a budget. For this recipe I combine smoky chipotle peppers and honey to kick up the taste.

You can find Leg Quarters at any grocery store; the ones I bought were frozen in a 4lb bag. Just let them slow thaw in the refrigerator overnight and they’ll be ready to go the next day.

There’s not much trimming to do on the leg quarter, but I do remove any unwanted fat or skin from the bone side of the meat.

For the seasoning I’m using:

1 cup of my Killer Hog’s AP Rub (or any quality all purpose seasoning)
1 Tablespoon of Ground Chipotle Pepper
1 teaspoon of Ground Cumin

Place these ingredients in a ziplock bag and shake it to combine. Pour the rub into a dredge shaker and sprinkle the seasoning on all sides of the chicken.

Any grill or smoker set up for indirect heat can be used for this cook. I’m firing up my XL Big Green Egg with a good bed of Royal Oak Lump coal and a few chunks of pecan wood for smoke.

The cooking temp needs to be around 325⁰ to get the skin soft and bite through.

Once it’s up to temp place the leg quarters directly on the cooking grate and insert a probe thermometer into the meat. I use a Smoke by Thermoworks set up with the new wifi Gateway to watch these temps on my cellphone. It’s really handy when you’re away from the pit.

Once the internal temperature reaches 170⁰ it’s time to glaze. For this Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce, I use:

2 cups of Killer Hogs The BBQ Sauce (any quality sauce can be substituted)
¼ cup of Honey
2 whole chipotle peppers in Adobe sauce

Place these ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Brush over both sides of the leg quarters and continue to cook until the internal temp reaches 175⁰. Remove each one from the grill and allow them to cool for a few minutes before serving.

The smoky heat from the Chipotle Pepper and the sweetness from the Honey turn these leg quarters into something special; give it a try and let me know what you think!