Smoked Chicken Lollipop Drumsticks
These Smoked Chicken Lollipops take a cheap pack of drumsticks and turn them into something pretty damn impressive. Give them some smoke, your favorite BBQ rub, and a sticky BBQ glaze, and you’ve got some seriously good chicken.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
I love recipes like this. Drumsticks are cheap, the ingredients are simple, and with a little knife work they come off the smoker looking like you worked a whole lot harder than you actually did.
Come on, look at them – It’s a chicken drumstick with a makeover. They just look badass.
- They’re cheap – Chicken drumsticks are still one of the least expensive cuts at the grocery store. You can make a pile of these without breaking the bank.
- Use what you like – Grab your favorite BBQ rub and sauce and you’re good to go. We used our homemade rub and Bourbon Chipotle BBQ Sauce.
- Plenty of smoke and BBQ flavor – We smoke them first, then sauce them toward the end so the BBQ sauce has time to get nice and tacky.
- Great for a crowd – Game day, cookouts, parties, whatever. Put a platter of these out and watch them disappear.
Ingredients Needed
One of the best things about these chicken lollipops is how simple the ingredient list is. The real magic is in the prep and the smoking.
- BBQ sauce – Again, use what you like. We used our homemade Bourbon Chipotle BBQ Sauce, which gives the chicken a sweet, smoky kick and gets nice and sticky on the smoker.
- Chicken drumsticks – Cheap, easy to find, and perfect for this recipe. Try to grab drumsticks that are fairly similar in size so they cook at about the same rate.
- BBQ dry rub – Use your favorite BBQ rub and don’t be shy with it. We use the same homemade rub we use on our Smoked Pork Butt.
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How To Make Chicken Lollipops
The hardest part of making chicken lollipops is getting the drumsticks trimmed and cleaned up. Removing the tendons is optional, but I think it’s worth the extra effort. It makes for a much better bite when they’re done. Once you’ve prepped a couple and get the hang of it, the rest goes pretty quickly.
1. Start the lollipop cut. Using a sharp knife, cut through the skin and meat all the way around the drumstick, about an inch or so below the joint. Work your knife around the bone until everything is separated.
2. Clean up the bone. Use a paper towel to get a good grip and pull the skin and meat away from the joint, exposing the bone. Clean up any remaining bits with your knife as needed.
3. Remove the tendons. This part is optional, but I think it’s worth doing. Grab each exposed tendon with a paper towel for a better grip and pull it out. Removing them makes the finished chicken much nicer to eat.
4. Season the chicken. Generously season the drumsticks on all sides with your favorite BBQ rub. Make sure you get plenty of seasoning around the meaty portion of each drumstick. And if you don’t have a prep tub yet, get one! They’re amazing!
5. Get them ready for the smoker. Wrap the exposed bone ends with small pieces of aluminum foil to help keep them clean and prevent them from getting too dark. Hang the drumsticks from a chicken leg rack with the meat hanging underneath.
6. Smoke the chicken. Preheat the smoker to 335°F. You want to cook these at 325°F or higher to help render the fat and get that skin nice and crispy. Place the rack on the smoker and cook until the drumsticks have picked up plenty of smoke and color and are approaching their final temperature.
7. Sauce the lollipops. Brush the chicken generously with your favorite barbecue sauce, coating the meaty portion all the way around. Return them to the smoker to let the sauce set.
8. Set the glaze and serve. Keep smoking until the BBQ sauce is sticky and tacky and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the rack from the smoker, let the chicken rest for a few minutes, then pull off the foil and serve.
Pile these things up and go to town! You get juicy, smoky chicken with plenty of BBQ flavor and that sticky, tacky sauce in every bite. For something that started out as a cheap pack of drumsticks, they sure as hell don’t eat like it.
Tips
- Use a sharp knife. There’s some cutting and cleanup involved here, and a sharp knife makes the whole process a lot easier.
- Paper towels are your friend. The skin and tendons are slippery. A paper towel gives you the grip you need to pull everything away from the bone.
- Removing the tendons is optional. You can leave them in and the chicken will still be delicious, but I think removing them makes for a much better eating experience.
- Don’t sweat making them perfect. Some drumsticks clean up easier than others. Once they’re seasoned, smoked, and sauced, nobody is going to care if every bone looks exactly the same.
- Foil the bones. A little foil around the exposed ends keeps them from getting too dark and gives you that clean lollipop look when they’re finished.
- Cook to feel, not just temperature. Drumsticks can technically be done at 165°F, but dark meat is much better when you take it higher. Around 175°F to 185°F gives the connective tissue more time to break down and makes the chicken more tender.
- Sauce them near the end. Give the chicken time to pick up smoke and color first. Add the BBQ sauce toward the end so it can set and get nice and tacky without burning.
- No chicken rack? No problem. You can cook these standing upright or laid directly on the smoker grate. The rack makes them easy to manage and looks cool, but you don’t need one to make the recipe. You CAN get a chicken rack here, though. They’re cheap.
Variations
- Change the wood – We used a mix of cherry and pecan wood, which gives the chicken a nice smoky flavor without overpowering it. Apple is another great choice for something mild, or go with hickory if you want a stronger smoke flavor.
- Change the sauce – Sweet, spicy, smoky, tangy – use whatever BBQ sauce you like. Just keep an eye on sauces with a lot of sugar because they can darken quickly at 335°F.
- Change the rub – Same deal here. Use your favorite BBQ or chicken rub, or change it up with Cajun seasoning, a spicy rub, or something sweeter.
- Add some heat – Hit the finished lollipops with a little hot honey or use a spicy BBQ sauce if you want some extra kick.
FAQs
No. Removing the tendons is completely optional, but I think it’s worth the extra work. Those tendons can be tough and chewy, and removing them makes for a much better bite.
We smoke ours at 335°F. I wouldn’t go much below 325°F. Chicken skin needs that higher heat to render properly and get crispy instead of turning rubbery.
Chicken is safe at 165°F, but drumsticks are better when cooked a little further. We like them around 175°F to 185°F, where the dark meat becomes more tender and the connective tissue has had more time to break down.
At 335°F, our chicken lollipops took about 50 minutes. Drumsticks can vary in size, so use the time as a guide and cook them to an internal temperature of 175°F to 185°F for the best texture.
Wait until the chicken has picked up some good color and is getting close to done. Brush on the BBQ sauce, then put the lollipops back on the smoker long enough for the sauce to set and become sticky and tacky.
Nope. The rack makes it easy to hang the lollipops and cook a bunch at once, but it isn’t required. You can stand them upright or cook them directly on the smoker grate.
We used a combination of cherry and pecan, and it worked great with the chicken and BBQ sauce. Apple is another good mild choice, while hickory will give you a stronger smoke flavor.
Other Delicious Grilled and Smoked Chicken Recipes
Chicken Lollipop Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 12 chicken drumsticks
- BBQ dry rub as needed
- BBQ sauce as needed
Instructions
- Prep the drumsticks. Using a sharp knife, cut through the skin and meat all the way around each drumstick, about 1 inch below the joint. Work the knife around the bone until everything is separated.12 chicken drumsticks
- Clean the bone. Use a paper towel to grip the skin and meat around the joint and pull it away from the bone. Use a knife to clean up any remaining pieces as needed.
- Remove the tendons. If desired, use a paper towel to grip each exposed tendon and pull it from the drumstick. This step is optional, but removing the tendons makes the finished chicken easier to eat.
- Season. Generously season the chicken on all sides with your favorite BBQ dry rub.BBQ dry rub
- Prepare for smoking. Wrap the exposed ends of the bones with small pieces of aluminum foil. Hang the drumsticks from a chicken leg rack with the meat hanging underneath.
- Smoke. Preheat the smoker to 335°F. Place the rack in the smoker and cook until the chicken has developed good color and is approaching its final internal temperature.
- Sauce. Brush the drumsticks generously with your favorite BBQ sauce. Return them to the smoker and continue cooking until the sauce is sticky and tacky and the chicken reaches 175°F to 185°F internally.BBQ sauce
- Rest and serve. Remove the chicken from the smoker and rest for about 5 minutes. Remove the foil from the bones and serve.