This uniquely delicious recipe for chicken leg-quarters are marinated with many flavors using the famous wet rub, which takes their taste to the next level. They have juicy and tender meat inside, covered with a crispy golden layer of skin, and are finger-licking good. It’s a budget-friendly and fantastic recipe that will surely impress your family.

Oven-Baked Chicken Leg Quarters

I mostly share patience and budget-friendly recipes simultaneously, and this mouthwatering oven-baked chicken leg quarters recipe is one of them.

These chicken leg quarters are quite simple and cheap, but when you season them with a wet rub loaded with multiple flavors and bake them in the oven, you will get an amazing dish, just like the fancy dishes you order in restaurants.

The oven’s heat must be turned up at the very end to make the skin golden and crisp. It’s an easy and simple recipe that can be prepared in no time. You can get the chicken ready in no more than 5 minutes. Once seasoned, you can put the chicken in the oven for almost one hour.

You can make side dishes for your meal plan during this one hour. Baking the chicken is no fuss at all unless you don’t know how to do it right. Here I’ve got you the simplest yet delicious recipe with clear instructions that even a newbie can follow; it is easier to bake the perfect Chicken leg quarters recipe.

Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 Chicken Leg Quarters (Bone-in & Skin-on)
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt (Preferably Kosher)
• 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika Powder
• 8 Small Red Potatoes
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 2 Large Carrots (Diced)

Instructions

• For the rub, combine all the dry ingredients (spices) in a small bowl and add olive oil to it. Don’t forget to save some for the vegetables.
• Pat dry the Chicken legs with a paper towel. Now, apply the wet rub evenly on the chicken. You can rub it easily with your hands, but you can also use gloves if you are not comfortable. Use your fingers to apply rub directly on the meat inside the skin.
• After applying the rub evenly, place the chicken legs on the baking sheet and bake them for 40 – 60 minutes at 400°F.
• Cut the vegetables into your desired shape and place them in the baking pan. Add the rub you saved earlier in the vegetables and place them in the baking oven after the chicken has been cooked for about 20 – 25 minutes, as vegetables don’t take long to be cooked. You can bake the vegetables and the chicken together if you want to. But it will make your vegetables a bit softer.

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Best Method to Bake the Chicken Legs

The best technique to make a tender and juicy chicken is to start at a low temperature and finish at a high temperature to get the crispier chicken skin. Baking it in the oven is a bit time-consuming taking but it takes only 5 minutes to do the preparations by hand.

The Juice in the Baking Pan

The juice that accumulates at the bottom of the baking pan is super delicious and can be used best if dripped on the vegetables you plan to serve with the chicken. Or you can use it as a gravy for your potatoes and serve them with the leg quarters.   

Baking Time for Chicken Leg Quarters

You can try the same recipe for different meat cuts as well. Baking time varies with different meat cuts. You can ideally make your bone-in, skin-on cut with this recipe because it gives you a moist, flavorful chicken by following a few simple steps. You should check your chicken pieces with a thermometer if you use meat cuts other than the chicken leg quarters.

Should the chicken skin be removed?

No! Absolutely not. Chicken skin gives a unique and delicious taste, just like bones. Its golden brown color gives it a look of fancy restaurant foods. Chicken leg quarters are higher in calories, so you won’t cook every day. But it’s an excellent option to go for once in a while.

Are these Chicken Leg Quarters healthy?

Chicken, irrespective of the cut you choose, is always an excellent protein source. Chicken breast is the best part of the meat as it’s a low-fat and low-calorie source of protein, which is the best option for calorie-conscious people.

For how long can you store these Chicken Legs?

You can store these chicken leg quarters for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container or ziplock plastic bags. Whatever you choose, the container or the plastic bag, make sure to line it with a paper towel at the bottom to soak the excess liquid and prevent the chicken from getting soggy. It is recommended to reheat the chicken in the oven to make the skin crispier again.  

Wet Rub for Chicken Legs

Here is how to make an amazing seasoning for your chicken legs. This amazing seasoning not only enhances the taste of the chicken but also gives it an unmatched aroma you will quickly become a fan of. The secret to making the leg quarters so amazingly delicious is this wet rub that you can easily prepare yourself.

To make the wet rub, mix some chili powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and olive oil. All these ingredients are full of superb flavors that give a mouthwatering taste to your chicken legs.

In the recipe section, I will give you measurements of its ingredients. The best thing about this rub is that you can adjust the number of its ingredients as per your taste. For example, If you like the smokey flavor of the paprika, you can add more than what is mentioned in the recipe section. You can also use this rub for your whole chicken, baking, and grilling or use it in your vegetable recipes.

To prepare the wet rub, just combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl and add some olive oil in it and mix well. Your wet rub is ready. You can save some for your vegetable dishes as well.

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Some Important Tips:

• One of the most essential steps to make the skin crispier is pat drying the chicken legs before applying the wet rub. Pat dry the chicken using a paper towel. The paper towel will absorb all the excess moisture from the chicken, and the wet rub will stick to the chicken better.
• It is recommended to use the chicken at room temperature. Take the chicken out of the fridge a few minutes before seasoning it with dry rub. This will help you make an evenly cooked chicken.
• During grilling, meats are seasoned with different rubs that tend to burn when sugar is used in its seasoning. But nothing to worry about here. This wet rub doesn’t contain any sugar.

Chicken Leg Quarters Video Recipe

If you like these Chicken leg quarters recipes, please check out the recipes below:

Cheesecake Factory Nashville Hot Chicken Nuggets (Copycat)

KFC Chicken Littles Recipe (Copycat)

Homemade McDonald’s Chicken McGriddles (Copycat)

Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Recipe

How to Make Chick-Fil-A Chicken Minis

If you are planning to serve a different-styled Turkey for this Thanksgiving, then, believe me, Smoked Turkey is the best option for you. It goes well with other special occasions and would earn you a lot of appreciation. If you never got a chance at the tender delicacy of a perfect Smoked Turkey, it’s time to try it now. It takes the simple turkey to another level of taste.

It’s different from standard Roasted Turkey, but it’s really worth trying. Smoked Turkey has a unique taste you will immediately fall in love with. This different-styled Turkey will serve as a show-stopper for your Thanksgiving meal. This recipe is very simple; even a newbie can make it with the perfect taste and look.

Smoked Turkey Recipe

Here’s our standout turkey recipe for the season. While turkey is traditionally a summer favorite, autumn is the prime time to incorporate this dish into your Thanksgiving lineup. Dive deeper into the article to ensure the best results and elevate your holiday meal!

Ingredients

• A 15-pound defrosted turkey
• 2 – 3 Tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
• 2 – 3 Tablespoons Signature Sweet Rub
• 4 cups of water (at the start of smoking and add more when required)

Instructions

1. Preparation:

   • Ensure your turkey is fully defrosted.
   • Remove the turkey from its packaging.
   • Take out the neck and giblets from the turkey’s interior.
   • If your turkey is brined, rinse its exterior gently with cold water.
   • Pat the turkey dry using paper towels.
   • Use butcher’s twine to tie the turkey legs together. Tuck the wing tips behind the shoulder joints.

2. Setting Up Your Grill/Smoker:

   • Gas Grill: Preheat to 225°F. Activate half of the burners to a medium-low flame, leaving the other half off.
   • Charcoal Grill: Light the coals and wait until they’re ashed over. Place them on one side of the grill. Adjust the vents to be 25% open.
   • Dedicated Smoker: Simply preheat to 225°F.
   • Once preheated, add wood pieces to produce a thin, blue-tinted smoke from the vents.

3. Seasoning the Turkey:

   • Brush the turkey with melted butter or olive oil.
   • Generously apply your preferred sweet rub to all sides of the turkey.

4. Smoking Time:

   • Estimate 30 minutes per pound of turkey at 225°F. For a 250°F setting, it’s 25 minutes per pound. Example: A 15-pound turkey will take about 7.5 hours at 225°F.
   • Always add an extra 30 minutes to your estimated cooking time as a buffer.

5. Temperature Check:

   • Periodically check the turkey’s temperature using an instant-read thermometer.
   • Measure both the breast and thighs and on both sides if using a charcoal or gas grill.
   • Ensure all readings are above 165°F before removing the turkey from the grill/smoker.

6. Resting and Serving:

   • Allow the turkey to rest for 15 minutes after removing it from the grill.
   • If your turkey finishes cooking earlier than expected, wrap it in aluminum foil. Add several layers of paper towels around the foil for insulation, ensuring it remains warm until serving.
   • Slice the turkey as desired, choosing between dark or light meat.
   • Serve and enjoy your delicious smoked turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving

Smoked Tukey is amazingly delicious and has this tempting smell that you’ll quickly fall in love with. It’s a lot more beneficial than typical roasted Turkey. The biggest advantage of smoking Turkey instead of roasting is that it frees up your oven, and you will be able to use the oven for making other dishes in your meal plan.

So it will definitely save you time by enabling you to make more dishes at the same time. It has a fantastic taste and mouthwatering aroma that will bring a splendid change in your Thanksgiving. Smoking the turkey maintains its taste and also adds a smoky flavor to your turkey.

Smoking the turkey retains the tenderness and moisture in it. It’s easier to cook just like Roasted Turkey and gets cooked in the same or a little more time.

Given below are all the details and necessary smoke your bird perfectly. Just carefully follow the simple steps and get ready to earn holiday fame and a lot of appreciation from everyone.

Temperature for Smoking Turkey

The key to making a perfect smoked turkey is indirect heat and steady temperatures. Maintain the temperature of your grill to 225°F during the whole cooking time. If you use gas, turn on half of the burners to medium-low flame and keep the remaining burners off. For a charcoal grill, preheat the coals until they’re ashed over, tip them on the far side of the grill, and open the vents up to 25%. For a dedicated smoker, preheat the grill to 225°F.

If you are using a gas grill, add chips to the smoker box and generate the smoke. For charcoal, place the wood pieces directly in the burning coals. If you are using a smoker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to smoke your turkey perfectly. Whatever method you use, ensure you get the thin, swirling, and tinted blue smoke from your grill vents.

Preparations for Smoking Turkey

First of all, take the defrosted turkey out of the packaging. Now remove its neck and giblets from the inner side of the bird. If you’ve bought a brined turkey, rinse its exterior carefully with cold water.

Next, pat dry the turkey with a paper towel. Now use the butcher’s twine to tie both legs together and tuck the tips of the wings behind the shoulder joint. Doing so will keep the tips from burning and will create an eye-catching presentation of your Tukey.

Coat the exterior side of Turkey with melted butter or olive oil, and then season the best sweet rub on the bird’s sides. If you’ve brined your turkey, it will already be marinated enough and won’t require any additional seasoning on its exterior. It’s better to still coat it lightly with melted butter or olive oil to get crispier skin.

Stuffing the interior of a turkey before smoking is not recommended. Because by the time the stuffing gets cooked properly, the exterior meat of the bird gets overcooked. You can use onions, herbs, apples, or citrus to stuff your turkey and to get their additional flavor.

Don’t overfill the turkey so that the air circulates throughout the bird. Don’t forget to discard the stuffing after you are done smoking.

Smoking time for a Turkey

Once your smoker gets ready, it’s time to place your bird on the grill! Keep the breast side up on the grill grate breast side up on the side of the grill with indirect heat. If you are using gas or charcoal (which usually has a slightly higher temperature on one side of the grill), rotate the turkey several times during the cooking process to cook evenly.

It will take approx. 30 minutes per pound of the turkey at 225°F. If you’ve set your smoker’s temperature at 250°F, it will take 25 minutes for each pound. For example, a 15-pound turkey will be properly cooked in 7 ^1/2 hours at 225°F. I always estimate additional half an hour more, just in case… if it gets cooked in a time lesser than the estimated time, then wrap the cooked Turkey in aluminum foil and place it aside until the remaining items are ready.

I recommend not smoking a Turkey heavier than 15 pounds, but it will take too long to cook. Your turkey will be sitting in the danger zone of food safety at 40-140°F for way too long and there will be the risk of bacteria contaminating and spoiling your turkey even before it’s done.

Serving Per person

As we have smoked turkeys lesser than 15 pounds so it will serve 1^1/2 pounds of meat per person. Keep it in mind you’ll be cooking the whole turkey along with skin, bones, wingtips, etc., that won’t be consumed at the Thanksgiving dinner.

1^1/2 pounds will be sufficient for everybody. You’ll also get leftovers to make sandwiches the next day. A 15-pound turkey will be enough to serve a family of 10-12. If you have more family members, don’t cook bigger birds rather go for cooking multiple turkeys!

Smoked Turkey Drippings

Use a dripping pan to catch the drippings and to maintain the moisture in your smoker’s environment. I usually place an aluminum pan on the grill beneath my turkey.

Add several cups of water to the pan at the start of the smoking. This water is likely to evaporate within the process, so don’t forget to refill the pan if the water dries up, and make sure it has a few cups of water throughout the smoking. Once your turkey is cooked, use these drippings collected in the pan as the tastier gravy for your Turkey.

More detailed Temperature for Smoked Turkey

The safest temperature for cooking a perfect smoked Turkey is 165°F. Ensure the correct internal temperature is achieved to retain its juiciness and ensure food safety.

Start checking if the turkey is done an hour before the estimated time because every bird has a different cooking time. Check properly between the cooking to ensure the meat does not get overcooked. Check the temperature of the breast and thighs of the turkey using an instant-read thermometer. Check both sides of the turkey, ESPECIALLY if you are using a charcoal or gas grill, which usually has higher temperatures than the other grills.

Go off of the lowest reading you’ll get on each side of the turkey. Once all the temperature readings exceed 165°F, it’s time to dish out the turkey on a large platter or on a cutting board.

Turkey should rest for about 15 min before serving. And if Turkey gets cooked before that, wrap it in aluminum foil and add more layers of paper towels around the foil to insulate the towels to keep it hot until serving. Doing so will make the skin a little softer. To make it crispier gain, just broil the turkey for 1 – 2 minutes. Now it’s up to you if you are a dark or light meat!

You must have had delicious cherries decorated beautifully on a Cocktail. Cocktails are usually garnished with taste-enriched beautiful cherries. These cherries are either Luxardo Cherries or Brandied Cherries. Both of these are excellent in taste and quality alike.

Luxardo Cherries

Although the store-bought version of Luxardo Cherries is great, homemade Luxardo Cherries serve as the best garnishing for the cocktail. Homemade Luxardo Cherries are made up of Luxardo liqueur. You can also try other spices for your homemade version of Luxardo Cherries.

But what makes the Maraschino Cherry Recipe so unique? The remarkable thing about this recipe is that it allows you to use the liqueur and spices of your choice to make a cocktail according to your taste. If you don’t have Maraschino, you can use brandy or an aged rum instead.

This will give you equally great taste. You can use Cinnamon and Cloves if you don’t like the taste of Nutmeg. They give excellent taste and can be a fantastic gift for your old-fashioned friends and Manhattan lovers.

A perfectly garnished Cocktail looks enchanting and tastes great as well. We ensure the use of the freshest and the best quality ingredients to make our cherries. We always look forward to enhancing our core ingredients to provide you with the best quality product you deserve.

What makes these cherries different from regular cherries?

When you think of Cherries, the regular pinkish-red Maraschino cherries that are readily available in grocery stores pop up in your mind. These Cherries are way different and better than those regular cherries.

Luxardo Cocktail Cherries have a unique taste. Unlike regular cherries, Luxardo Cocktail Cherries are dipped into warm water to induce higher levels of lusciousness. Luxardo Maraschino liqueur gives a unique signature taste to these Luxardo Cherries.

Which Cherries are best for Luxardo?

I’ve always used the regular, sweet-in-taste, pinkish-red cherries that are available at all grocery stores. You can also try sour cherries. I’ve seen many recipes that use sour cherries.

These cherries are absolutely fine to use. But I’ve never used them personally. If you try sour cherries, don’t forget to share your experience with me.

What Luxardo Maraschino actually is?

Luxardo Maraschino is a liqueur made up of ripe Marasca Cherries (a sour cherry), pits, leaves, branches, honey, and some other secret ingredients. 

The interesting fact about Luxardo Maraschino is that it provides floral, nutty piney, and flavors while still maintaining its primary taste of cherries.

How can you use Luxardo cherries?

I’m actually a Bourbon lover, so I think they are perfect for old-fashioned. You can also enjoy plopping them into a strong cocktail.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of sugar, granulated
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, ground
• 1 cup of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1 lb of pitted and stemmed cherries

How to make Luxardo cherries

• Take water in a saucepan. Add sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt in it, and let it simmer. Stir in between to dissolve the sugar properly.
• Add cherries and Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur into the mixture. Stir it to coat the cherries completely. Further, cook for 5 minutes to make the cherries a bit tender.
• Now, turn the flame off and let the cherries cool down. Store these cherries in an airtight container and place them in the fridge.

Notes

• If any of the readers have ever used frozen organic cherries instead of fresh cherries, do let me know if it turned out great. It would be great to use and enjoy the cocktail even if the cherries are not in season or just don’t seem fresh.
• Please also keep in mind that you can either use sweet or sour cherries as per your choice or availability of the cherries.

Classic Old-Fashioned Recipe

• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 Cherries
• 2 oz. Bourbon
• Club Soda
• 4 Dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 & ½ Orange Wheels
  
  

Add sugar, a cherry, and an orange wheel in a glass with bitters and a splash of Club Soda. Now remove the orange and add bourbon. Add ice cubes, garnish with an orange wheel and Luxardo cherry, and serve.