Summertime calls for these Smoked Chicken Legs! On the exterior, the chicken is covered with a homemade dry rub, then roasted in aromatic smoke until the interior is juicy and tender. Of course, everyone will want seconds of the smoky, crackly skin, which is loaded with excellent taste.

It’s summer, and you’ll need chicken legs for your lunch! To take these to the next level, cook them on the smoker. These marvelous Smoked Chicken Legs are really tasty and simple to prepare.

They’re smoked after being drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with homemade BBQ seasoning. You could stop there and get incredible results. However, if you really want that thick sweet taste, smother them with BBQ Sauce, smoke them for another 10 minutes, and they’ll be finger-licking good. These are great for digging in and eating with your hands!

For a summer lunch, picnic, or party, make these quick Smoked Drumsticks!

How to Cook Chicken Legs in a Smoker

• Preheat Smoker — Set your smoker to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, as directed by the manufacturer.
• Prepare the chicken legs by drizzling them with olive oil and sprinkling them with BBQ Chicken Rub afterward. Make sure the chicken legs are well coated with the rub.
• Smoke – Set drumsticks on the prepared smoker, shut the lid, and smoke for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the core temperature of chicken legs reaches 175°F. This will vary greatly depending on the size of your drumstick and the amount of meat on it.
• Baste – Drizzle BBQ sauce over the chicken legs. Close the cover and smoke for another 10 minutes. If you don’t want to use BBQ sauce, that’s OK. We want our chicken legs to be between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit. This will prevent any bloody flesh from forming around the bone.
• Rest – Take the meat from the smoker, set it aside for 5-10 minutes, and then eat!

Smoked Chicken Legs FAQs

How long do chicken legs need to smoke?

This will change based on the size and thickness of the chicken leg. It will take between one and one and a half hours to one hour and thirty minutes.

What is the ideal internal temperature for a chicken thigh?

The thickest section of the drumstick should be cooked to 165 degrees F. To keep track of this, ensure you have a computerized meat thermometer or a probe with a built-in thermometer. We really cook them to a temperature of 175-180 degrees Fahrenheit. They’re still incredibly soft and juicy, but there aren’t any bleeding areas around the bone this way.

Is it required to brush Smoked Chicken Legs with BBQ sauce?

No, the BBQ sauce isn’t required for smoked chicken legs. They’ll be flavorful enough without the rub, but we enjoy the sticky, sweet touch.

What is the best way to store extras?

Refrigerate any room temperature leftover chicken legs for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

What is the best way to reheat chicken legs?

You could reheat them in the microwave; however, the skin will get leathery, and they may dry up. Set your oven to 400 degrees F as another option. Put the legs on a wire rack over a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. Another alternative is to prepare an Air Fryer to 400°F and bake the chicken legs for about 5 minutes, or until well cooked.

To smoke chicken, what kind of wood chips or pellets are best?

A Mesquite Hardwood would be ideal for achieving a strong smoky taste. However, if you’re looking for a lighter flavor, an Apple Hardwood is the way to go. When uncertain, we turn to a competition blend wood chip.

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BBQ Smoked Chicken Legs Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp BBQ Chicken Rub or your favorite seasoning/rub
• ¼ cup BBQ sauce
• 2 lb. chicken legs

Instructions

• Set your smoker to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, as directed by the manufacturer.
• Sprinkle olive oil over the chicken legs, then cover with BBQ Chicken Rub. Make sure the chicken legs are well coated with the rub.
• Place drumsticks on the prepared smoker, cover, and smoke for 1 hour – 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature of chicken legs reaches 175°F. This will vary significantly based on the thickness of your drumstick and the amount of flesh on it.
• After that, brush the chicken legs with the BBQ sauce. Close the cover and smoke for another 10 minutes. If you don’t want to use the BBQ sauce, that’s OK. We want our chicken legs to be between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit. This will minimize any bloody flesh from forming around the bone.
• Take the meat out of the smoker, set it aside for 5-10 minutes, and then eat!

Korean Hot Dogs is a battered and breaded hot dog that is deep-fried in oil in the Korean manner. Tasty, creamy, and crispy, it’s a favorite Korean street meal.

Korean Hot Dogs: What Are They?

In Korea, the Korean Hot Dogs, or Korean Corn Dogs are commonly called gamja-hotdog (감자핫도그), is one of the most famous street foods. It might not be as nutritionally balanced as other traditional Korean dishes, but it tastes fantastic.

These corn dogs are a popular street snack in Korea. Deep-fried hot dogs are battered and deep-fried. They’re then delicately dusted with sugar before being topped with your favorite sauces.

Amazingly, the sweet and salty mix works. There are also a few varieties, such as a mozzarella dog that is solely packed with cheese (which is particularly popular on the internet) and others that are encased in potatoes or ramen noodles.

Korean Hot Dog vs. Hot dog in the United States

There are four characteristics that distinguish this street cuisine from its conventional American cousin. Sausages aren’t the only thing that can be filled.

Cheese, fish hot dogs, squid, spam, Korean rice cakes, or a combination of these ingredients can be utilized. There is no cornmeal in the batter. Instead, it’s covered with panko breadcrumbs to give it a crunchier texture.

You may also use French fries, cornflakes, or ramen.  It is covered with a coat of sugar after it has been fried to a golden brown. Also, you can make a vegan version of Korean Corn Dog.

Some nations, like the United States, have their own version of the corn dog, but I tend to prefer the Korean recipe. It features more crunch, mozzarella cheese, and a more excellent appearance than a typical corn dog.

What’s on the inside of them?

Sausage, mozzarella cheese, or a mix of the two are used to make Korean corn dogs. This is skewered and then dipped in a layer of toppings before being covered in a sweet flour coating.

Panko breadcrumbs, french fries, cornflakes, and even ramen noodles are popular toppings. After being cooked, the corn dog is wrapped in sugar and dipped in ketchup and mayonnaise!

Is Yeast Required in the Batter?

No. Although I did find a few recipes that called for yeast, and I suspect some of the vendors selling these hot dogs do, I was able to get almost identical results without it. Incorporating yeast into the dough aids in creating an elastic batter, but it also adds to the time it takes to proof and let the dough rise.

Today’s dish is a quick and easy batter that takes around 5 minutes to prepare. It resembles pancake batter, but it’s heavier and stickier. The batter must be thick and sticky in order for it to stay on the hot dogs and not drop off.

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List of Ingredients

The Filling

• 10 skewers (you can use wooden chopsticks instead)
• 9 Oz of shredded mozzarella or mozzarella sticks
• 4 hot dogs

The Batter Mix

• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 3.5 Oz of ml milk

The Toppings

• 1 cup frozen bag of fries (cubed) or 1 diced potato
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions

Prep

• Sausage and mozzarella cheese should be cut into half inches wide pieces. Scatter the panko breadcrumbs and cut fries on opposing sides of a baking dish or plate.

Technique

• Using skewers, assemble the sausages and mozzarella cheese sticks. You can create mozzarella corn dogs without the sausage using only the cheese.
• In a mixing dish, combine the dry ingredients and gradually add the milk and egg. If your batter is too thick, add 20 ml of milk at a time. A thick, sticky viscosity is desired.
• The batter should be able to adhere to the sticks and not simply drop off.
• Fill a glass halfway with the mixture. Immerse your skewer into the heavy batter in the glass. Remove any excess and wrap in panko breadcrumbs or cut fries before serving. A blend of the two might also work nicely.
• To keep the breadcrumbs or cut fries on the skewers, press down on them carefully. Deep-fry for 3-5 minutes at 160-170 degrees. To control and maintain the temperature of the oil, only cook 2-3 skewers at a time.
• Allow to cool completely before dusting with sugar and serving with condiments.

Suggestions

Chef’s tip: Refrigerate the cheese until you’re ready to deep fry it, so it keeps its form. Maintain a steady oil temperature so that things cook evenly and don’t absorb too much oil. Or else, you’ll wind up with an undercooked inside. To get a taste of everything at once, divide the stuffing into smaller portions.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Korean Hot Dogs. Yes, they are a bit unhealthy, but we gotta give ourselves a break occasionally. Leave your opinion, or if you have any suggestions about this Hot Dog recipe down in the comments section. Thank you!

Chicken tempura is a local specialty in Japan’s Oita Prefecture, which is part of the Kyushu region. This Chicken Tempura is typically served dipped in karashi mustard ponzu sauce, with a toasty and puffy shell on the exterior and delicious and succulent meat within.

What is Chicken Tempura exactly?

You’re not the only one if you’ve never read about “chicken tempura.” Chicken tempura, I assumed, was a westernized variation of tempura. However,  Chicken Tempura, or Toriten (とり天) in Japanese, was invented at a restaurant in Oita prefecture and is a popular dish largely appreciated in this area.

I have a friend who lived 15 years in Japan and never tried or even heard of Chicken Tempura until I ordered it when I was with him at the Japanese New Mizu Sushi restaurant in New York. After a few months, I recreated the recipe according to the instructions of the most generous chef, and the result is this recipe. 

Chicken tempura is fried chicken in the tempura style, as the name implies. Chicken breast or thigh is chopped into strips, marinated in a combination of soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, sake then deep-fried in tempura batter.

The dipping sauce makes a significant distinction between chicken tempura and normal tempura. Tempura chicken is frequently dunked in kabosu ponzu sauce, which is made with Japanese karashi spicy mustard.

Chicken Tempura Recipe

Suppose you’ve never attempted to make tempura chicken before. In that case, you’re missing out on one of the most fantastic chicken dishes available.

This traditional Japanese chicken dish is similar to chicken fingers, except the breading is lighter and crispier.

And marinated chicken is used in this dish to enhance the entire flavor and get to that next level of amazing flavor.

The tempura that coats each delectable piece of chicken is both delicious and simple to prepare. And thanks to the method employed in this dish, each cut of chicken will be fully covered in fried, crunchy, juicy goodness.

How to make Chicken Tempura

As I previously stated, preparing this meal is rather straightforward.

All that’s left now is to marinate the chicken, prepare the tempura batter, and mix the two before frying the chicken tempura. The method for creating this fried squash is comparable.

Let’s not spend any more time and get this party started!

Marinate the Chicken

The first step is to thin down your chicken breast by pounding it with a meat tenderizer. Then slice your chicken into strips about 1 inch broad and 3 inches long.

Next, combine your ginger, garlic, ground pepper, salt, sake, and soy sauce in a small mixing bowl.

Afterward, place the chicken in a ziplock bag or an airtight container. Pour in your marinade, and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

You may create the tempura batter while the chicken is marinating.

Make the batter for Chicken Tempura.

Fill a big bowl (around halfway full) with ice and water, then put a medium-sized bowl inside.

Then, in a medium mixing dish, whisk together the yolk and white of your egg.

Sift the cake flour and cornstarch together with the beaten egg into the mixing bowl.

Then slowly drizzle in the 1/3 cup of cold water, constantly stirring until everything is just incorporated and a batter forms. Ensure you don’t overmix the mixture; stop mixing once a batter has formed!

Prepare your Chicken for Frying

So, at this point, your marinated chicken and tempura batter should be ready to go.

To begin, place all of the chicken pieces in the batter dish and completely coat them in the batter.

Next, fill a medium-sized saucepan (or deep fryer) halfway with oil and heat it to 350°F (180°C).

Once the oil is hot, add 2-3 pieces of coated chicken at a time to the saucepan—cook for 2 minutes on each side or until the outside is crisp.

Garnish your chicken tempura with soy sauce and shredded cabbage, and get ready to eat!

How to keep Chicken Tempura Leftovers? 

As a result, this dish serves two people, making it ideal for a meal for one or two. However, if you need to feed a large family, this dish may simply be doubled or tripled!

If there are any leftovers, just put them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.

Set your oven to 425°F and put the pieces on a lined baking sheet to warm your tempura.

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List of Ingredients

For the Marinade

For one large chicken breast, about 125g

• Chicken breasts
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1-2 tsp of sake (according to your preference)
• 3 cups oil for frying

For the Batter

• ⅓ cup (45g) cake flour
• ⅓ cup (50g) cornstarch or potato starch
• ⅓ cup cold water
• 1 large egg 

Directions

• To thin down the chicken breast, beat it with a meat tenderizer. Then, slice into strips that are about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long.
• Combine the black pepper, salt, soy sauce, ginger, sake, and garlic in a small bowl. Put the chicken in a zip-lock bag or an airtight container for 15 minutes to marinate.  Prepare the tempura batter in the meantime.
• Fill a large mixing bowl halfway with ice and water.
• In another mixing bowl, whisk one egg. Then add 1/3 cup of cake flour and 1/3 cup of cornstarch to the egg mix.
• Mix in the 1/3 cup of cold water slowly until everything is just incorporated and the batter forms.
• Dredge the chicken pieces in the batter one at a time in the mixing basin.
• Heat the oil to 350°F (180°C) in a pan  (you can also use a deep fryer).
• Only cook 2-3 pieces of battered chicken at a time. Fry until the outsides are crispy, about 2 minutes on each side.

Last words

I really hope you try this Chicken Tempura recipe and let me know how it went down in the comments section. Also, please let me know if you’re having any issues with the recipe or if you have any suggestions. It would mean a lot to me if you shared it on your Pinterest or other social media platform you are using and get the word out about this recipe. Thank you 🙂