Gluten Free Oven Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

From the crispy skin to the tender, juicy yum-deliciousness inside, these gluten free oven smoked chicken leg quarters are a sensory symphony of taste, touch, and smell.  An all night marinade, a slow cook, and the sauce, y'all...the sauce is amazing incredible good. The sauce is what makes it all come together with the transformation of this oh soooo affordable cut of chicken into an oh soooo scrumptious, almost gourmet dinner. Yep and yay...

These Gluten Free Oven Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters Were Worth the Risk...Yep...

I am a die-hard boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh fan. I generally like my chicken as easy to access as possible. No fuss, no frills, no chicken bones is how I want to see it on my plate. Yep.

But, I'm also an 'oh, is that on sale for that stupid cheap?' fan. So, when last week's grocery sales paper hit, I perked up when I saw the crazy big sale on the already stupid waaayyyy cheap leg quarters.

I knew that I had to put myself out there, to live a little, and to touch a chicken bone. So, I knew that I had to make it worth it. So, y''all I did, and I'm sharing it with you, and the rest of the foodie gluten free diet whole world, too...

Oh Sooo Yummy and Finger-Licking Delicious Oven Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters Await You...

I started this recipe by marinating the chicken leg quarters overnight. Since I start almost every one of my chicken dishes this way, I knew that it would make the meat fall off of the bone in the oven. (And it soooo did in this oven smoked chicken leg quarters recipe, it did, it did.)

Then, I oven-roasted the chicken over soaked wood chips for hours. Next, I basted the leg quarters with the incredible but oh soooo easy sauce...

And, then I tasted them for the first time, y'all. And as my head was whirling back from the falling-straight-off-of-the-bone meat experience, I repented of my boneless, skinless chicken sell-out ways. Yep.

I'm an oven smoked chicken leg quarters sort of girl now, y'all. Smoky, sweet, tangy yum-deliciousness is my new thing. Share with those you want to see amazed at what the right marinade, the right temp, and the right sauce can do a humble bag of chicken leg quarters. And see y'all on the yum side...

Gluten Free Oven Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

Marinating these gluten free oven smoked chicken leg quarters before baking makes the meat literally fall of the bone while you're eating it.

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 12 hours

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 16 hours

Servings: 4

Author: A Sprinkling of Cayenne

Ingredients

• 2 cups cherry wood chips
• 2 to 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons butter or oil, or more as needed for greasing the roasting pan
• 4 large chicken leg quarters
• For the Marinade
• 48 ounces gluten free chicken broth
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce
• For the Sauce
• 2 tablespoons gluten free barbecue sauce
• 2 tablespoons gluten free ketchup
• ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Instructions

• Soak cherry wood chips in the 2 cups water for at least 2 hours.. Set aside.
• Prepare marinade by mixing all ingredients, and pouring into a large plastic dish with a fitted lid.
• Submerge the chicken leg quarters in marinade, and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the chicken from marinade, and discard marinade.
• Drain the chicken over colander in sink.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Prepare the sauce by incorporating all of the ingredients until well-combined.
• Pour the soaked cherry wood chips and water in the bottom of a roasting pan that comes with a flat rack that fits on top of the pan.
• Place the the flat rack over the roasting pan. Lightly grease the top of the rack with the  butter or oil.
• Place the chicken leg quarters on the top of the flat rack.
• Bake for approximately 3 ½ to 5 hours, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. The longer you cook the legs to the 5-hour mark, the more they are going to be falling off of the bone. (You MUST check the water level in the bottom of the roasting pan at least every 30 minutes throughout the entire process. This recipe method is meant to smoke very, very gently. Just a few wisps of smoke escape that inject the chicken quarters with the wood flavor. If the pan is smoking too much, a fire could break out. So, please check the water level in the bottom of the pan at least every 30 minutes. Add enough water to fully saturate the wood chips, and keep a very small stream of smoke rising out of the bottom of the pan.)
• (If not serving immediately, you can remove the chicken at 160 degrees and let it rest up to 165 degrees before serving.)
• During the last hour of oven-smoking, baste the chicken with sauce. Let cook on one side with sauce for 30 minutes, then turn each piece over, baste, and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

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