Easy Smoked Chicken Lollipops

Last Updated on August 30, 2024 by What’s Smoking

Smoked chicken lollipops are a mouthwatering sweet and sticky appetizer, maybe a even a meal, that will have your taste buds craving more. These chicken treats are made by trimming and seasoning chicken drumsticks before smoking them to tender, crispy skin perfection. The result is a juicy, flavorful meat on a convenient stick that is perfect for snacking or serving at your next party. Whether you’re a fan of sweet and savory flavors or just looking for a fun twist on traditional barbecue, smoked chicken lollipops are sure to become a new favorite in your recipe rotation.

How To Prepare Chicken Lollipops

Start off with the drumsticks, we are going to prepare them by Frenching them. The goal is to remove the meat and skin from the bone of the drumstick. The end result is just the meat and skin on the end of the drumstick, as the name would lead you to believe, more of a lollipop appearance to them now. If you want to check out a video, here is a good one I found on how to French a drumstick. With this recipe, I used 8 drumsticks.

When you are done Frenching the drumsticks it will be time to season. For this recipe, I keep it pretty simple with just a combination of salt, pepper, garlic and some paprika. Here is what you are going to need for the rub:

• 2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoon of pepper
• 3 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon of paprika

Combine your dry rub ingredients, pat dry the drumsticks and then roll the drumsticks in the rub, covering generously. If you can pull the skin back a little bit, do so, it adds more flavor to the drumsticks.

Now that the drumsticks are seasoned, we can move to the smoker set up.

Smoker Set Up

So you can do this on just about any smoker, the key is not low and slow but hot and fast. Hot and fast will give us a nice crispy skin on the drumsticks. Low and slow, will cook the thighs through but will leave you with rubbery skin on the drumsticks. As far as appeal goes rubbery skin is not what most people crave from the skin on their chicken or any poultry.

So hot and fast and we are going to use some cherry wood with this recipe. Because this is a smaller and faster smoke, I opted to go with my Weber Kettle. The WSM, unless I have it up and running for something else, is too big for something like this.

When doing hot and fast, I like to define that as getting the smoker upwards of 375°. When the smoker is up to temperature you can get the chicken on.

Making Smoked Chicken Lollipops

When I do drumsticks on the grill, I love using my drumstick rack. It is an easy way to smoke or grill the legs and gives them a consistent finish without having to rotate during the cook. If you can grab one of these, they are a great accessory and make cooking legs so much easier.

If you do not have a rack for the drumsticks, go ahead and lay them on the grate, you will want to flip about half way through.

If using the rack, let them smoke for about 45 minutes, you are going to take them to about 160° IT. When you hit the desired IT, you are going to remove the legs and we are going to dip them in a BBQ sauce. This can be any variety you prefer, I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Original. It was a great compliment to the seasoning we already had on the legs. Get yourself a bowl or cup filled with BBQ sauce and dip them legs in there. As you finish each one, rehang on the rack or place back on the grill.

Leave them on there for about 10-15 minutes, until the IT reaches 165°. After they hit the safe IT of 165°, you can go ahead and pull them off. When off, grab some foil, wrap it around the end of the bone and you are ready to serve these finger licking good, smoked chicken lollipops.

Enjoying Smoked Chicken Lollipops

Smoked chicken lollipops are a delicious dish that can be enjoyed at various occasions. Whether served as an appetizer at a summer barbecue or as a main course for a simple dinner at home, these sweet treats are sure to impress your guests. With their unique presentation and mouthwatering BBQ taste, smoked chicken lollipops are a dish that must be added to your menu for any food lover that loves cooking over the smoker or grill. So go ahead and fire up the smoker, grab some chicken legs and get ready to savor the savory goodness of these delightful smoked delights.

Thanks for being here and checking out this Smoked Chicken Lollipops recipe. I hope you enjoy it! We always appreciate comments, 5 star recipe rating and social media shares. As always, keep that smoke rolling!

Need some other chicken or appetizer ideas? These are some delicious options you can enjoy!

• Grilled Chicken al Pastor Tacos
• Grilled Chicken Sliders
• 50 Minute Smoked Ribs
• Smoked Pulled Chicken Breasts
• Smoked Bone In Chicken Thighs
• Grilled Habanero Pineapple Bites
• Smoked Sweet And Spicy Chicken Bites

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission.