Smoked Cherry Drumsticks with Cranberry Chipotle Glaze

The recipe is easy to make and tastes amazing as it brings together a tangy, spicy, sweet flavor that pairs well with the smoke.

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Smoked Cherry Chicken Drumsticks with a Cranberry Chipotle Citrus Glaze is easy to make and full of rich flavor. Step up your smoked chicken with a sweet, spicy Cranberry Chipotle Citrus Glaze. This chicken tastes sweet, spicy, as well as tangy.

Make the Cranberry Chipotle Citrus Glaze

Before you put the chicken in the pellet grill or smoker, or while it’s cooking, prep your glaze.

This is a very easy glaze to make. We add the ingredients to a small sauce pot and let it simmer. Garlic and chipotle add spice and great flavor, while the chicken makes for a nice meaty taste.

When to Apply the Glaze

When you get close to your chicken being ready, determined by an internal temperature of 155ºF, add your first of two glaze layers. This will allow the glaze to tack up or imbue with the chicken. Do it once at 155ºF and again at 165ºF when pulling out your bird. After a few minutes of cooling, it’s ready to eat.

For clarification, once the chicken hits an internal temperature of 155ºF, put on the first layer of glaze.

For the second glazing, once the chicken reaches 165ºF remove the chicken from the smoker, add your second layer of glaze, and then let the meat rest.

After the chicken rests for 10 minutes, it’s time to serve and enjoy!

Smoked Cherry Drumsticks with Glaze Recipe

Smoked Cherry Chicken Drumsticks with Cranberry Chipotle Citrus Glaze

The recipe is easy to make and tastes amazing as it brings together a tangy, spicy, sweet flavor that pairs well with the smoke.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Resting Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine BBQ, Smoking

Servings 6 people

Calories 263 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 6 Chicken drumsticks
• ½ cup Cherry rub choose preferred rub

FOR THE SAUCE

• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Garlic clove minced
• 1 can Jellied cranberries
• 2 ½ cup Oranges juiced
• ½ Lemon juiced
• 1 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 tsp Juice from chipotle in adobo sauce just the juice
• 1 small Chipotle pepper, from can of adobo sauce finely diced
• ⅙ Kosher salt

Instructions

 

FOR THE SAUCE

• On the stove, preheat a small pan over medium-low heat. Once the pan is warm, add olive oil and garlic. Sauté until the garlic starts to brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice, orange juice, and canned jellied cranberries to the pan and stir until it liquefies. Then add the diced chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Stir to mix and bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Simmer for about 10 minutes so the sauce can thicken. This can be done in advance.

FOR THE DUMSTICKS

• Preheat the pellet grill or smoker to 275°F.
• Pat drumsticks dry and then rub them with olive oil. Now liberally sprinkle your cherry rub all over the chicken so it's well seasoned.
• Place drumsticks on the smoker's lower rack, ensuring they are not touching each other and have a little space between them to allow air circulation. Close the lid.
• Smoke the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 155°F.
• GLAZE THE CHICKEN
• Once the chicken reaches 155°F, brush all sides of the meat with the sauce and return them to the pellet grill. Smoke until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
• Remove the chicken, glaze it a second time with sauce, and let them rest for 10 minutes.
• Serve warm!

Nutrition

Calories: 263kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 13gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 676mgPotassium: 196mgFiber: 1gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 43IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg

Keyword BBQ chicken

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Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your favorite Smoking Food Board!!

We adapted this recipe from Vindulge to allow for the smoked element but if you want to grill the chicken, check our their recipe here. (This is based on my preference, you can use whatever recipe or method you wish for your drumsticks).

Check out the recipes below if you’re curious about what else to smoke.

Bon Appétit