Best Traeger Smoked Chicken Leg Recipe (Pellet Grill)

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This Traeger smoked chicken leg recipe is the easiest backyard BBQ and summer cookout main dish to prepare for a crowd. These smoked chicken legs are crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and feature a homemade dry rub that’s out of this world!

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About These Pellet Smoker Chicken Legs

Ready to elevate your grilling game and serve up delicious meals every weekend?

Look no further than the best smoked chicken legs you can make right in your own backyard!

Our beginner-friendly cooking method delivers an epic meal that perfectly balances juicy meat with an incredibly satisfying crispy skin.

This simple recipe relies on a flavorful homemade dry rub that caramelizes beautifully under the hood, making it the ultimate centerpiece for all your summer backyard BBQs.

Whether you’re cooking on high-end Traeger grills, a standard Traeger pellet grill, or a regular old smoker, you’ll achieve perfect results every single time.

That unrivaled wood-fired flavor truly sets outdoor cooking apart from anything made in a traditional kitchen!

YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE BECAUSE IT:

• Has a delicious smoky flavor. The low to high temperature cooking method infuses the dark meat with an authentic wood-fired taste while maintaining an incredibly juicy interior.
• Uses few dishes. You’ll only need two bowls and your grill grates, making cleanup a breeze for busy weeknights.
• Offers an easy outdoor cooking experience: This recipe is almost completely hands-off, with a stress-free process that lets your pellet smoker do all the hard work. You can simply relax and await your easy meal!

Key Ingredients

For the Chicken

• Chicken Drumsticks: Look for drumsticks that are uniform in size so they all finish smoking at the exact same time. Keeping the skin on is essential for this recipe, as it protects the dark meat from drying out during the smoking process and holds the dry rub perfectly.
• Olive Oil: This acts as your “binder.” A light coat of oil gives the dry rub something to stick to so it doesn’t blow away when the Traeger’s convection fan kicks on. You can also use avocado oil, canola oil, or even a thin coat of yellow mustard.
• Pellet Selection (The Secret Ingredient): While not a physical food item, your choice of wood pellets alters the final flavor profile. For chicken legs, fruitwoods like apple or cherry impart a sweet flavor and a beautiful mahogany color. For a deeper, classic BBQ profile, a blend of hickory or pecan works beautifully.

For the Dry Rub Blend

• Garlic Salt & Seasoned Salt: This duo provides the essential sodium base that penetrates the chicken skin to season the meat underneath. The seasoned salt adds a subtle hint of classic celery and pepper notes.
• Onion Powder & Garlic Powder: These aromatics create a deeply savory, umami flavor foundation. Using granulated or powdered versions ensures the rub distributes evenly across the chicken skin without burning under high heat.
• Smoked Paprika: This is crucial for achieving that iconic, deep-red wood-smoked color. It amplifies the natural wood fire flavor of your Traeger and helps the chicken legs look picture-perfect.
• Dash Table Blend: This salt-free herb and spice mixture adds a complex layer of background flavors (like black pepper, cayenne, and citrus peel) without throwing off the salt balance of your rub.

Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions

Prep the Smoker and Chicken

1. Preheat your smoker or pellet grill to 275°F according to manufacturer instructions.
2. Prep the Chicken: Pat the chicken drumsticks completely dry with paper towels to ensure the skin crisps up and the spices stick. Place the dried chicken legs into a large mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil until evenly coated.
3. Mix the Seasoning: In a small bowl, combine the garlic salt, seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and the Dash Table Blend (sodium-free seasoning). Stir the spices together until well-combined.
4. Coat the Chicken: Sprinkle the dry seasoning mix evenly over the oiled chicken legs. Toss the drumsticks thoroughly inside the bowl to ensure every piece is completely coated in the spice rub.

Smoke and Crisp

5. Smoke and Increase the Heat: Place the seasoned chicken legs directly onto the hot smoker grill grates and close the lid. Smoke at 275°F for 45 minutes to let the meat absorb a deep, rich wood flavor.
6. Crank the temperature: After 45 minutes, increase the smoker heat to 350°F for the remaining cooking time to help render the fat and crisp up the skin.
7. Check the temperature: Continue cooking until a digital meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the drumstick reads an internal temperature of 175°F (approximately 45 more minutes).
8. Rest and Serve: Remove the chicken legs from the smoker, transfer them to a clean platter, and let them rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute before serving.

• Pro-Tip for extra crispy chicken skin: You can flash-broil the chicken legs in your oven on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes right before resting.

Recipe Tips and Variations

Secrets for Success

• Pat the chicken dry: Moisture is the enemy of crispy skin! Be sure to pat the chicken dry so the oil sticks and the chicken skin properly renders.
• Use a meat thermometer: To ensure all your chicken is fully cooked, always use an internal digital meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of your largest drumstick (without touching the bone).
• Use premium wood pellets: Premium quality fuel ensures a steady heat source and a beautiful mahogany color on the chicken skin. Choosing an optimal wood flavor profile is also key to getting the most out of your pellet smoker. For chicken drumsticks, you should always look for pure wood pellets made from 100% food grade hardwood like pecan, apple, or hickory. These burn cleanly without any bitter artificial binders or fillers. While Traeger pellets are an excellent and widely accessible choice for your backyard grill, any high-grade brand will deliver that mouthwatering, authentic wood-fired finish.

Storage Tips and Shelf Life

• Room temperature: Never leave smoked chicken legs at room temperature for longer than 2 hours after taking them off the grill.
• The 1-Hour Exception: If you’re serving these outdoors at a summer BBQ or cookout where the ambient temperature is 90°F (32°C) or hotter, the food safety window drops to just 1 hour. Discard any chicken left out past this point.
• Refrigerator: Let the chicken drumsticks cool down slightly before packing them away. Placing steaming-hot chicken directly into a sealed container creates condensation, which will completely ruin the crispy skin. Store the cooled drumsticks in a shallow, airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Variations

• Turn these into BBQ chicken legs: If you want BBQ chicken legs, brush on ½ cup of your favorite BBQ sauce once the internal temperature hits 165°F. For a smooth, glazed restaurant finish instead of a thick, heavy coating, thin the sauce out by whisking in 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple juice before brushing it on.
• Experiment with different BBQ rubs: Feel free to change things up with different seasonings and sauces. This is one of our favorite ways to keep summer meals interesting. Here are some of our favorite BBQ rubs from the store:
  • SuckleBusters Clucker Dust
  • Meat Church Honey Hog
  • Plowboys BBQ Yardbird
  • Weber Kick’n Chicken
  • Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub
  • Meat Church Holy Gospel
  • Traeger Pork and Poultry Rub
  • Kosmos Q Dirty Bird
  • Heath Riles BBQ Honey Chipotle
• Make them spicy: Want to boost spice levels? For a mild to medium heat, add ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon chili flakes.

FAQs

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