Chicken Leg Quarters

At 300 deg, you are talking about 1/2 to 3/4 of a hour. It will be done when the joint moves easily. Weber has a great website.
http://www.weber.com/
Recipes
http://www.weber.com/recipes

You might consider cooking 8 (one for each) unless some are really small eaters. A leg quarter will give everyone a leg and a thigh. Besides leftovers are great the next day's lunch if you have any.

As far as the choice of gas vs charcoal.... charcoal by far, will impart more flavor, and you can adjust the smoke flavor by the type as well as the amount of wood chip/chunks that you add to the charcoal.

Cook Indirect at 325 to 350 flipping half way through. I then remove the barrier and sear them at 450 or whatever for a min or two to get crispy skin.I cook to a min of 180 internal,,for me chicken is better at this temp or a little above.

I generally coat with plowboys and occasionally sauce, the dry rub is pretty dang good by itself.

zubby01 said:

I want to cook chicken leg quarters - enough to feed 8 people. I'll probably buy 6.



Any advice for heat, time, method, saucing is appreciated.

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Got to get 8, one per person:tongue:
Any leftovers are great the next dat:grin:

I go by meat temperature for when the meat is ready to come off the heat. :drama:
I use my Thermapen Thermometer
I take chicken quarters to around 175 to 180 deg F
You will always come out with moist and tender chicken.
(If you are doing chicken breast, stay between 160 to 165)
Good luck:clap2:

I'd get a 10 bag of leg quarters leftovers can be use for other stuff Chicken salad, tacos, pizza, C&D....
I'd start em out on the Weber & cook 'em all 1/2 the day before way then finish on the gasser before serving this will amp up the flavor & make you look like a rock star of the grill. BWTF do I know,

This is a tried & true recipe Cornell Chicken http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cornell-chicken/
or you could marinate in *Chivettas and just cook it no sauce needed for either.

Chivettas clone

* make 2 batches one for marinate & 1 for basting

1 cup white vinegar
*1/2 cup veg oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS Sea or Kosher salt
1 TBS white sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
Mix/shake till well dissolved. I put mine in a old Worcestershire bottle with the shaker top. You can marinate the chicken in the sauce for up to 2-8 hrs before cooking. If so discard marinade and make fresh for the cooking sauce. I apply the sauce every 5 min to both sides and turn every 5-10 min. Apply one final coating 5 min before removing from the grill. You can't put too much sauce on while grilling. It will build up a nice layer of flavors. I use the kettle and a high heat . I usually add one small piece of wood while grilling also. Enjoy

*Note: If you are going to marinate the chicken first, then leave the oil out for the marinade process. Make up a fresh batch for basting the chicken with the oil in the sauce

On the webber 22.5, I do indirect (with a barrier), 325*, 2 hrs, until IT is 170. It my sound like I over cooked it, but the skin is crispy, its jucy, and there isn't any gooy fat deposits to bite into. No complaints yet.

zubby01 said:

I want to cook chicken leg quarters - enough to feed 8 people. I'll probably buy 6.

I have an 18" Weber Kettle and a not too huge Weber 2 burner Spirit gas grill.

Which would you use?

From a brief look here it looks like maybe 1 1/2 hrs on a 300* smoker might work?

For each method, what's your cue for when they are done? A few Youtube videos mention grilling on each side on high for about 5 minute then lowering the heat the rest of the way.

Any advice for heat, time, method, saucing is appreciated.

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PappaOscar said:

On the webber 22.5, I do indirect (with a barrier), 325*, 2 hrs, until IT is 170. It my sound like I over cooked it, but the skin is crispy, its jucy, and there isn't any gooy fat deposits to bite into. No complaints yet.

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That's not over cooking the chicken quarters:thumb:
It would be if it was the breast:clap2:
Good cooking

I love cooking chicken quarters because I don't have to measure temp and they always come out great. I would guess my pit temp runs around 400 though.

I set up the kettle indirect with a 1/2 of a load lit, minioned with 1/2 of a load of unlit, vents wide open for 75 - 90 min. Crisp skin over direct heat before taking them off and glaze them if desired.

It's hard to mess up a leg quarter. They don't dry out unless they are severely overcooked. I will echo 1 quarter per person.

I cook chicken leg quarters about 4-5 times a week during the summer because they are cheap and delicious. I'm a firm believer of cooking indirect at about 350 for 1.5 hours. Its extremely difficult to overcook these things and the longer you go the more fat will render out of the legs and leave behind a delicious juicy leg.

soak in italian dressing for a few hours.hit with your favorite rub. indirect heat with a water pan to seperate coal from meat.apple wood chips 300 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.sauce the last 20 minutes.man im starting to get hungry.:thumb:

zubby01 said:

If I throw on some drumsticks w/ the quarters will they cook about the same time?

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In my experience the drums sticks will cook faster. I generally don't cook drumsticks though, almost always cook quarters.

zubby01 said:

For brisket, I put some foil in between the grates and kind of build a 'wall' and try to put the brisket on the grates that are not over the heat. Sounds like this would work for quarters as well.

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There's more than one way to skin a cat

zubby01 said:

Is a water pan necessary?

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You'll want a pan to catch the drippings because there will be a lot for such a relatively short cook. You may add water if you'd like.

zubby01 said:

Do you wash the quarters first? I'm asking because they are already seasoned a bit by the store before being packaged.

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In this case I would not rinse them. The only time I rinse quarters is if I buy them in a 10lbs bag because they usually sit in their own juices for a little while.

zubby01 said:

Can I throw them right on the smoker directly from the fridge?

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Sure can.

zubby01 said:

If I put on rub, do you oil them and then put on the rub or will the oil burn?

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It wouldn't really hurt to add a little oil if you are cooking them indirect. I've never added oil myself because I usually give the chicken a sear at the begining before I go indirect (be careful, do not leave the grill or you will get massive flair ups from the fat and ruin the chicken). Sometimes I'll cook indirect only and if I don't feel like I have enough browning... still have to worry about grease flames though.

zubby01 said:

Does it help to rub them a specific period of time beforehand?

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Sure it helps, is it really necessary? No.

zubby01 said:

If I'm running say 350 and want to firm up the skin a bit right before taking them off, could I move them over to the coal side or should I fire up the grill?

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I think I addressed this above. If by fire up the grill you mean start a propane grill... I'd say it depends on the heat intensity you want to apply to the chicken.

Good luck! These things cook themselves really :wink: