Smokin' Chicken Muffin Recipe

{Post in conjunction with ProQ}

Family barbeque lovers enjoy the authentic, full flavoured, succulent dishes that only true smokers can deliver. So as the weather warms up and outdoor entertaining with friends and family is all that more appealing, barbequed smoked meat should definitely be on the menu.

To make your Summer barbeque more memorable, ProQ has shared its recipe for finger licking good chicken muffins, an all-time favourite and people pleaser that will have adults and kids alike calling for more!

Method: Smoke, Grill

Suggested Woods: Hickory, Apple, Cherry

Approx Cook Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs, 2 per person (and a couple more)
BBQ rub of your choice - Spicy works well
Smoking chips/chunks - Hickory is good
Muffin tins, as many holes as you have thighs
Water pan
Enough lard/duckfat/butter to grease the tins

What to do:

Step 1:

Debone the chicken thighs, cutting around the bone to leave you with a single strip of chicken. Try to remove excess skin and ligament too.

Step 2:

Put the thighs straight into a large bowl as you finish them. Once the thighs are tidied up and deboned, add a generous amount of BBQ rub into the bowl and mix it up. Try to coat the thighs as thoroughly as possible, you can always add more rub if needed.

Step 3:

Grease the muffin tin with lard (duck fat or butter also works too). Be thorough (even excessive!) around 1/2 cm cube per cup.

Step 4:

Starting at the thinner end of the cut, roll the thigh up so that the skin is on the outside and place skin side down into the muffin tin, tucking in the edges.

Step 5:

Prepare your smoker and fill the water pan with water to help stabilise the temperature while cooking. Water vapour condenses the meat and makes it 'sticky' which means that the smoky flavour can infuse the meat (see more about ProQ Smokers at Barbeques Galore). Smoke your chicken for 30 mins at 250f/120degrees Celsius before flipping them skin side up for a further 30 mins.

Step 6:

Remove the water pan, empty and replace it and cook for a further 60 mins in the tins. At this point you can eat them, and they will be good, BUT... for a great finishing touch, take them out of the tins and grill until the skin is crispy.

Step 7:

You can also baste chicken with a sugary glaze at this point. This will give the chicken a gorgeous sheen and sweet flavour that works well with chilli. Chicken muffins are great with cornbread or even as a chicken burger.

Step 8:

Check whether your chicken is done. For chicken, 165 degrees F is done - base this on the internal temperature. The internal temperature is accurate and infallible if it is taken correctly. The most important things to do are: