This trendy Smoked Chicken Lollipops Recipe is as delicious as they get. Shaped just like a sucker, these lollipop chicken legs are dipped in perfectly blended barbecue sauce giving them a candy-coated finish. You will be left wondering if you just had dinner or a piece of candy.
There are numerous ways to make this recipe, however, smoking meat is my favorite way to enjoy chicken. That is why for this chicken lollipop recipe, I am using my Weber Kettle 70th Anniversary Grill in order to make smoked chicken lollipops.
When grilling/smoking using the Weber Kettle I always use two things for the fuel source.
- Hardwood Lump Charcoal
- Wood Chunks
For this lollipop chicken recipe, I use Masterbuilt Lump Charcoal and I used Weber Hickory wood chunks. Between these two fuel sources, I am able to add a deep smoky flavor to the lollipop chicken.
When trying out this recipe, you can try different types of wood chunks to see which flavors you prefer to pair with the chicken.
Now that we have covered what to smoke chicken lollipops with, let’s go over what exactly chicken lollipops are and how to make lollipop chicken.
What Are Chicken Lollipops?
You will find that a chicken lollipop is also known as a chicken drumstick. They are the same cut of meat on a chicken.
The difference you will find between a chicken lollipop and a chicken drumstick is that the chicken lollipops are french trimmed whereas the drumsticks are typically left the way they are.
Trimming the chicken leg lollipop gives the drumstick a more appealing look to the chicken. This technique doesn’t work on a cut like the chicken thigh.
What Is French Trimmed Chicken?
French trimmed chicken is a style of trimming that is intended to make certain cuts of meat, like chicken drumsticks look more aesthetically pleasing by cutting away tissue and tendons to expose the chicken bone.
For trimming the chicken, you will want a sharp knife that will cut through the skin, tendons, and any other tissue on the chicken. If you are looking for a knife that will last and is incredibly sharp, check out Dalstrong’s boning knives.
To French trim the chicken drumstick you need to cut all the way around the bottom half of the chicken drumstick down to the bone. You then need to either scrap away or pull off any tissue surrounding the bottom section of the drumstick.
Make sure you are leaving the larger section of chicken muscle behind on the chicken drumstick.
Once all the tendons and chicken skin has been removed, you now have a chicken lollipop ready for the recipe.
Lollipop Chicken Recipe
These lollipop chicken drumsticks have lots of smoke flavor mixed with Blues Hog Champions Blend Barbecue Sauce that is surely going to knock your socks off!
Chicken Lollipop Ingredients
- 8 Pack Of Chicken Drumsticks
- Blues Hog Champions Blend Barbecue Sauce
- Franklin Barbecue BBQ Spice Rub
- Half Stick Of Butter
Cooking Equipment
- Weber Kettle Grill
- Masterbuilt Lump Charcoal
- Weber Hickory Wood Chunks
- Charcoal Chimney
- Lighter
- Firestarter
- Sauce Mop
- Boning Knife
- Small Bowl
- Cutting Board
- Platter
- Aluminum Foil
- Meat Thermometer
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Lighting Up Weber Grill
Step 1: Fill the charcoal chimney with lump charcoal.
Step 2: Set out the firestarter and place a charcoal chimney over the firestarter, light the firestarter.
Step 3: Let the lump charcoal catch, the charcoal will mostly be grey when it’s ready to be added to the Weber Kettle.
Joshs Cookhouse Tips: While waiting on the charcoal, it is a good time to go turn the chicken drumsticks into lollipop chicken legs.
Step 4: Once ready, dump the charcoal onto one side of the grill. Place on 2 or 3 hickory wood chunks. After the wood chunks have been lit, it will be time to place the chicken on the grill to smoke.
Step 5: Adjust the air dampers to control the internal temperature to 350 degrees.
Preparing Chicken Drumstick Lollipops
Step 1: Take chicken drumsticks out of the packaging and wipe off any excess liquid from the package.
Step 2: Find a sharp knife, I prefer using a sharp boning knife that easily cuts through the tissue and tendons. Just under the drumstick muscle where the chicken drumstick starts to slim down, completely cut all away around the bone.
Joshs Cookhouse Tips: If you set the chicken lollipops with the clean bone side up, they should stand on their own. If they do not, you can push the meat down the bone a bit until it creates a larger base and you can stand them on the chicken meat.
Step 3: Using your hand pull the loose chicken skin over the knuckle of the bone so that one side of the bone is clean.
Step 4: In a small bowl, place half a stick of butter into a bowl, microwave until the butter is liquid, and then using your sauce mop, brush on a bit of butter to all of the chicken.
Step 5: Apply a liberal layer amount of Franklin Barbecue BBQ Spice Rub onto the lollipop chickens. Place the lollipops onto a platter with aluminum foil. This helps keep dishes clean.
Smoking Chicken Lollipops
Let’s get to smoking these delicious barbecue chicken lollipops.
Step 1: Place the lollipop chicken batch onto the grating of the grill, opposite of the charcoal. This will give us time for the chicken lollipops to absorb that fantastic smoke flavor.
Step 2: Smoke the lollipops for roughly 30 min or until the chicken has reached 150 degrees internally.
Step 3: Once the chicken hits the internal temperature, move the smoked chicken lollipops over the direct heat of the charcoal and wood chunks.
Step 4: Using direct heat, crisp up the chicken skin for 5 minutes on both sides.
Step 5: Pull your chicken from the grill that you have been smoking on and place it back onto your platter.
Step 6: In a bowl, place about 1/2 cup worth of sauce. Using tongs or your hands if you can take it, individually grab the chicken and swirl the chicken into the Champions Blend Barbecue Sauce giving the chicken lollipop an even coating of sauce.
Joshs Cookhouse Tips: If you prefer the sauce to stick to the chicken better, place the chicken back over direct heat for a minute or two while the sauce cooks into the chicken.
Step 7: Let the chicken cool down for 10 minutes before serving.
Check Out My Other Tantalizing Smoked Poultry Recipes:
- Smoked Chicken Tacos with Black Bean Pico De Gallo
- Smoked Chicken Drumsticks
- Smoked Spatchcock Turkey Recipe
Enjoying Smoked Chicken Lollipops Recipe
Once cooled down these barbecue chicken lollipops are an easy food to enjoy simply by holding them by the bone that you french trimmed, a.k.a. finger food. Most people should be able to handle eating at least two of these smoked drumsticks.
Enjoy the champions blend sauce mixed with Franklins Barbecue bbq spice rub that pair so well together in making a chicken lollipop that may get mistaken for the real thing.
After devouring this recipe, please let me know what you think of the Smoked Chicken Lollipops Recipe in the comments, and don’t forget to rate and share so your family and friends can find this recipe as well.
I hope to see you back at Joshs Cookhouse, where nothing is off the table!
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What Is The Point Of Lollipop Chicken?
The main point of a lollipop chicken is for a visual aid that makes a dish look cleaner and fancier. The other point of having a chicken lollipop is one end is clean for the consumer to eat.
Why Is It Called Chicken Lollipop?
The reason for the name chicken lollipop is because once the bottom part of the chicken drumstick has been trimmed off and the chicken meat has been pushed down, the drumstick has an appearance afterward of a lollipop.
Is Chicken Lollipop Good For Health?
When not covered in a sugary sauce, and as long it is not fried in oil, chicken lollipops are considered healthy since they are high in protein, contain some fat, and have no carbs. The chicken lollipop can also be considered a keto-friendly meal.
Is Smoked Chicken Lollipop Keto-friendly?
Yes, smoked chicken lollipops are considered keto-friendly. They have plenty of protein, some fat, and next to no carbs, which works out perfectly for a keto diet.
Are Chicken Lollipops Spicy?
Yes and no. Chicken lollipops are only spicy if the seasoning or barbecue sauce used to flavor the chicken is spicy. Otherwise, lollipop chicken can be savory, sweet, tangy, or have numerous amount of flavors depending on the seasoning or sauce used.
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Equipment
- Weber Hickory Wood Chunks Only need a couple chunks.
- 1 Lighter
- 1 Firestarter
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken Drumsticks
- 1/2 cup Blues Hog Champions Blend Barbecue Sauce
- Franklin Barbecue BBQ Spice Rub Enough to apply even layer of seasoning to chicken lollipops.
- 1/2 stick Butter
Instructions
Lighting Up Weber Grill
- Fill charcoal chimney with lump charcoal.
- Set out firestarter and place charcoal chimney over the firestarter, light the firestarter.
- Let the lump charcoal catch, the charcoal will mostly be grey when its ready to be added to the Weber Kettle.
- Once ready, dump the charcoal onto one side of the grill. Place on 2 or 3 hickory wood chunks. After the wood chunks have lit, it will be time to place the chicken on the grill to smoke.
- Using dampers, set temperature to 350 degrees.
Preparing Chicken Drumstick Lollipops
- Using a sharp boning knife, just under the drumstick muscle where the chicken drumstick starts to slim down, completely cut all away around the bone.
- Using your hand pull the lose chicken skin over the knuckle of bone so that the one side of the bone is clean.
- Melt half a stick of butter and using a sauce mop, brush the butter onto the drumsticks.
- Apply a liberal layer amount of Franklin Barbecue BBQ Spice Rub onto the lollipop chickens. Place the lollipops onto a platter with aluminum foil.
Smoking Chicken Lollipops
- Place the lollipop chicken batch onto the grating of the grill, opposite of the charcoal.
- Smoke the lollipops for roughly 30 minutes or until the chicken has reached 150 degrees internal.
- Once the chicken hits the internal temperature, move the chicken lollipops over the direct heat of the charcoal and wood chunks.
- Using the direct heat, crisp up the chicken skin for 5 minutes on both sides.
- Pull your chicken from the grill that you have been smoking on and place back onto your platter.
- In a bowl, place about 1/2 cups worth of sauce. Using tongs or your hands if you can take it, individually grab the chicken and swirl the chicken into the Champions Blend Barbecue Sauce giving the chicken lollipop an even coating of sauce.
- Let the chicken cool down for 10 minutes before serving.
