Grab those napkins! Finger licking crispy skinned Tea Smoked Chicken Legs are smoked on the grill with an Asian tea spice packet and then slathered with sticky honey soy glaze. There is nothing like taking your first bite of tender, juicy and smoky chicken drumstick with a side of Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles.
Well don’t take our word for it. Give this easy chicken recipe a try this weekend. Perfect for a summer picnic, budget friendly and low carb options available.
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No Smoker Required!
Don’t worry! No fancy equipment or smoker is required. You won’t be setting off any smoke alarms by smoking the chicken in a wok indoors. Instead, we are taking this traditional Chinese method of tea smoking and modernizing it. Today, we are going to show you how to smoke chicken legs outdoors on a standard barbeque or gas grill – the EASY way.
Why Smoke Poultry?
Tea smoking provides 2 very important functions.
- Provides added smoky flavor and aromatics to the dish.
- The slow cook process makes the poultry very tender and delicious.
3 Steps to Deliciousness
Smoked chicken legs involve 3 separate steps - but they are easy.
- First there is the marinade with Shao Xing Rice wine, ginger, orange zest, Szechuan peppercorns, soy sauce and of course lots of garlic. The Asian marinade penetrates the chicken and infuses the flavor.
- Next there is the creation of tea smoking packets. These aluminum packets are filled with loose leaf tea, star anise, cinnamon, and orange zest rinds for aromatics. Brown sugar is added to help with binding and caramelization of the aromatics. This gets the packet smoking. Rice is added to keep the tea burning longer over a gas or BBQ grill. The tea smoking packets gives the chicken drumsticks a deep smoky flavor while hot smoking on the grill.
- Lastly, there is a finger licking slightly sweet, savory, spicy sticky honey soy glaze. The glaze is slathered on during the last couple of minutes while the chicken is on the grill.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Marinade
Chicken legs (drumsticks) – We picked drumsticks as they are more budget friendly. However, you could certainly substitute with other skin on chicken options like chicken thighs, chicken breasts with the bone or even spatchcock a whole chicken. However, each cut of the chicken will have a different length of time required to cook.
Wine – If you have access to an Asian Market, choose a Shaoxing wine. A dry white wine or cooking sherry will work just fine.
Soy sauce – A dark soy sauce is preferred because it gives the chicken legs that beautiful bronze color, but a regular light soy sauce will also be fine. If you need to keep this recipe gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce.
Orange zest will be used in both the marinade and in the tea smoking packet.
Ginger – fresh is always best. However, you may also use dried ground ginger in both the chicken marinade and in the sticky honey soy glaze. A knob of fresh ginger is approximately 1 tablespoon freshly grated. If using dried ginger, you would use only ¼ teaspoon as it is much stronger.
1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger = ¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger
Garlic - Fresh is always best or you can used dried ground garlic powder in the marinade.
Szechuan (Sichuan) Peppercorns – are optional but we love that little bit of tongue numbing deliciousness. If you decide to purchase Sichuan peppercorns, we have loads of recipes like Mapo Tofu and Hot and Spicy Mandarin Orange Chicken you may enjoy. You can find Szechuan peppercorns in specialty stores, online spice stores, Amazon and in the Asian markets.
Tea Smoking Packet
In Asia, they generally smoke foods right in the wok over the stove top. As you can imagine, smoke alarms go off, smoke fills the home, and that smell lingers. We decided to take the party outside and smoked the chicken right on the gas or BBQ grill.
Tea provides the flavor, aromatics and smokes the chicken legs. We choose a black tea (otherwise known as a hong cha -红茶 or red tea in Asia) and an oolong tea to make a delicious blend for the smoking packet. Experiment with different tea blends you have at home like jasmine, earl grey, masala chai, etc. Using a chai tea is extra delicious because many blends have spices already in the mix, just like we used in our Easy Coconut Iced Chai Tea Latte.
Every tea will impart a slightly different aroma and flavor profile. You can remove tea leaves from the tea bags, if that is what you have on hand. Loose leaf tea is more convenient.
Rice – uncooked. The purpose of the rice is to help slow down the rate that the tea leaves burns. You can use short grained, long grained, brown, wild, etc. However, do not use instant rice.
Brown Sugar helps get the tea smoking in the packet by caramelizing the ingredients. In addition, the brown sugar helps the smoke flavor to adhere to the chicken. Sugar is not used to make the chicken sweet.
Spices – whole spices like cinnamon twills and star anise are a delicious aromatic addition. Some other alternatives like cardamom, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cumin seeds or other whole spices are delicious too. If you do not have whole spices, you can add ground dried spices, but they burn off faster.
Orange or citrus rinds add that layer of flavor and aromatics from the oils.
Honey Soy Glaze
Want to take these smoke chicken legs to the next level? Just add this sweet sticky Asian glaze. Just 4 ingredients and 2 of them, soy sauce and ginger, are repeat ingredients used in the marinade. Just like in our Peking Style Beer Butt Chicken, the Chinese sauce is addictive.
Honey gives the chicken that sweet and sticky goodness. If you are diabetic or need a low carb diet, please exchange with a sugar free orange marmalade or jam.
Sesame oil – just a little drizzle wakes up the Asian spices.
How to Marinate Chicken?
Place chicken drumsticks, Shaoxing wine, orange zest, ginger, garlic, dark soy sauce, oil, salt and ground Sichuan peppercorns in a bowl or sealable baggie. Mix well and place in refrigerator to marinate overnight or at least one hour.
Tea Smoking Packet Preparation
Take 2 sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil lie them on the counter. Then, put loose leaf teas, rice, brown sugar, cinnamon twill sticks, star anise and slices of orange peel on top. Fold up the aluminum foil sheets around the aromatics but leave a gap open at the top. This gap will allow you to add more tea and brown sugar midway in the cooking process and allow the smoke to escape. Set aside.
How to Grill Chicken Drumsticks?
- Place the tea smoking packet on the bottom of the gas grill under the grill grates or directly on top of the charcoal briquettes on a BBQ grill on the “hotter side” of the grill.
- Clean and oil the grill grates. Preheat the grill to 250 degrees F (121 degrees C). Close the grill lid.
- Once the tea smoking packet starts putting out smoke. Place the chicken legs on the “cooler side” of the grill – opposite of the tea smoking packet. Close the lid.
- Turn the grilled chicken legs on the grill periodically so that they brown on all sides.
- Chicken legs will take between 90 minutes to 2 hours to cook. Halfway during the cooking process, add more tea and brown sugar in the tea smoking packet. Cover the grill and continue to smoke the chicken.
- Once the internal temperature of the chicken legs reaches 165 degrees f (73 degrees C), brush on the honey sauce glaze. Grill and smoke for another 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 to 180 degrees F (79 degrees C).
Expert Tips
- If your chicken legs are frozen, thaw them before marination.
- You can also use whole split chicken breasts, thighs, leg quarters, Grilled Split Cornish Game Hens or drumsticks for this recipe. However, each has a different length of time required to cook. It is best to use chicken on the bone as it has so much more flavor.
- Experiment with different types of teas (oolong, black, green, etc.) for smoking. All of them have subtle changes in the aroma and flavor of the chicken.
- For full flavor, marinate chicken legs overnight like we did for our Air Fryer Crispy Curry Chicken Legs.
- Dab the excess marinade off the chicken before placing on the grill so they get crispy.
- Resist the urge to keep opening the lid of the grill to check on the poultry as you are letting all the delicious tea smoke out.
- If your chicken legs are sticking to the grill grates, they are not ready to turn yet.
- Halfway through the cooking process, add more tea and brown sugar into the tea smoking packet. The tea and brown sugar will have burned off and it is time to add more. (Be careful and wear oven mitts)
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken leg. Place in the meatiest portion away from the bone for the most accurate reading.
- Don’t add the honey soy glaze until about 10 to 15 minutes left in the grilling process. Make sure you glaze the chicken all over on both sides.
- If you are diabetic or want a low carb option, you can exchange honey with a little sugar free mandarin orange marmalade.
- To keep this tea smoked chicken leg recipe gluten-free, marinate and glaze your chicken with tamari, instead of dark or regular soy sauce
Side Dishes
Man can't live on chicken alone. However, we have watched hungry boys pack away at least 4 of these delicious drumsticks at one sitting. If you have the grill already fired up, try our Super Easy Grilled Asian Eggplant on the side along with steamed jasmine rice, our Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil and maybe a salad from one of our Healthy Summer Salads with Fruit.
Don't forget dessert! Our make ahead Chocolate Covered Frozen Fruit are refreshing and light at the end of a meal.
Background History
Have you ever tried a tea smoked duck? It’s quintessential dish of Szechuan cuisine and a must try if you have not already. It is still made today using the classic techniques created many years ago.
Did you know that smoking meats and poultry is an ancient food preservation technique? During the caveman time, they used to hang raw meats in their unventilated little caves with a fire. They learned that the meats could last longer without spoilage from the smoke. Long before modern refrigeration, smoking was used to preserve poultry, meats, and fish.
Frequent Asked Questions
The terms chicken drumstick and chicken legs can be used interchangeably. Every leg can vary in weight significantly, depending on the size of the bird. An Adult serving is usually 2 per hungry adult. However, usually 1 drumstick for small children or little eaters is usually enough.
A chicken leg quarter is the chicken drumstick, including the thigh of the chicken. These are much larger. Standard adult serving is one chicken leg quarter. If you decide to use a leg quarter for this tea smoked chicken recipe, it will take longer to cook.
90 minutes to 2 hours at 250F (121 degrees C) or until reaches 175 degrees F (79 degrees C). According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), chicken legs are cooked when the internal temperature meets 165 degrees. However, trust us on this. You are going to like them cooked to about 175 degrees F as that allows that fat to render down and get that skin extra crispy.
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Tea Smoked Chicken Legs
Equipment
- Gas or BBQ grill
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 8 drumsticks chicken legs
(or can use chicken thighs, whole split chicken or chicken breasts on the bone) - ½ cup rice wine (shao xing)
or dry cooking sherry or dry white wine - 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce Substitute with tamari sauce if you need to keep it gluten-free. You can use regular soy sauce if you cannot find dark soy sauce.
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon grated fresh (can also use ¼ teaspoon dried ground) - 3 cloves garlic
minced - 2 tablespoons olive oil
(can also use canola oil or light flavored oil) - ½ teaspoon salt
to taste - 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns (ground)
(if you do not have just exchange with white or black peppers but I love the thumb numbing sensation of the Szechuan peppercorns)
Tea and Herb Smoking Packet
- 2 sheets aluminium foil
to make tea smoking packet - 1.5 cups loose leaf tea We used a combination of black tea and oolong tea. (Remember to set aside ½ cup of tea to add half way in the cooking process)
- ½ cup rice Jasmine long grain rice (or other rice as desired, do not use instant rice)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (½ cup for initial packet- reserve ¼ cup for half way )
- 5 slices orange peel
- 5 whole star anise (if do not have can exchange with 1 tablespoon of Chinese 5 spiced powder)
- 4 sticks cinnamon
or 1 tablespoon ground
Honey Soy Glaze
- ½ cup honey (if diabetic or need this recipe to be low carb- exchange with ½ cup sugar free orange marmalade)
- 1 tablespoon ginger
fresh or ¼ teaspoon ground - ½ cup dark soy sauce or can substitute tamari sauce to keep gluten- free
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Marinate the chickenPlace chicken legs or (chicken thighs, chicken breasts on the bone or split whole chicken breast) in shaoxing (rice wine), soy sauce, orange zest, ginger, garlic , olive oil and salt overnight or at least for 1 hour to allow the the flavors to penetrate.
- Create the Tea and Spice Smoking Packet: Double layer your aluminum foil (about a 18 inches or 46 cm) on a flat surface. Lay the following ingredients onto the center of the aluminum foil; loose leaf teas (set aside ½ cup for later) , rice, brown sugar (set aside ¼ cup for later), oranges peels, star anise and cinnamon. Fold in the 2 sides and leave a small vent at the top of the packet to allow the smoke to escape and area to add more tea and brown sugar half way in the cooking process.
- Place the tea and herb packet under the grill plates on a gas grill or directly on top of the charcoal briquettes on a BBQ grill on the side of the grill that gets hottest. Preheat grill to a low heat (250 degrees F (121 degrees C) and wait until the tea and herb packet to get hot and start smoking well. (about 10 minutes). We like to prep our grill grates with a little oil to prevent sticking.
- In the mean time, remove the chicken from the marinade. Dry the chicken well with a paper towels (this helps make the chicken crispy on the grill). Rub the chicken with a little extra oil. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Place the prepared chicken on the grill.Place the chicken on the side of the grill that is cooler - opposite of the tea and herb packet Grill and smoke chicken, depending on size for about 20 to 30 minutes on low heat. Turn chicken if ready and not sticking to grill. Close the lid to grill. About halfway into the grilling/smoking of the chicken you will need to spoon the ½ cup reserved loose leaf tea and ¼ cup of brown sugar carefully into the opening of the tea smoking packet. When the tea burns off it stops smoking. Be careful and wear oven mitts.
- Make the Ginger Honey Soy Glaze: In a medium bowl, add the honey (or sugar free orange marmalade if diabetic or want this recipe low carb), ginger, dark soy sauce and sesame oil. If using orange marmalade, heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave to get it loosened up.
- Depending on how accurate your heat settings are on your grill, it will take approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours to cook chicken legs on the grill. Use a meat thermometer in the thickest meatiest portion of the chicken leg, away from the bone to get a reading. Once the thermometer reads 165 degrees F (73 degrees C) you are ready to glaze the chicken drumsticks with the honey soy glaze.
- In the 10 minutes of the grilling/smoking of the chicken, brush on the sticky honey soy glaze on all sides. Close the lid on the grill and cook until the meat thermometer reads 175 degrees F (79 degrees C). According to the Food and Drug (FDA), chicken is properly cooked when it reaches 165 degrees F. However, trust us, letting the chicken get up to 175 degrees F allows time for the fat to render- giving you a crispy skin and tender meat.
- Enjoy your finger licking aromatic Tea Smoked Chicken legs!
Video
Notes
- If your chicken legs are frozen, thaw them before marinating.
- You can also use whole split chicken breasts, thighs, leg quarters, Grilled Split Cornish Game Hens or drumsticks for this recipe. However, each has a different length of time required to cook. It is best to use chicken on the bone as it has so much more flavor.
- Experiment with different types of teas (oolong, black, green, etc.) for smoking. All of them have subtle changes in the aroma and flavor of the chicken.
- For full flavor, marinate chicken legs overnight like we did for our Air Fryer Crispy Curry Chicken Legs.
- Dab the excess marinade off the chicken before placing on the grill so they get crispy.
- Resist the urge to keep opening the lid of the grill to check on the poultry as you are letting all the delicious tea smoke out.
- If your chicken legs are sticking to the grill grates, they are not ready to turn yet.
- Halfway through the cooking process, add more tea and brown sugar into the tea smoking packet. The tea and brown sugar will have burned off and it is time to add more. (Be careful and wear oven mitts)
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken leg. Place in the meatiest portion away from the bone for the most accurate reading.
- Don’t add the honey soy glaze until about 10 to 15 minutes left in the grilling process. Make sure you glaze the chicken all over on both sides.
- If you are diabetic or want a low carb option, you can exchange honey with a little sugar free mandarin orange marmalade.
- To keep this tea smoked chicken leg recipe gluten-free, marinate and glaze your chicken with tamari, instead of dark or regular soy sauce
mjskitchen says
This chicken does look finger-licking good! I've heard of smoking with tea leaves but have never tried it. It's a perfect weekend to give it a try.
HWC Magazine says
Thank you MJ. Smoking meats, especially poultry with tea gives it that special umami flavor and on the grill is so much safer and easy than in a wok.
Ron says
Hej Bobbi!
Those chicken legs look amazing! I was wondering, do you think older tea would work? I can get older tea at a discount at our tea shop in Lund.
Take care.
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Ron! You bet, a bargain tea is a great idea as you are not cooking with it but just using the smoke from the tea leaves to enhance the flavor of the chicken legs. Stay well and take care
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
What a brilliant idea! This sauce looks absolutely incredible, and I love that you don't need a smoker either!
HWC Magazine says
Thanks Heidi, so glad you are liking our recipe for tea smoked chicken legs. We really can't resist that sticky Asian sauce.