Cajun Smoked Chicken Quarters
As long as you have a smoker, these may be the easiest, best tasting Cajun smoked chicken quarters you can make in just a few short hours with almost no effort.
Slap Ya Mama Good!
These Cajun smoked chicken quarters were part of a massive, 7 hour, smoke and since I had never done quarters before, I played by ear. I didn’t know how long to go for, couldn’t decide how to season it and basically went in blind the night prior. I found inspiration as my brother had spent some time cooking in Louisiana and he actually gifted me some classic Cajun seasoning, White Pepper Blend Slap Ya Mama. So, I took the easy way out (and as it turns out, very delicious way out!), lathered my quarters in Slap Ya Mama and poultry seasoning, threw them in the fridge overnight and tossed them in the smoker at 250F for 3 hours.
If you don’t have any Slap Ya Mama!, go buy some. (Available at most grocery stores, Wal-Mart, etc.) Or, do the right thing and try to mimic your own blend. Ingredients include salt, white pepper, paprika/red pepper and garlic. Note: this also tastes super good on anything Cajun-style, so just go buy some.
The result will be a nicely smoked meat with a beautifully browned, slightly crisp skin.
Chicken Time!
The timing worked out super well during the full smoke session. The cajun chicken quarters went in during Hour 4 of my Al Pastor Ribs (after hour 3). I have a four rack smoker, so I put both my chicken and Italian Sausage in at the same time. After 3 hours, not coincidentally, they also finished at the same time as my smoked corn on the cob.
This recipe is for 5 quarters (one smoker rack’s worth), so add or subtract as required. Just make sure to use, abuse and apply the seasonings liberally and cover all the quarters on all sides.
Cajun Smoked Chicken Quarters
Equipment
- Smoker or Oven
Ingredients
Slap Ya Mama (lazy) Way Rub
- 2 tbsp Slap Ya Mama White Pepper Mix
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning powder
Make Your Own Way Rub
- ⅔ tbsp white pepper
- ½ tbsp paprika powder (red pepper powder)
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
- ⅓ tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
Instructions
- Slap Ya Mama/poultry seasoning mix is the easiest way to rub these, but if you don't have the seasoning you can make a pretty good substitute I find that these ratios work pretty closely. Mix white pepper/cayenne with poultry seasoning and apply liberally to chicken quarters. Let sit for minimum one hour, or refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat smoker to 250°F with your favorite smoke (I used a mix of cherry and mesquite).
- Smoke for 2.5 to 3 hours. If using a multi-rack smoker, keep poultry one bottom rack to avoid cross-meat contamination. This is what they looked like after 2.5 hours, so I left them in for another 30-45 min. The chicken was already cooked by the time the corn went onto the rack (after I had run out of real estate on the top rack)
Notes
If smoking on a multi-rack smoker, always make sure to have your higher-temp meat items lower than above. So, remember to always keep your chicken on the bottom rack! Poultry has a higher “Safe-temp” than pork or beef, so you should not have chicken/poultry above your pork or beef (or especially veg). Drippings from poultry risk contaminating other meats with lower cook temps, known as cross-meat contamination, which should be avoided whenever possible. If you are timing your different meats to all finish at the same time, there is slightly less risk, but it is almost always best practice to keep your poultries lower than your meats.
Cross-Meat Contamination Best Practice
If you are smoking on a multi-rack smoker (like I have), make sure to keep your higher-temp meat items lower than above.
What this means is that you should always remember to keep your chicken on the bottom/lower rack!
Poultry has a higher “safe-temp” (160°F) than pork or beef (130-150°F). So, you should not have chicken/poultry above your pork or beef (or veg). Drippings from poultry risk contaminating other meats with lower cook temps, known as cross-meat contamination. This should be avoided whenever possible. However, if you are timing your different meats to all finish at the same time, there is slightly less risk. That said, it is almost always best practice to keep your poultries lower than your meats.
TRY THESE OTHER UNIQUE BBQ FEAST IDEAS!
- Maple Soy Smoked Ribs
- Smoked Gochujang Ribs
- Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins
- Spicy Kimchi Coleslaw
- Sriracha Green bean sweet onion salad
- Watermelon cucumber salad
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