Here is a great recipe that packs in layer after layer of flavor. I am talking about bacon wrapped chicken thighs that were smoked on a pellet grill!
You are going to have fun with this!
Prepare the Chicken Thighs
I started with six boneless, skinless chicken thighs and marinated them in Italian dressing for an hour. I paired them up with some thin sliced bacon for wrapping. You could also use this great chicken thigh brine for a different flavor profile.
Use the cheapest, thinnest bacon you can find to use in this recipe. Thin bacon is excellent for wrapping and it cooks at just the right rate.
You are going to want to have some paper towels on hand for this next step because it is going to get messy. Take the thighs out of the marinade and wrap each of them with a single piece of bacon.
I fold the thighs on top of themselves before wrapping. If you wanted to, you could add a little cream cheese and jalapenos like we did for these smoked chicken bombs.
Secure the bacon with a skewer/toothpick.
The last step in the preparation is to season the bacon wrapped thighs with a dry rub. You want your rub to be sweet and pack a little heat. The rub should also be low in salt since the bacon brings plenty of salt to the flavor party already.
Suggested Dry Rub
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
- 1 tbls smoked paprika
- 1 tbls black pepper
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
Smoke the Bacon Wrapped Thighs
I set my Z Grills pellet smoker to 275F. You can do the same on a Traeger.
If you are using a Pit Boss and do not have the 275F setting (ha ha!) then use the 250F setting and increase the cook time.
This is a short cook in the smoker so I went with hickory pellets to make sure the chicken took up a nice flavor profile.
After an hour in the smoke the thighs were looking great and had reached an internal temperature of 145F.
Now is the time to add some sauce to the thighs for that final layer of flavor. These thighs were brushed with Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Red Chili Sauce.
Close the lid and give the thighs another 15-20 minutes to reach the final temperature of 165F.
Remember to take the toothpicks out before serving!
If you are interested in Competition Barbecue then you need to check out our Award Winning Smoked Chicken Thigh recipe!
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs on a Pellet Grill
Ingredients
- Six boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- Six slices of thin cut bacon
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar dry rub
- 1 tbls smoked paprika dry rub
- 1 tbls black pepper dry rub
- 1 tsp chipotle powder dry rub
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Marinate the thighs in Italian dressing for one hour.
- Remove the thighs from the marinade, fold in half and wrap with a slice of bacon.
- Secure the bacon with a skewer/toothpick.
- Combine the dry rub ingredients and season the thighs.
- Smoke at 275F for one hour.
- Brush barbecue sauce onto the thighs.
- Smoke the thighs another 15 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165F.