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[What is this? Joe Pichey, serious bbq-ing dude, has been writing up tailgating recipes on his blog MMMGoBluBBQ and "borrowed" him. Stubb's sponsored it because they're fans of the site, and we said hail yes because their sauces are friggin amazing. So here's a special 4th of July recipe.]

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The 4th off July weekend is always a fun one for me. I love the 3 day weekend. I love the extra time with the family and I love relaxing in the hammock with a cold one while my smoker works its magic. For me, the 4th has always meant burgers and chicken with a side of sweet corn on the cob. I always like to try new things, so I decided to give the Chicken Lollipop a go.  I'm glad I did.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Drumsticks
• Stubbs BBQ Rub
• Stubbs Sticky Sweet BBQ Sauce
• Stick of Butter
• Honey

[Things get sticky if you hit the jump]

Directions:

The prep work is the hardest thing about this recipe. Once you get past this, it's smooth sailin'.  With a sharp knife, cut around the chicken leg, completely down to the bone. You want to make this cut right below the knuckle. Once this is done, use a pair of scissors to cut thru the tendons. Remove any loose skin that is attached to the knuckle.

While holding the bone in one hand, pull the meat down to the end opposite of the knuckle. Using a paper towel helps as things can get slippery. There is a little bone that sticks out of the meaty end of the leg. Remove this bone along with any tendons that are sticking out. This will help make things look a little more appetizing. They should look like this once you are done.

Wrap the end of each leg with some tin foil. This will keep them from burning. Give each leg a nice dusting of rub and set aside. 

Set your grill up for indirect heat and shoot for a temp of 275 - 300 degrees. I like to use pecan as it goes great with chicken. Any fruit wood can be used with chicken. While the grill/smoker is heating up, place a stick of butter in a disposable pan. If you are using a muffin tin, divide the butter up evenly. Use 1-2 TBS of butter per leg. Getting them to stand up straight can be a little tricky.

After 45 minutes, start checking the internal temperature. We are looking for 165 degrees in the thickest part of the leg. You will start to get some good color on them at the 45 minute mark.

Once we reach 165, remove the lollipops from the pan and dip into your favorite Stubbs BBQ sauce. I like to mix 1 cup of bbq sauce with 1/2 cup of honey. A thin sauce works well in this recipe. Once sauced, place the chicken directly on the grill for 5 minutes and allow the sauce to thicken. After 5 minutes, we are ready to eat. These were super juicy and very tender.

The skin was bite thru and had a nice smokey flavor. I couldn't have been happier with the way they turned out. If your'e looking for a different spin on chicken, give these a try. They are fun to eat, extremely tasty and super moist.

Happy 4th of July!