Ingredients

makes 12 appetizer or 6 main-course servings

　　12 medium skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

　　2 cups Jack’s Old South Huney Muney Cluck Rub, or 1 recipe Basic Chicken Rub page 20)

　　3 1/4 cups chicken broth

　　Salt, to taste

　　Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

　　

For The Sauce

1 cup Jack’s Old South Vinegar Sauce or Basic Vinegar Sauce (page 22)

　　2 cups Jack’s Old South Hickory Sauce or Basic Hickory Sauce (page 22)

　　1 cup ketchup

　　1 cup honey

　　1 cup maple syrup

　　1 1/4 cups seedless blackberry preserves

　　8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

　　

What You’ll Need

Poultry shears

　　1 silicone cupcake mold, with holes punched through each cup (or an aluminum cupcake pan, also with holes punched through each cup)

　　1 13 x 9-inch aluminum baking pan

　　1 aluminum baking sheet

　　

Step 1

Heat a smoker to 300˚F.

　　

Step 2

Using poultry shears, remove the knuckle on each end of each chicken thigh bone. Then trim the excess fat off the skin and meat of each thigh until the pieces are 3 to 4 inches wide, leaving about 1/4 inch of excess skin at the edges of the meat. Apply the chicken rub evenly to both sides of the thighs.

　　

Step 3

In the cupcake mold, place each thigh, skin side down, in an individual cup. Sit the mold in the baking pan, and pour the chicken broth into the pan, being careful not to pour it directly on top of the chicken. Place the pan in the smoker and cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.

　　

Step 4

Remove the baking pan from the smoker. Gently flip the thighs onto the baking sheet. Season the tops of the thighs with salt and pepper. Return the thighs to the mold cups, skin side up, and put the baking pan back in the smoker. Cook for 45 minutes.

　　

Step 5

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Put all the sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until thoroughly combined. In a medium pan over medium heat, warm the sauce until it is hot but not boiling. Set aside.

　　

Step 6

Remove the pan from the smoker, and unmold the chicken thighs onto the baking sheet, skin side up. Brush the thighs lightly with the warm sauce. Place the baking sheet in the smoker and cook for 30 minutes to allow the sauce to caramelize into the chicken skin.

　　

Step 7

Remove the baking sheet from the smoker, and serve the cupcake chicken immediately.

　　Reprinted with permission from Smokin' with Myron Mixon by Myron Dixon with Kelly Alexander, © 2011 Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.