Smoked Chicken Thighs with BBQ Sauce

1 . Stage

Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and jalapeno peppers in a bowl for a marinade. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour.

2 . Stage

Place the chicken thighs in a large, shallow container and cover with the marinade. Chill and marinate for at least 6 hours, or up to overnight.

3 . Stage

Combine ketchup, water, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, Sriracha, brown sugar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, and onion powder in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 25 minutes.

4 . Stage

Remove the skin from each chicken thigh, one at a time. Trim excess fat from the edges of each thigh; if there are any veins on the bottom of the thigh, trim away as well. Scrape the fat off from the bottom side of the chicken's skin using a sharp knife until the skin is essentially transparent.

5 . Stage

Re-wrap the trimmed thighs with the skin. Liberally coat with sea salt and pepper.

6 . Stage

Place chicken thighs, unstacked, onto wire racks. Place the racks into the smoker. Add pecan wood chips according to manufacturer's directions and heat to 265 to 285 degrees F (129 to 140 degrees C).

7 . Stage

Smoke until chicken thighs are no longer pink in the centers, about 2 hours. During the final 45 minutes of cooking, liberally apply the BBQ Sauce 2 to 3 times. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone of a thigh should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).