Name: Valentines Chicken Hearts
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 560 min
Ingredients: 12 small chicken thighs; 4 tablespoons Slap Yo’ Daddy Jailbird Chicken Rub; 1 cup BBQ sauce; 1/4 cup honey; 2 teaspoons hot sauce, (or to taste)

Deboned chicken thighs are smoked in heart-shaped molds and topped with a sweet barbecue sauce. Though they are perfect for Valentine’s Day, you can serve them to your sweetheart at any meal throughout the year. They make a fun conversation starter for meals with friends, too.

Chicken thighs are usually sold as bone-in and skin-on, or deboned without the skin. In order to have the great crisp skin for the end result, but be able to fit the chicken in the mold, you’ll need to debone the skin-on chicken thighs yourself. Try to keep the skin as whole as possible, so you can cover the chicken once it is in the mold.

These cute heart-shaped chicken thighs can be served with any side. For a romantic evening, try making risotto or polenta. For a fun cookout with friends, serve with potato or macaroni salad.

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Looking down on two seasoned raw chicken thighs formed into heart-shaped molds.

Once you debone the chicken, carefully fit them into a heart-shaped mold and sprinkle with rub.

Glazed heart-shaped chicken thighs in a foil pan.

Once the thighs have smoked long enough to hold their shape, transfer them to a foil pan and glaze with sauce.

A single heart-shaped chicken thigh with skin-on in a red silicone mold.

Carefully remove the skin and bone from the chicken thigh, then reapply the skin to the chicken once it is in the heart-shaped mold.

Two glazed heart-shaped chicken thighs on a white plate with a blue stripped background.

You can serve these tasty and cute heart-shaped chicken bites as a romantic first course or as a fun treat for friends and family.

Valentines Chicken Hearts Recipe

Harry Soo

reviews

This recipe is sponsored by Slap Yo’ Daddy.

Deboned chicken thighs are smoked in heart-shaped molds and topped with a sweet barbecue sauce.

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Preparation 20

Cook 1

Ready in 9 20

Servings

CourseAppetizer

InfluenceNorth American

DifficultySeasoned

MethodSmoke

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Ingredients

12 small chicken thighs
4 tablespoons Slap Yo’ Daddy Jailbird Chicken Rub
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste

Equipment

smoker
1 heart-shaped silicone cookie sheet
foil pan

Directions

Debone the chicken thighs and trim off any excess meat, skin, and fat. Reserve the skin. Trim to fit the heart-shaped mold you are using (I used a heart-shaped silicone cookie sheet). Cut a V-notch on one end to help it fit nicely.
Prepare a smoker for 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
Scrape any excess fat from the underside of the reserved skin. Reapply the skin to the chicken. Season the chicken with the rub.
Cook in the pit for about 30 minutes. This should be long enough to set the shape.
Carefully remove the chicken from the silicon mold and place it into a foil pan. Cover the foil pan tightly and cook for another 30 minutes in the pit.
Open the foil cover carefully so you don’t burn yourself with the steam escaping. Brush the heart-shaped morsels with barbecue sauce and honey. Return to the pit for 5 minutes to set. Sprinkle with hot sauce before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 608kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 38gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 221mgSodium: 703mgPotassium: 643mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 545IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 132mgIron: 5mg