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Grilled chicken drumsticks

Get:
  • chicken drumsticks, with skin and bones
  • brine: 1qt water per 1 tbsp sugar per 1 tbsp kosher salt
Choose your sauce:
    • Dry rub:
      • chili powder
      • cumin
      • black pepper
      • garlic powder
      • onion powder
    • Garlic-lime-herb:
      • 2 tablespoons lime juice, 
      • 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce,  // reduced from original recipe
      • 2 pressed garlic cloves,  // increased and not minced vs. o.r.
      • 1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar, 
      • Sriracha (to taste)
      • Whisk together in a bowl. 
      • Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of a neutral oil, whisking the whole time. 
      • Stir in 1/4 cup chopped mint or cilantro  // i used parsley and it was okay 
      • Have two limes, halved crosswise, ready to grill and serve.
    • Lemon-herb:
      • 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 
      • 1 minced garlic clove, 
      • 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or oregano, or a mix thereof, 
      • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 
      • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
      • Whisk together in a bowl. 
      • Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil, whisking the whole time. 
      • Stir in 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley. 
      • Have two lemons, halved crosswise, ready to grill and serve.
    • Salsa verde:
      • 1 cup roughly chopped herbs (ideally mostly parsley plus a mix of mint, cilantro, thyme and any other herbs you’d like with chicken) with 
      • 2 cloves garlic, 
      • 1 anchovy, and 
      • 1 teaspoon capers with 
      • 1/4 cup olive oil 
      • Blend in a food processor. (Or, finely mince everything by hand.) 
      • Add the juice of half a lemon. 
      • Adjust to taste, adding more lemon or olive oil as needed. 
      • If you wish, have two lemons, halved crosswise, ready to grill and serve.

    Do:
    • Wet brine the chicken 1-6 hours
    • Oil grill racks
    • Heat grill on high for 10 minutes
    • Cut back to "medium high"
    • Grill 6-8 minutes total for small parts, 8-10 minutes for breasts. Turn once.
    • Move chicken to indirect heat (e.g. turn off one section)
    • Continue cooking 12-20 minutes or to temp, 160F. "Turn occasionally"
    • Toss with sauce and serve

    Results:
    • The dry rub also works perfectly fine if you don't feel like making sauce
    • I made the "garlic lime" sauce with parsley instead of cilantro. The fish sauce was too strong even at half strength, and i didn't taste the garlic at all. Next time I would do a lot less fish sauce, and press the garlic instead of mince.
    • The high heat worked well to sear. Very necessary for a good crisp on the skin.
    • The chicken drumsticks cooked fast. The "leave on indirect heat for a while" instruction seemed useless, since they cooked through in 10 minutes on the high direct heat.
    • I rinsed the chicken before grilling it, and that may have made it under-salted. I note that Smitten's brine is half strength which means maybe not rinsing it would have been okay?
    • If you do rinse again, do it inside the ziplocks so it doesn't splash.
    • 20 drumsticks was not enough food for 20.
    • Tossing with the sauce was a little meh.



    References: