Chicken Drumsticks


 
jeffsipes

jeffsipes

TVWBB Member
I cooked up some chicken drumsticks on the WSM tonight for dinner. I brined the chicken in a simple sugar and salt solution for three hours this afternoon before drying and seasoning. I didn't have all night to brine but I thought 3 hours might be enough to give it some extra moisture and help keep the skin crisp.

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I fired up the WSM with a full chimney of Kingsford and added 20 or so unlit briquets around the perimeter of the charcoal ring. I also added some hickory smokewood. The cooker came up to 300 or so relatively quickly. I had the vents 75% open and the cooker stayed at 300-315 for the hour - hour and 15 minutes it took for the drums to reach 160F. I lightly sauced the drums 15 minutes before taking them off the smoker.

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They were very good and moist. My wife's comment was that she would prefer chicken that tastes like chicken. She found the drums to be a touch too salty and didn't care for the sauce. I think I may try a simple salt and pepper seasoning for the next trip and skip the sauce to see if I can produce a crispy skin-roast chicken looking product with a nice smoke flavor as a compliment. Otherwise, a good cook this afternoon.
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Jeff, you make those for me, nothing butt compliments... they look GRRRREAT!
(excuse me now while I clean the drool from this keyboard)
 
I think three hours is way too long. Cut up chicken exposes more surface to the brining process and therefore I've found that a half hour brine work just fine. Cook's Illustrated has done a lot of 'lab work' on brining and their general rule is one hour/pound, not to exceed eight hours.
 
Thanks for the help on the brining. I subscribe to Cook's Illustrated, I'll go back and read up on brining. I brined these drums in 1g of water, 1c of kosher salt and 1/2c of sugar.

I bought the leg holder at my local Ace Hardware about a month ago. It is great for drums and for wings - makes it so easy to load the grill. Saucing can be a little challenging but I think it's a good trade off.
 
No need to subscribe if you want formula from Cook's Illustrated, Jeff. Basic brine per quart of cold water: Salt--- 1/2 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher, or 1/4 cup + 2 Tb Morton's Kosher, or 1/4 Tb table; Sugar--- 1/2 cup (I rarely use); amount of brine--- 1 quart per pound of food not to exceed 2 gallons; Time--- 1 hour per pound not less than 30 minutes or more than 8 hours. My own rec here as mention above is that when food surface is increased, as when cutting up a whole chicken, brining time can be decreased. How much? Dunnno--experiment to satisfy your taste.

For High-Heat Roasting, Broiling, or High-Heat Grilling per quart water; salt---1/4 cup Diamond Crystal kosher, or 3 Tb Morton's Kosher, or 2 Tb table; Sugar--- 2 Tb; Brine amount--- 1 quart per pound of food, not to exceed 2 gallons brine; Time in brine--- 1 hour per pound, but not less than 30 minutes or more than 8 hours

Frankly, I've never used the High-Heat Roasting, etc. formula ,only the basic brine formula and I cook things pretty hot on the TEC grill.
 
jeffsipes said:
I cooked up some chicken drumsticks on the WSM tonight for dinner. I brined the chicken in a simple sugar and salt solution for three hours this afternoon before drying and seasoning. I didn't have all night to brine but I thought 3 hours might be enough to give it some extra moisture and help keep the skin crisp.

DSC_0289.jpg


I fired up the WSM with a full chimney of Kingsford and added 20 or so unlit briquets around the perimeter of the charcoal ring. I also added some hickory smokewood. The cooker came up to 300 or so relatively quickly. I had the vents 75% open and the cooker stayed at 300-315 for the hour - hour and 15 minutes it took for the drums to reach 160F. I lightly sauced the drums 15 minutes before taking them off the smoker.

DSC_0305.jpg


They were very good and moist. My wife's comment was that she would prefer chicken that tastes like chicken. She found the drums to be a touch too salty and didn't care for the sauce. I think I may try a simple salt and pepper seasoning for the next trip and skip the sauce to see if I can produce a crispy skin-roast chicken looking product with a nice smoke flavor as a compliment. Otherwise, a good cook this afternoon.
DSC_0306.jpg
Click to expand...
Making these tonight
 
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