Drumstick Advice

[sandyut]

Hi all, in a hurried shopping trip through Costco I thought I was grabbing wings, but I ended up buying drumsticks...which I have never done. Mostly because my wife thinks she prefers white over dark meat.

I normally brine all my poultry overnight or more in the slaughterhouse brine and rub and smoke.

Sounds like the drumsticks will cook fairly quickly. Any tips? are these fairly forgiving and pretty much anything goes?

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I cook drumsticks every week. Many ways to do them. I mix it up they are easy to cook and hard to over cook. I rarely brine poultry, just not my thing.

My favorite is to oven fry them, which you can also smoker fry. For oven fried you need to dredge the the legs in a seasoned flour. for 14 drumsticks (that's how many come in our packs) 1/4 cup flour, and what ever seasoning you like. I use a 2 gallon silicone zip lock bag. put all the drums in it and shake. pull them out and put on a plate or platter. While your doing that preheat the oven and two cast iron pans (unless you have a really big pan) to 425. once preheated add 1/4 cup Crisco to pans and allow to melt. Add chicken cook 30 minutes. Flip pieces and cook another 15 minutes.

For smoker fried follow this:

Smoker Fried Chicken

One of my favorite meals is oven fried chicken. The store had thighs on sale so I picked up batch and decided to put a twist on the recipe and do them in the GOSM. Gotta burn up that old, cheap propane so I can go buy some of that $5/gallon stuff! Basic Recipe is as follows: (this is enough...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Any of my chicken recipes in the poultry section of my recipe thread can be adapted to drumsticks.

Dirtsailor's Mega Mother of all Cooking links index

Well it took me a while to compile all the information, but I finally completed my Links List. Have fun reading, and if you try any of my smokes let me know! Please note that these are not "Step by Step" instructions. What you will find though, usually in the first post, sometimes a few posts...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[BandCollector]

Prepare as you normally would prepare the wings, smoke, and simply check with a temp gauge for proper internal temp.

Easy Peasy,

John

 

[Sowsage]

I like to take the internal temp pretty high on drum sticks to get them to break down a little better. 185° should get you there. And if you fell like spending a little time prepping them you could try doing lollipops

Easter lollipops

I ended up making some lollipops for Easter dinner along with some stuffed potatoes that turned out really good. I'll take you through the steps I take to make the lollipops. The first thing I do is pull the skin back so I can season them under the skin with some rub. Pulled pack Then the rub...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[SmokinAl]

I agree on the higher temp for drumsticks, but you can’t go wrong with dirtsailor2003 . His recipes are killer!
Al

 

[Blues1]

Drumsticks are forgiving. I prefer to take up to 185-195. I pull the skin back, season the pull skin back over. I've never been able to get crispy skin, but the meat is so good, I can live with that.

 

[sandyut]

WOW thanks for all the quick replies! weather looks good for a Friday cook. I have about 8 thawed. probably do half with franks and bloody mary rub and half with some other rub.

dirtsailor2003 woa! just start cruzing you recipe links. holy cow man! thank you for sharing such goodness. i will be spending some time reading, printing and cooking!

thanks again!

 

[zwiller]

Drums are at least 3 time cheaper than wings so that is all I run. I do them often (but dirtsailor2003 wins for most often ) Yes, drums are fairly forgiving. With pretty much all poultry that you intend to eat off the smoker, an overnight uncovered rest or fan pellicle will get you decent skin, like rotisserie chicken from the store.

Here's my take.

Pops low salt a few days.
Smoke to 200F (we like them just about FOTB)
Cool to room temp and then ziplock into fridge
When ready to eat, fire up the grill, toss into some rub, and sear.

 

[sandyut]

Love it! I have to nail the first batch to show the wife she will like them - haha she will...so far everything she thought she didnt like - after I made it she did. must have had a poor cook in the house before me

 

[HalfSmoked]

Agree with all the replies. We do drums a lot if doing in the smoker take it to a higher temp at the end or put them on a grill for crispy skin.

Warren

 

[zwiller]

Love it! I have to nail the first batch to show the wife she will like them - haha she will...so far everything she thought she didnt like - after I made it she did. must have had a poor cook in the house before me

I totally get that. It is my fault as I did make a TON of bad stuff in the past. Track record now is pretty good. She doesn't eat everything I make but kids do. Near FOTB is ESSENTIAL for the missus.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Thanks for the like sandyut it is greatly appreciated.

Warren