Maple Smoked Chicken Drumsticks

Preparation: 15 min
Cooking: 1 h to 1 h and 30 min
Yield: 8 servings (8 chicken drumsticks)

Lars Ulrich, Chad Smith, Dave Grohl, Dave Lombardo… They all had something in common, drumsticks. Ok, not chicken drumsticks, but still drumsticks. Did they pat dry, season, and smoke those drumsticks like we did with these chicken drumsticks? I highly doubt it. Can you call these chicken drumsticks more influential and innovative than these 90s drum legends? I guess not. But we can definitely say that these chicken drumsticks are a masterpiece worthy of the acclaim that was generated by the massive hit songs of the 90s. Nothing else matters when you bite into these and I bet you can’t stop eating them. It’s times like these that call for a little discipline. Unless you had planned to keep all the chicken drumsticks for yourself. In that case, enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken

8 Chicken drumsticks, 4 to 6 oz each
3/4 cup Simon Barbecue Jalapeño Maple Barbecue Rub
1/2 cup Butter

Tools & Supplies

Maple wood chunks for smoking
Cooling rack and baking pan for air drying

Preparation

Pat dry chicken drumsticks with paper towels and season with Jalapeño Maple Barbecue Rub on all sides.
Place seasoned drumsticks on a cooling rack installed on a baking pan and place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 4 to 6 hours.
Preheat your grill for indirect heat at 400°F to 450°F.
Place chicken drumsticks on the grill over indirect heat and toss one or two maple wood chunks onto hot coals for smoking. Close the lid and cook until drumsticks reach an internal temperature of between 175°F and 190°F. Gently brush drumsticks with melted butter during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Remove chicken drumsticks from the grill and let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.