Chicken is a grillers playground to explore flavours, variations and simply just to have fun. On top of that, pretty much every culinary genre uses chicken as part of their diet. In this recipe, Steve’s Angry Chicken Drumstick Lollipops, we discover not only proper cooking techniques but also how to explore changing a store bought sauce to become even more exceptional.

Chicken Cooking 101

There are many cookbooks, blog articles and videos you can find online, including those with BBQ Brian, that share the top tips for cooking chicken. Here is the short, abbreviated version of the lessons:

Turn the heat down. There is no need to incinerate chicken. Turn the heat down to low or even medium heat at most… that is it is best to cook chicken around 300 F or so.

Use your grill space to make an “indirect” zone – that is, cook the chicken on the area or zone of your grill where there is NO heat underneath. This allows for thorough cooking and reducing flareups. If your grill has a lid even better since closing keeps heat in and it can then act like an oven and keep you even more in control.

Use a thermometer to know when the chicken is cooked. There is no need to use a clock or a timer but a thermometer will make you cook like a pro. Chicken needs to be cooked to a minimum of 160-165 F. In this instance, we cooked a little longer… so you be the judge but the floor is set!

Doctoring a Sauce

BBQ Brian first made his signature sauce by taking a store bought, commercial sauce and adding ingredients to it to make it his version. Those first versions of Apple Butter had a long list of added ingredients as time went by and eventually made from scratch. The store bought, off the shelf sauce had a good base of flavour but it needed just a little “more”.

It is completely okay to take a jar of sauce and add your personal favorites to the sauce. Behind the scenes for House of Q at a BBQ competition, the mixing of sauces was a regular activity. The chicken sauce often was a mix of two sauce and even for our championship ribs, the mix was always two sauces.

To help you craft your masterpiece, think of using a commercial sauce by thinking of it as a base then add the characters you want in it. Does the sauce need more “middle” flavours such as garlic, basil, oregano, mint or ginger? Maybe it needs more zingy-ness so adding a little vinegar might help with the right balance. Or in this recipe, maybe it needs more heat… so pepper, cayenne or any number of different chiles can be added. Take notes as you craft your sauce so you remember what you did. And have some fun!

Why is Steve’s Chicken Angry?

Like Brian and Corinne from House of Q, Steve Waldron is a world traveler. This is a great way to experience different cultures, ingredients and cooking techniques. But when you get to explore food you also get to find inspiration for flavour… and in this instance, Steve loves south Asian flavours which can be spicy, salty, sweet, and tangy all in the same bite. In fact, for many eaters, the spice can be a dominant factor making it too hot for other eaters. That is why this dish is called Steve’s Angry Chicken. He’s not angry, he’s really a nice guy… but his chicken, man it has a grudge to share!

Steve’s Angry Chicken Drumstick Lollipops

Print Recipe

Course Main Course

Cuisine Grill, Kitchen, Smoker

HoQ Product Sugar & Spice BBQ Sauce

Author House of Q

Ingredients

• 12 chicken drumsticks, Frenched
• Marinade:
• 1 cup plain yogurt – full fat
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 jalapeno fine diced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp ginger paste (or more) or grated ginger root
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tsp salt
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• Glaze:
• 1/3 cup House of Q Sugar & Spice BBQ Sauce
• 2 Tbsp margarine or butter
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp honey

Instructions

• Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken pieces making sure each piece is coated well. These can easily be placed in a ziplock type bag and then into the refrigerator. Let the chicken soak in the marinade for at least 4 hours.
• To make the glaze, add the ingredients to a small pot and either warm it on low heat in the kitchen or place the pot on the top rack of your grill as you cook the chicken.
• To cook the chicken, prepare your grill for indirect grilling at a medium heat – about 375F. Remove the chicken from the marinade and wipe any excess from the drumsticks. If you want to go make the chicken look extra-special, wrap the exposed (Frenched) bones with foil so they don't get too dark as they cook.
• Place the chicken drumsticks on the "cool" side either directly on the grill grate or in a chicken "hanger" if you have this BBQ accessory. Close the lid and roast the chicken for about 45 minutes.
  
• Check with a thermometer and when the chicken legs are about 170 F, dip each piece in the sauce coating them with the glaze. Place them back in the grill for another 10 minutes or until the glaze has set.

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